Proxy bandwidth calculator
Your scrape, in GB and dollars
Per month2.46 GB
Requests a month30,000
Residential, 3 GB$15.60
ISP, shared, 1 IP$2.80
ISP, dedicated, 1 IP$3.20
Datacenter, shared, 1 IP$2.80
Datacenter, dedicated, 1 IP$3.20
ISP, shared is cheapest at this volume, if the target lets those IPs in and 1 address can carry about 1,000 requests a day each.
The arithmetic
- Each page: 80 KB document + 1 request × 2 KB headers = 82 KB, assets blocked
- Each run: 1,000 pages × 82 KB = 82,000 KB
- Each month: 82,000 KB × 30 runs (1 a day × 30 days) = 2,460,000 KB = 2.46 GB
- Residential: 2.46 GB rounds up to 3 GB. One order that size reaches the 2 GB rung at $5.20/GB, so 3 × $5.20 = $15.60
- ISP, shared: 1 IP × $2.10 for 30 days = $2.10 + 2 GB extra per IP × 1 IP × $0.35/GB = $0.70. Total $2.80
- ISP, dedicated: 1 IP × $3.20 for 30 days = $3.20, traffic not metered. Total $3.20
- Datacenter, shared: 1 IP × $2.10 for 30 days = $2.10 + 2 GB extra per IP × 1 IP × $0.35/GB = $0.70. Total $2.80
- Datacenter, dedicated: 1 IP × $3.20 for 30 days = $3.20, traffic not metered. Total $3.20
- Shared ISP, dedicated ISP, shared datacenter and dedicated datacenter on 1 IP: cheaper than residential from the first GB.
IP prices are for the shortest term, before add-ons for speed and threads. Check them on residential pricing, ISP pricing and datacenter pricing.
How it counts
We bill request bytes plus response bytes, headers included, along with the protocol overhead on the tunnelled connection. That is the rule in our terms of service, so the calculator adds a header allowance to every request a page makes, assets included.
A GB here is 1,000,000 KB and a month is 30 days. Residential is bought in whole GB, so the estimate rounds up. The size of one order sets its rate for every GB in it: residential starts at $5.50/GB and reaches $1.75/GB on an order of 1,000 GB. Unused balance does not expire, so buying two months in one order can land on a cheaper rung.
The one input nobody can guess for you is page weight. The guide to measuring bandwidth before you pay shows how to get it from your browser or your scraper in a couple of minutes.
What the presets assume
These are rough examples, not measurements of any site. They exist so the calculator opens on something plausible. Swap in your own numbers as soon as you have them.
| Preset | Document | Assets | Asset requests |
|---|---|---|---|
| JSON API responseOne compressed JSON body with a page of results. No assets to block. | 15 KB | 0 KB | 0 |
| Light HTML pageA server-rendered page: the HTML, a stylesheet, a few scripts and a handful of images. | 80 KB | 400 KB | 15 |
| Heavy JS page with imagesA shop or listing page built in a JS framework, with product photos, fonts and trackers. | 250 KB | 2,000 KB | 60 |
When one IP beats a pile of GB
A dedicated datacenter IP costs $3.20 for 30 days and has no traffic meter. With one IP it comes out cheaper than residential from the first GB. The shared plan is cheaper still at low volume: it includes 1 GB per IP, then $0.35/GB, and one IP on it beats residential from the first GB. Each shared IP is used by up to 3 customers at once.
That only holds if the target lets hosting or ISP ranges in, and if a handful of addresses can carry your request rate without getting throttled. Residential rotates across the whole pool on every request; an IP plan gives you exactly the addresses you rent. If you are not sure which your target needs, the proxy chooser asks the right questions, and residential vs datacenter explains how to test it.
Making the number smaller
- In a headless browser, block images, fonts and media before they load. The Playwright setup guide shows where the proxy goes; request interception does the blocking.
- Look for the JSON endpoint the page calls. It carries the data without the markup and needs no rendering.
- Ask for compressed responses. Most HTTP clients send an Accept-Encoding header by default; check yours does.
- Cap retries. Each one is billed, and a retry loop against a page that keeps returning a block is the fastest way to burn a balance.
- Compare the estimate with your usage log after the first run. Every request is listed with its bytes, and the usage inflation guide covers what to look for.
Questions
Why is my real usage higher than the estimate?
Usually the page is heavier than the preset, or the scraper does more than one request per page: redirects, retries, cookie banners, a login step. A fresh TLS handshake on every request also adds a few KB each time. Measure one real page, put that figure in, and compare the result with your usage log.
Are retries and failed requests billed?
Retries you make are billed and show up as separate lines in your usage log. A connection that fails before any data moves is not billed. A 403 or a captcha page that comes back with a body is data that moved, so it counts.
Are the ISP and datacenter prices per month?
They are for the 30-day term, which is the shortest one. Longer terms take up to 20% off. Faster speed and more threads are paid add-ons, and checkout lists them. The calculator leaves them out.
Does the calculator know what my target weighs?
No. The presets are rough examples so the page has something to start from. Real pages range from a few KB to several MB, and the same site can differ a lot between a listing page and a product page.
Something here looks wrong? Tell us in Discord and show us the numbers.
Stuck on a number?
Paste your page weight and request count in Discord. Someone will sanity-check the estimate, and tell you if a cheaper line would do the job.
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