Residential proxies send your traffic out through IP addresses that belong to home internet providers. Mobile proxies use addresses from cellular networks, and datacenter proxies use addresses from hosting companies. The protocol is the same in all three cases; what differs is who owns the IP address, and that is something websites can look up.
This guide explains the difference in neutral terms, using standards documents and the published data fields of two IP data services. It doesn't recommend proxy sellers or discuss prices. All sources were checked on 24 October 2026.
What is a proxy?
A proxy is a server that forwards your requests to websites, so the website sees the proxy's IP address instead of yours. The HTTP standard, RFC 9110, defines it as "a message-forwarding agent that is chosen by the client".
Two protocols cover most proxies a browser uses:
- HTTP proxies. For HTTPS sites, the browser sends a
CONNECTrequest, which asks the proxy to "establish a tunnel to the destination origin server" (RFC 9110, section 9.3.6). After that the proxy only does "blind forwarding": it passes encrypted data along without reading it. - SOCKS5 proxies. RFC 1928 describes SOCKS5 as a framework for client-server applications "in both the TCP and UDP domains". It works as a layer between the application and the transport, so it isn't limited to web traffic.
MDN's guide to proxy servers separates forward proxies, which act for the user, from reverse proxies, which sit in front of a website. It notes that "Forward proxies can also be anonymous and allow users to hide their IP address". Every proxy type in this guide is a forward proxy.
What is the difference between datacenter, residential and mobile proxies?
The difference is the network the exit IP belongs to. Datacenter IPs belong to hosting providers, residential IPs to home internet providers, and mobile IPs to cellular carriers.
| Type | Where the exit IP comes from | What IP data services can usually see |
|---|---|---|
| Datacenter | A hosting or cloud provider's network | The network is a hosting provider |
| Residential | A home internet provider's network | The network is an ISP; it may be flagged as a suspected residential proxy |
| Mobile | A cellular carrier's network | The connection is cellular, and the address is often shared |
"ISP" or "static residential" proxies are a fourth label used in the market, usually for stable addresses registered to an internet provider. We found no definition from a standards body or neutral data vendor, so treat the term as a seller's description rather than a technical category.
How do websites tell proxy types apart?
Websites look up the visiting IP address in commercial IP databases, which classify networks and flag known proxies. Two widely documented services show what kind of data is available.
Network type. IPinfo's ASN data gives every network a type: isp, hosting, business, education or government. A datacenter proxy usually sits on a hosting network. IPinfo's carrier data identifies the mobile network an address belongs to, including its MCC and MNC codes.
Anonymizer flags. MaxMind's Anonymous IP database has flags such as is_hosting_provider, is_public_proxy, is_anonymous_vpn and is_tor_exit_node. It also has is_residential_proxy, meaning the address is "on a suspected anonymizing network and belongs to a residential ISP". MaxMind's separate Residential Proxy database adds an anonymizer_confidence value from 1 to 99 and a provider_name field.
Connection type. MaxMind's Connection Type data labels addresses as Cable/DSL, Cellular, Corporate or Satellite.
How static an address is. MaxMind's Static IP Score runs from 0 to 99.99, with higher values meaning more static. Its documentation notes that "many IP addresses with a user_type of cellular have a score under 1".
So a residential IP doesn't make a proxy invisible. It changes which category the address falls into, and data vendors publish fields designed to spot residential proxies too. What a given website does with this data is up to that website.
Why are mobile IP addresses shared?
Mobile carriers usually put many subscribers behind a small number of public IPv4 addresses, using carrier-grade NAT (CGNAT). There aren't enough IPv4 addresses to give every phone its own.
RFC 6269, "Issues with IP Address Sharing" (June 2011), explains that providers lack enough IPv4 addresses "to allocate them one per subscriber". It notes that "A mobile operator may see its addressing needs grow dramatically". RFC 6598 (April 2012) reserved a block of "Shared Address Space", 100.64.0.0/10, for the links between carrier-grade NAT equipment and customers.
Two things follow from this:
- Many people can share one mobile IP at the same moment. A website sees the same public address for unrelated subscribers, which is why mobile addresses are usually treated as shared rather than personal.
- Mobile addresses change often. MaxMind's note that many cellular addresses score under 1 on its static scale reflects the same pattern.
Sharing is a property of the network, not a pass. Websites know cellular networks work this way, because it is in the data they buy.
What is the difference between sticky and rotating proxies?
A sticky proxy keeps the same exit IP for a session or a set time, while a rotating proxy changes it per request, per time interval or on demand. Which one you need depends on whether the thing you're doing needs a stable identity.
- Sticky sessions suit anything with a login. An account that signs in from a different address on every page load looks unlike a normal user and may be asked to verify again.
- Rotating addresses suit stateless jobs, such as checking public pages from different locations, where there is no account to keep stable.
- On-demand rotation means the provider gives you a link that requests a new IP when you open it, an option often offered with rotating and mobile proxies.
Many residential providers give you one gateway address and let you set the country and a sticky session inside the username. That is a provider convention, not a standard, so check the format in your provider's dashboard.
How should you choose a proxy for a browser profile?
Choose one stable proxy per profile, located where the account normally operates, and check it before you use it. The proxy should fit the account, not the other way round.
- Match the location to the account. A shop run from Germany should use a German exit IP. The profile's time zone and language should then match the IP too.
- Keep it stable. Use a sticky session or a fixed address for any profile with a login, and keep the same proxy on that profile over time.
- Don't share one proxy across unrelated accounts. Separate clients or brands should have separate exit IPs, so the accounts stay separate.
- Check what websites see. Open our proxy checker inside the profile to confirm the IP, country, time zone, ASN and ISP.
- Check WebRTC. WebRTC can reveal an IP outside the proxy. The WebRTC leak test compares the address WebRTC exposes with the one the site sees.
- Follow the rules. A proxy keeps profiles from sharing one connection. It doesn't change a platform's rules about multiple accounts, and those still apply.
How does Multime handle one proxy per profile?
Multime gives every browser profile its own proxy, checks the exit IP before the profile opens, and sets the time zone, language and location to match. You bring proxies from any provider; Multime doesn't sell them. The proxy manager page has the full details.
- Types. HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5 and SSH. Logins are handled by a local relay, so authenticated proxies work even where Chromium can't do proxy authentication itself.
- DNS through the proxy. The relay sends DNS lookups through the proxy, so the sites you visit aren't resolved through your own provider.
- IP check before each open. Multime checks the exit IP through the proxy with ipwho.is, ipinfo.io or ip-api.com and uses the result for time zone, language and location. If the proxy doesn't answer, the profile doesn't open on your own connection instead.
- Saved proxy list and bulk import. Save proxies once, reuse them across profiles, and paste lists in several line formats.
- Random saved proxy. Multime picks one of your saved proxies when you save the profile, skipping ones whose last check failed. The pick then stays with the profile, so the account keeps a stable IP.
- Rotating and mobile proxies. Save the provider's change-IP link with the proxy. For residential providers that set the country and session in the username, a helper creates one sticky-session proxy per profile, up to 500 at a time.
- WebRTC. Each profile can send WebRTC through the proxy (the default), replace the IP, disable WebRTC or use the real one.
- Stored encrypted. Proxy passwords are encrypted with AES-256-GCM in the local database, with the key protected by macOS Keychain or Windows DPAPI.
On a team, the proxy connection starts on the computer of whoever opens the profile. Proxies with a username and password work from anywhere; proxies that only allow listed IP addresses need each team member's IP added.