Subnet diversity
Subnet diversity is how widely a pool is spread across address ranges. Proxy Compare tracks 42 providers, read 5 Oct 2026, and none publishes a breakdown. Ten thousand addresses in one subnet behave like one address to a target blocking by range, and the pool size from 30 providers says nothing about spread.
Why it costs you money
Sites block by range, not by single address, so a pool concentrated in a handful of subnets can be neutralised in one move. This is why a pool-size claim on its own says very little, and why we label every pool figure as the vendor's own number rather than a measurement.
See it in the data
Related terms
- Proxy poolThe set of addresses a provider can route you through. The advertised size is a vendor claim nobody outside can verify.
- ASNThe number identifying who owns a block of IP addresses. It is the first thing bot detection checks about you.
- IP reputationHow a target site scores an address before serving it, based on what that address has done elsewhere.
- Exit nodeThe address a target website actually sees. Everything before it in the chain is invisible to the site you are fetching.
- Every term we define
Questions
Why does the spread matter more than the size?
Because a target that blocks by range treats every address in one subnet as one address. Ten thousand addresses in a handful of ranges behave like a handful when that block lands.
Can I check the spread before I buy?
Not from anything published. None of the 42 providers here publishes a subnet breakdown, read 5 Oct 2026, and the 30 that publish anything publish only a total.
How do I measure it myself?
Pull a few hundred addresses inside the refund window and count how many distinct ranges appear. That is the measurement no provider gives you, and the only one that describes the pool you are actually buying.