Port-based versus endpoint-based access: count the gateway slots you buy

Port-based access bills or tiers the number of gateway slots available to the buyer. Endpoint-based access gives the client a hostname or gateway address while the bill is set by another unit, such as GB, IP count, time, or successful request. The bill-first distinction is whether adding another connection point requires a larger purchase. One endpoint is not proof of one usable port, and a missing port count is not proof of unrestricted access. Current 710-row plan dataset, generated 2026-07-26T02:15:19Z

A plan whose price follows port count

storm-residential-volume-ports, named Residential Rotating, 5 to 500 ports, publishes a ladder spanning 5 to 500 ports at $50 to $1,600 per month. The same offer says bandwidth is unrestricted and each port rotates its IP every five minutes. For this plan, traffic volume does not select the checkout tier. Required gateway capacity does. Storm Proxies residential pricing, retrieved 2026-07-25T17:42:41.156Z

The purchased port is not a purchased residential IP. It is an access slot into a rotating pool. A buyer who needs more simultaneous workflows must size the port tier, while a buyer who merely wants more distinct IPs over time cannot infer an address count from the port count. Likewise, the plan’s single authorized access IP is an authentication boundary, not the size of the proxy pool. Storm Proxies port and authorization terms, retrieved 2026-07-25T17:42:41.156Z

An endpoint can hide a different control model. One gateway may accept credentials or parameters that select country, session, or rotation behavior. That interface description says how software connects, not how much capacity the subscription includes. A comparison should therefore keep endpoint count, ports, concurrent sessions, threads, whitelisted client IPs, and purchased proxy IPs in separate fields.

Publish rate across 47 providers

Seven of 47 providers, or 14.9%, publish a numeric ports_included value on at least one plan in the current dataset. The other 40 providers have no published numeric port allowance at provider level. No row uses an explicit unrestricted state for ports. Those 40 providers cannot be classified as endpoint-based merely because their port field is null. Current port fields across all providers, generated 2026-07-26T02:15:19Z

This low rate makes optimistic conversion especially risky. A thread limit may apply per port, but multiplying threads by an assumed port count invents capacity. A concurrency value may be account-wide, while ports may be separately tiered. A gateway hostname may remain constant even as the plan permits many sessions.

Before comparing receipts, ask how many ports are included, whether they can be used simultaneously, what one port controls, and whether adding ports changes the checkout. Record a positive integer, an explicit unrestricted statement, or null. If the provider publishes only an endpoint address or setup example, describe the connection method and leave commercial port capacity not published.