If you’ve been wondering what proxy to choose, you may have run into all types of different proxies. Shared and private (or dedicated) proxies are rather widely known, but not everyone has heard of semi-dedicated proxies. These IP addresses share the advantages of private proxies and eliminate quite a few drawbacks of shared ones.
A semi-dedicated proxy has a number of features that may help you reach your targets and deliver projects. They will let you do your work for less money than private proxies and more securely than shared proxies. Semi-dedicated IPs offer the same features as any other proxies, such as bypassing geolocation restrictions, anonymity, etc.
Here you’ll find out what semi-dedicated proxies are, how they work, and what cases they’re used for. Once you’re familiar with this type of IP address, we’ll review the main differences between shared, semi-dedicated, and dedicated proxies and list their pros and cons to help you choose the best type for your case.
Forget confusing implementations as we automatically rotate shared datacenter proxies to hide your identity.
What Are Semi-Dedicated Proxies?
Semi-dedicated proxies are used by multiple users, usually up to three. Only a small group of people has access to the same proxy, placing them in the middle between private IPs, which are used by one person at a time, and shared proxies, which are available to many users simultaneously.
Semi-dedicated proxies are a more cost-friendly option than private proxies while being more stable than shared IPs. However, a semi-dedicated proxy is still not as reliable as a private IP address, so whether you should use this type of proxy highly depends on your needs and targets.
How Do Semi-Dedicated Proxies Work?
Semi-dedicated proxies work as any other proxy. They route your internet traffic through an intermediary server, which then shows the target website its IP address rather than your own.
Semi-dedicated proxies mean that the same IP address is used among multiple users, usually a small group of up to three or five. So if you’re using a semi-dedicated proxy to access a target website, another user may be using the same proxy server to access their target site. Chances are that your targets are not the same, which means that you shouldn’t run into problems, such as having your IP address blocked due to someone else’s actions.
Just like any other proxies, semi-dedicated proxies can help bypass geo-restrictions, as you can get an IP from a specified location. This feature, however, applies to all three types of proxies – semi-dedicated, shared, and private proxies.
Forget confusing implementations as we automatically rotate shared datacenter proxies to hide your identity.
Where Semi-Dedicated Proxies Are Used
Users choose semi-dedicated proxies for similar use cases as most other proxies. These IP addresses can be successfully used for web scraping projects, accessing geo-restricted content, anonymous web surfing, ad verification, search engine optimization (SEO) automation, etc.
Since semi-dedicated proxies are more cost-effective than private proxies, companies and individual users choose these IP addresses for smaller projects. More complex projects with high-performance requirements may call for private proxies. But a semi-dedicated proxy can be a great choice for web scraping on a small scale or when targeting a niche, low-complexity website.
Sharing IPs among a limited number of users has a number of advantages compared to shared proxies, which are utilized by many users at the same time. Semi-dedicated proxies are faster since you’re only sharing the bandwidth with a small group of users. These IPs are also more stable and less likely to get blocked than shared proxies. For this reason, they’re slightly more expensive than shared proxies but also much more reliable.
Shared vs Semi-Dedicated vs Private (Dedicated) Proxies
When choosing the right proxy type, you should be aware of the main proxy groups. Residential proxies are often compared to datacenter proxies, as these two types are the most common ones. Residential IPs come from household devices owned by private people. A single device can host a single IP. Meanwhile, datacenter proxies come from data centers that are owned by businesses and a single device can host multiple IPs.
All three types of proxies share a number of features – they can all support HTTP and SOCKS protocols, shield your original IP address and help bypass geolocation restrictions. However, they also have various differences.
To help you make the right decision between these three proxy types, here are their main differences, pros, and cons:
Shared vs Semi-Dedicated Proxies
Shared proxies can be accessed by, in most cases, an unlimited number of users at the same time. This means that users will be accessing their target websites through the same IP address. In some cases, the targets may have some overlap. Proxy providers may block access to some of the most popular targets to avoid sending too many requests to the same website. Shared proxy users also share the proxy bandwidth, which may lead to slower surfing.
In comparison, semi-dedicated proxies are shared among a small group of users. This means the targets are significantly less likely to match, and the bandwidth is split between a limited number of users.
Pros:
- Shared proxies are the cheapest type of proxies.
- Both proxies help bypass geo-restrictions and ensure anonymity.
- Can circumvent IP blocks to some degree.
Cons:
- Shared proxies are more likely to get blocked than semi-dedicated proxies.
- Shared proxies aren’t effective for large projects.
- Shared IP addresses are more unstable and unreliable than semi-dedicated IPs.
- Some popular targets may be blocked for shared proxies.
To sum up, shared proxies are only good for very small and specific tasks that don’t require high proxy performance. For projects that need stable connection, semi-dedicated proxies are a better choice.
Semi-Dedicated vs Dedicated Proxies
Private or dedicated proxies are assigned to a single user at a time. That user gets to enjoy full proxy speed and privacy. On the other hand, dedicated proxies are the most expensive IP addresses because they’re not shared among other users. However, for large-scale web scraping projects that require maximum proxy efficiency, private proxies are the best choice.
Pros:
- Dedicated proxies are fast and have high uptime.
- Private IPs are stable and secure.
- The targets are unlimited with private proxies.
Cons:
- Dedicated proxies are the most expensive ones
When choosing between semi-dedicated and private proxies, consider the scale of your project and how important it is for you to have IP addresses assigned only to you. If the price aspect is more important than the stability of proxies, then you may consider semi-dedicated proxies over dedicated IPs. Keep in mind that both types of proxies allow targeting content on a specified location, and both ensure anonymity.
Conclusion
Semi-dedicated proxies are IP addresses shared by a limited number of users at the same time. They work like any other proxy server by acting as intermediaries between the user and the target website. Companies and individuals use semi-dedicated proxies for small to medium-sized projects involving data gathering, ad verification, SEO, and similar cases.
Shared, semi-dedicated, and dedicated proxies share some of the same features. All these types of proxies support HTTP and SOCKS protocols, they can ensure anonymity by shielding the user’s actual IP address, and they can help bypass geographical restrictions when accessing target websites.
However, these proxies also have a number of differences. The main one is how many users have access to the same IP address at the same time. This feature also defines the speed of proxies, their stability and privacy features. Another significant difference is the price. The more users share the same proxy, the lower it costs.
Whether a semi-dedicated proxy is suitable for your case depends on the size of your project and your needs.
Use shared rotating or dedicated datacenter proxies and scale your business with no session, request, location and target limitations.
