What Is a Sticky Session? One IP for a Whole Task
With a sticky session, the proxy holds on to one IP for a window you set, typically 1 to 30 minutes, rather than changing it on every request. Teams need one whenever a task spans several pages that a site expects from a single visitor: signing in to a client’s ad account, taking a test order through basket and checkout, or following an ad from click to landing page.
One IP, held just long enough to finish, keeps that journey in one piece. This guide covers why those tasks need it, how sticky sessions work, how they compare with per-request rotation and how long to hold one; rotating vs sticky sessions puts the two modes side by side. Use either within each site’s terms of service.
We write these guides for e-commerce, marketing and agency teams that pay for proxies by the gigabyte.
Why some team tasks need the same IP
Many sites tie a visit to the address it started from. If a signed-in session suddenly arrives from a different IP, the site may ask the user to sign in again or treat the next page as a new visit. For a one-page price check that hardly matters; for an account review, a basket test or a multi-page form, it breaks the task.
A sticky session removes the problem by holding one IP until the job is done, so the whole journey reads as one continuous visit.
How a sticky session holds one IP
Nothing changes in how tools connect: they still point at the proxy gateway. The difference is a request for stickiness, usually a username with a session ID appended, or a separate sticky port. From then on, every request in that session leaves through one pool IP until the window closes.
After that, or when you start a new session, a fresh IP takes over. Your tools talk to one gateway the whole time; the pinning happens behind it.
Team tasks that call for sticky
The table matches everyday team tasks to the right mode. Sticky is the answer wherever continuity across page loads matters; per-request rotation wins wherever each page stands alone.
| Team task | Mode to use | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Signing in, then browsing | Sticky | The site expects one steady visitor |
| Multi-step forms or checkout tests | Sticky | Keeps continuity across page loads |
| Collecting independent pages | Per-request | Every request stands alone |
| Rank checks at scale | Per-request | Spreads activity across the pool |
| Managing a client or brand account | Sticky | One stable origin per session |
Sticky or per-request rotation?
The two modes suit opposite kinds of work:
- Per-request rotation assigns a new IP every time. That fits stateless work, where no request depends on the one before — a batch of product pages, a set of rank checks — and it spreads the load across the whole pool.
- Sticky sessions hold an IP for minutes at a time. That fits stateful work, where several requests belong to one visit — signing in, moving through an account, completing a form over several pages.
A quick test: if the task has to stay signed in from one page to the next, use sticky; if each request could run on its own, rotation is the simpler option.
Setting the window and switching it on
Match the window to the job. Signing in to confirm one setting may take a minute or two, while a full review of a client account or a long form deserves the whole window. The longer you hold an IP, the more requests pass through that single address, so pick the length the work needs rather than the maximum by default. On mobile pools, the carrier’s own reassignment schedule also caps how long an IP can be kept — see what are mobile proxies.
Every plan includes sticky sessions at no extra charge, across the datacenter, residential and mobile tiers and over HTTP/HTTPS or SOCKS5. Switch between per-request and sticky in the dashboard as workflows change. For budgeting, the proxy calculator turns expected usage into gigabytes and the pricing page shows each tier’s rate, from $3.50/GB. When the team is ready, buy now.
Match the pool to the workflow
Every pool is billed per GB and run from the same dashboard, so one team can keep low-cost volume work and high-trust checks side by side.
High-volume collection from unprotected sites, automation, SEO tools
Market research, ad verification and geo-accurate checks on protected sites
Phone-first platforms, app and mobile ad testing
Hard targets where every failed request is costly
Covering several markets in one report? MIX packages combine multi-country residential traffic in a single order. Agencies buying on behalf of clients can apply for the reseller programme.
Get your team running
Per-GB pricing from $3.50 · 55+ countries · instant delivery · 30-day validity · no traffic logs · 24/7 human support
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1
Size the job
Pick a proxy type in the proxy calculator and enter the gigabytes you expect to use to see the order total.
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2
Order and pay
Choose the pool on the proxies page and pay by card through Stripe or in crypto through Cryptomus. Each order is billed per GB and does not renew on its own.
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3
Share access
Credentials appear in the dashboard as soon as payment clears. Add them to each tool with a login or an IP whitelist, then send one test request before the real job starts.
Questions team leads ask
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