Backconnect
Backconnect means you connect to one gateway and it forwards to a changing pool behind it. Proxy Compare prices 265 residential plans, read 5 Oct 2026, and it is the architecture behind almost all of them. It is why you rent bandwidth and a gateway rather than a list of addresses.
Why it costs you money
It is the reason a residential plan needs no address list and no rotation logic on your side. It also means you cannot pin a specific exit address unless the provider offers a sticky option, so check that before writing code that assumes you can.
See it in the data
Related terms
- Rotating proxyA connection that hands you a different address on each request, or on a timer. The default for scraping at volume.
- Sticky sessionHolding the same proxy address for a set period so a login or checkout survives more than one request.
- Proxy poolThe set of addresses a provider can route you through. The advertised size is a vendor claim nobody outside can verify.
- Ports vs IPsA numbered endpoint you connect to. On some providers a port is the billing unit, and it is not the same as an address.
- SOCKS5A proxy protocol that forwards any TCP traffic rather than only HTTP, and the one some providers charge extra for.
- Every term we define
Questions
Do I get a list of addresses I can inspect?
No. You get one gateway and it forwards to a changing pool behind it, which is how the 265 residential plans priced here work, read 5 Oct 2026. You are renting bandwidth and an entry point rather than a set of addresses.
How do I know which address a request went out on?
Usually you do not, unless the provider sells a sticky session that holds one address for a window. 29 of the 42 providers here offer one, read 5 Oct 2026, and only 0 publish how long it can last.
Does the gateway become the bottleneck?
It can, and the limit is normally concurrency rather than bandwidth. 7 of the 545 plans priced here publish a concurrency figure, so for most offers you find the ceiling by hitting it.