Name: Byteful
Brand: Byteful
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Question 1

Why do IPv4 proxies still work everywhere when IPv6 often does not?

Accepted Answer

Almost all public internet destinations work seamlessly with IPv4 proxies because it’s the web’s default compatibility layer. The IPv4 standard was created in 1981, and modern web servers and systems continue to expect IPv4 traffic.

The reason has to do with what an IPv4 proxy is. It is one of the intermediary services that directs your traffic through a server with an IPv4 address. The destination will see the more universally recognized IPv4 address as opposed to your original IP, thus allowing the request to work with an infrastructure designed with IPv4.

IPv6 can also operate effectively and economically for large-volume tasks, but only if the destination fully supports IPv6. If the end destination does not support it, then the size of the proxy pool is irrelevant. The request fails before the proxy's quality can even be assessed.

This is why IPv4 remains the de facto standard for scraping and automation, as well as for testing and account or workflow management.

Question 2

When should you choose IPv4 proxies over IPv6?

Accepted Answer

Use IPv4 proxies when a failed request costs more than the price difference between IPv6 and IPv4 proxies. This is the case for most reputable Internet destinations like large sites, older services, third-party APIs, and especially those related to payment, login, or advertising. For broad reach, safe and trusted use, IPv4 proxies are preferred. Use IPv6 proxies when you've confirmed the target is IPv6-ready and the job rewards cheap scale more than universal access. For most workflows, account management, scraping, ad/price checks, and eCommerce, IPv4 proxies are preferred. IPv6 should be used for a limited set of tasks against well-tested targets where a large volume of requests is expected.

Question 3

Why do IPv4 proxies cost more, and is the price justified?

Accepted Answer

IPv4 proxies are more expensive because obtaining an IPv4 address is more costly. In the IPv4 standard, RFC 791, an IPv4 address is made of 4 octets, or 32 bits. This makes the total possible number of IPv4 addresses 4.3 billion, and only 3.7 billion are reserved for public use. As the number of users on the web has grown, the number of available IPv4 addresses has declined. Regional Internet registries ran out of available IPv4 addresses. APNIC on IPv4 exhaustion explains that they now operate under a limited or exhausted supply. On the other hand, IPv6 addresses are cheaper because they are practically abundant.   The cost is justifiable when there is a need for compatibility. Providers are routing and protecting IP addresses that are accepted and recognized by the websites, and are sourced from reputable IPv4 history. For scraping production environments and supported, secure websites, the cost of failed requests often exceeds the cost of the proxy.

Question 4

What is the difference between residential and datacenter IPv4 proxies?

Accepted Answer

Residential IPv4 proxies route your traffic through IP addresses allocated by consumer ISPs, making the traffic look like it originates from a normal residential connection. This makes residential IPv4 proxies better suited for engaging with protected targets, web data that is geographically restricted, and managing multiple account workflows. Datacenter IPv4 proxies utilize IP addresses from hosting networks, so they are cheaper and easier to maintain than residential IPs. Datacenter IPv4 proxies are better suited for targets that do not impose a penalty for using a hosting network. When judging the cost of using residential IPv4 proxies vs datacenter IPv4 proxies, go with residential proxies when the reputation of the connection is the most important factor. Use datacenter proxies when the cost is more important than the appearance of the connection. If you want to test residential IPv4, you can use Byteful's free 1GB residential data. According to Proxyway's 2026 proxy market research, our residential network recorded the quickest worldwide residential response time at 0.41 and the highest success rate for residential targets of 81.23%.

Question 5

What separates a clean IPv4 pool from a recycled, burnt one?

Accepted Answer

A clean IPv4 pool has a traceable past of fewer blocked IP addresses, fewer abused IP addresses, and less reputation damage before the first client request. IPv4 addresses can be leased, traded, reassigned, and sold. If an address was involved with spam, credential stuffing, scraping, abusive behavior, or malware traffic, it may already be flagged when you start using it. When this happens, websites may throttle, CAPTCHA, or block the IP address before it can do anything. Inexpensive IPv4 addresses may look good on paper, but may still be flagged when it matters most. Users referring to proxy bans do not always mean bans on using a single IP. A target may react to the reputation of an entire subnet, behavior with multiple proxies, request volume, or erratic session behavior. Signs of this situation may include repeated 403 or 429 error messages, CAPTCHAs, or issues with page rendering. Before using an IP, risk-scoring tools like Scamalytics can be useful. With Scamalytics, you can see an IP's fraud score, country, ISP, proxy, Tor status, and other factors. These indicators should be treated as such and not as a guarantee for the IP working with a target. The number of addresses a company claims to have does not mean that those addresses are good. Look for their sourcing practices, how they handle abusive addresses, subnet diversity, and IP rotation, and, most importantly, whether they remove bad IPs or simply recirculate them. Using ethically sourced proxies helps lower the risk of addresses coming with bad reputations because the inventory is built with consent, network stability, abuse prevention, and much fresher starting conditions for addresses that may fall into your workflow.

Question 6

Why can a whole batch of IPv4 proxies get blocked at once?

Accepted Answer

Whole batches can get blocked because targets tend to block a group of neighbouring IPs instead of a single one. This can include blocking subnets, ASNs, hosting ranges, geographies, request fingerprints, and many more. The most obvious example is a subnet, which is simply a range of addresses in a network that are very close to each other. If many proxies sit close together in the same range, one bad pattern can drag the rest down with it. It is also for this reason that two different proxy providers may perform very differently on the same target, while also having the same pool size. While pool size does matter, so does the pool distribution. A pool with several million IPs, but with IPs grouped together, can be weaker than a smaller pool that is more evenly distributed across a larger number of networks.  Proxy IP Reputation makes the issue trickier, as targets analyze the past behavior of the pool, signals of abuse, nearby IPs, and the IPs' traffic behavior. While rotating IPs over time may help, it won't save a badly distributed pool.

Question 7

Should you use shared, dedicated, sticky, or rotating IPv4?

Accepted Answer

Shared versus dedicated determines who can use the IP. Shared IPv4 proxies are leveraged by a number of customers, meaning they are cheaper. They are best for lower-risk scraping, where some requests failing is acceptable. Dedicated IPv4 proxies allow exclusive access. They are useful for longer sessions and for more target customers and scraping workflows that require more consistency and less guesswork.  Dedicated access allows easier identification of issues related to the IP address, but a dedicated IP does not ensure a clean history. For further explanation, see our shared vs dedicated proxies guide. Sticky versus rotating determines how long your connection keeps the same IP. Sticky sessions allow the retention of a single IP address for a set period of time. This allows easier completion of logins, cart, and multi-step request workflows. On the other hand, rotating proxies change the IP address for every request or at set intervals, reducing the likelihood of repeated traffic from a specific IP. For the most part, dedicated and sticky IPv4 proxies are the best combination for identity proxies. On the other hand, for scraping and broad data collection, rotating IPv4 proxies are most useful. For more detailed tradeoffs, see our static vs sticky vs rotating proxies guide.