What does a proxy cost for running one scraper for a month?

A one-scraper monthly proxy bill depends on traffic and proxy type, not the number of scraper processes. For exactly 10 GB in this snapshot, the lowest conflict-free exact checkouts are $5 for datacenter traffic, $7.92 for residential traffic, and $28.50 for mobile traffic. The plans are DataImpulse Datacenter Intro, GeoNode Residential, and ProxyScrape Mobile with a 30-day traffic window, observed on July 25, 2026. DataImpulse datacenter pricing, retrieved 2026-07-25T16:33:08.221Z · GeoNode residential pricing, retrieved 2026-07-25T15:42:45Z · ProxyScrape mobile pricing API, retrieved 2026-07-25T16:33:08.221Z

One scraper is not a pricing unit. A single process might send one request at a time or hundreds in parallel. It might fetch compact API responses or render pages with images and scripts. Vendors charge for traffic, assigned IPs, threads, ports, throughput, or access time, none of which can be inferred from the process count.

The buyer needs two measurements before the monthly cost is honest: transferred GB for the month and peak simultaneous work. Then the workload can be matched to a plan sold in the appropriate unit.

Monthly traffic checkpoints

The table shows exact published tiers, not generic scraper estimates. Each row is the lowest conflict-free exact checkout at that proxy type and quantity in the snapshot, excluding the ProxyMesh prepaid add-on because it has no standalone checkout total.

These are checkout observations, not performance recommendations. The dataset does not show whether datacenter traffic works on the target, whether residential traffic improves useful responses, or whether mobile traffic is necessary.

The traffic lifetime also differs. DataImpulse and GeoNode record non-expiring traffic. ProxyScrape’s selected mobile row has a 30-day expiry and no rollover on the provider’s page. Infatica’s datacenter expiry and rollover values are not published. ProxyRack’s mobile expiry and rollover values are also not published. Null stays not published and is never converted into a permissive term. DataImpulse datacenter terms, retrieved 2026-07-25T16:33:08.221Z · GeoNode residential terms, retrieved 2026-07-25T15:42:45Z · ProxyScrape mobile pricing API, retrieved 2026-07-25T16:33:08.221Z · Infatica datacenter pricing, retrieved 2026-07-25T15:57:28Z · ProxyRack mobile pricing, retrieved 2026-07-25T16:03:55Z

A fixed address produces a different answer

If one scraper needs one stable datacenter address rather than a rotating traffic pool, a per-IP plan may be the natural unit. LitPort’s shared static datacenter row publishes one IP for $0.59 over 30 days, 100 threads, and explicitly unrestricted transfer. Its private rotating datacenter row publishes one monthly endpoint for $3.59 with unrestricted threads and transfer. LitPort datacenter pricing, retrieved 2026-07-25T16:03:55Z

Those two receipts answer different jobs. The shared static row is a fixed address. The private rotating row exposes a rotation interval. Neither price proves that the target accepts the address or that the published thread capacity produces useful results.

This is why “one proxy for one scraper” is ambiguous. It might mean one assigned identity, one gateway credential, one concurrent request, or access to a rotating pool. The buyer should state which one is required before comparing receipts.

Measure the scraper’s traffic

Run a representative sample through the same request path planned for production. Record transferred bytes at the client and at the provider meter. Include:

• Request and response bodies.
• Redirects, authentication, and retries.
• Failed responses that still transfer data.
• Browser assets and client-side API calls when rendering.
• Repeated downloads caused by isolated sessions or disabled caching.

Then calculate:

monthly traffic = measured bytes per representative run × planned runs per month

Convert the result to GB using the same convention shown by the provider meter. If the client and vendor readings differ, resolve the billing convention before scaling.

The dataset contains no measured page size, retry rate, or target block rate. Assigning a generic traffic number to “one scraper” would therefore invent the most important input.

Check capacity separately from traffic

Peak simultaneous requests determine whether a plan’s session, thread, or port limit fits. They do not automatically multiply the traffic checkout. Infatica’s selected datacenter row records unrestricted concurrent sessions and up to 400 threads. ProxyScrape’s selected mobile row records unrestricted concurrent sessions. GeoNode does not publish a concurrency value in the captured row. Infatica datacenter controls, retrieved 2026-07-25T15:57:28Z · ProxyScrape mobile controls, retrieved 2026-07-25T16:33:08.221Z · GeoNode residential pricing, retrieved 2026-07-25T15:42:45Z

An unpublished concurrency value should stop a capacity claim. It does not mean the plan allows unrestricted parallelism.

Sticky duration can matter as much as concurrency. A login flow may need one address retained for a session, while a crawl of independent pages may prefer rotation. The plan should publish the required mode and duration. A pool size claim is not a substitute for either field.

The monthly budgeting answer

Measure monthly GB, choose the least expensive proxy type that passes a real target test, then compare the cheapest published configuration that covers the traffic. Add an assigned-IP requirement only when the job genuinely needs a stable identity. Keep expiry, rollover, capacity, tax state, and source freshness beside the receipt.

For a measured 10 GB month, the observed exact checkouts are the three figures in the opening answer. At 50 GB, the exact type-specific observations in the table change to a higher set of receipts. A different traffic result, target requirement, or concurrency need requires a new calculation.