From 7a17bcfb1c1b940ea44c291426fe482bf3132458 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Micha=C5=82=20Olender?= <92638966+TC-MO@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2026 07:52:46 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 1/7] docs: document the shared datacenter proxies add-on Paid plans can buy extra datacenter IPs without upgrading, but the page only mentioned upgrading. --- sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md b/sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md index f2806aa6ab..ac62b1c60c 100644 --- a/sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md +++ b/sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md @@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ When using Apify's datacenter proxies, you can either select a proxy group, or t Each user has access to a selected number of proxy servers from a shared pool. These servers are spread into groups (called proxy groups). Each group shares a common feature (location, provider, speed, etc.). -For a full list of plans and number of allocated proxy servers for each plan, see the [pricing page](https://apify.com/pricing). To get access to more servers, you can upgrade your plan in the [subscription settings](https://console.apify.com/billing/subscription); +For a full list of plans and number of allocated proxy servers for each plan, see the [pricing page](https://apify.com/pricing). To get more servers, buy the **Shared datacenter proxies** add-on (paid plans only) or upgrade your plan in the [subscription settings](https://console.apify.com/billing/subscription). ### Dedicated proxy groups From 440045edc0a4a57baf79a94539aefcfa39e05076 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Micha=C5=82=20Olender?= <92638966+TC-MO@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2026 07:52:53 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 2/7] docs: add a page to estimate datacenter proxy IP addresses Ports the Help Center article "How many proxy IPs do I need?", scoped to datacenter proxies, the only type billed by IP count. --- sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md | 2 +- .../platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md | 63 +++++++++++++++++++ sources/platform/proxy/index.md | 2 +- 3 files changed, 65 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-) create mode 100644 sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md diff --git a/sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md b/sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md index ac62b1c60c..f412c0ca47 100644 --- a/sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md +++ b/sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md @@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ When using Apify's datacenter proxies, you can either select a proxy group, or t Each user has access to a selected number of proxy servers from a shared pool. These servers are spread into groups (called proxy groups). Each group shares a common feature (location, provider, speed, etc.). -For a full list of plans and number of allocated proxy servers for each plan, see the [pricing page](https://apify.com/pricing). To get more servers, buy the **Shared datacenter proxies** add-on (paid plans only) or upgrade your plan in the [subscription settings](https://console.apify.com/billing/subscription). +For a full list of plans and number of allocated proxy servers for each plan, see the [pricing page](https://apify.com/pricing). To check whether your plan includes enough proxy servers, [estimate how many IP addresses you need](./estimate-ip-addresses.md). To get more servers, buy the **Shared datacenter proxies** add-on (paid plans only) or upgrade your plan in the [subscription settings](https://console.apify.com/billing/subscription). ### Dedicated proxy groups diff --git a/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md b/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..c5579a4bbe --- /dev/null +++ b/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md @@ -0,0 +1,63 @@ +--- +title: Estimate how many datacenter IP addresses you need +sidebar_label: Estimate IPs +description: Estimate how many datacenter proxy IP addresses a scrape needs, compare the result with your plan, and get more with an add-on or a plan upgrade. +sidebar_position: 10.25 +slug: /proxy/estimate-ip-addresses +--- + +Your plan includes a fixed number of [datacenter proxy](./datacenter_proxy.md) IP addresses. Before you run a large scrape, estimate how many IP addresses it needs and compare the result with your plan. + +The estimate applies to datacenter proxies only. [Residential proxies](./residential_proxy.md) are billed by traffic, the [Google SERP proxy](./google_serp_proxy.md) by request, and [Unblocker](./unblocker.md) in Unblocker units, so their IP count doesn't limit you. To scrape Google Search results, use the Google SERP proxy instead of sizing datacenter IP addresses for it. + +## Calculate the estimate + +The number of IP addresses a scrape needs depends on how many pages you scrape from a single domain, how long one scrape can take, and how often it runs. Major websites need 10 times more. + +| One scrape can take up to | Divide by | +| ------------------------- | --------- | +| A month | 10,000 | +| A day | 1,000 | +| An hour | 100 | + +| The scrape runs every | Multiply by | +| --------------------- | ----------- | +| Month | 1 | +| Day | 10 | +| Hour | 100 | + +To estimate the number of IP addresses: + +1. Take the number of pages you need to scrape from a single domain. +1. Divide it by the value from the first table. +1. Multiply the result by the value from the second table. +1. If the target is a major website, such as CNN, multiply by 10. + +## Examples + +| Scenario | Calculation | IP addresses | +| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ------------ | +| 10,000 pages from a local e-commerce website, once a month, finished within a day | `10,000 / 1,000 * 1` | 10 | +| 5M products from a major online marketplace, once a month, spread over the month | `5,000,000 / 10,000 * 1 * 10` | 5,000 | +| 100 pages from each of 1,000 websites, every day, finished within a day | `100 / 1,000 * 10` | 1 | + +Each estimate depends on its assumptions: + +- The first estimate holds only if you spread the scrape across the whole day. A faster scrape needs more IP addresses. +- The second estimate seems high, but the scrape visits the same marketplace every day. [IP address rotation](./index.md#ip-address-rotation) spreads those visits across your IP addresses, so more IP addresses mean fewer visits from each one. Long-term reliable scraping of a major website needs about this many. +- The third estimate uses the number of pages per domain, not the total. Its one IP address covers all 1,000 websites. It holds only if you spread the scrape and the websites don't use Cloudflare or a similar distributed IP protection system. + +## Compare the estimate with your plan + +In Apify Console, go to **Billing** > **Subscription** to see how many datacenter IP addresses your plan includes, listed under **Datacenter proxies**. For the count in each proxy group, see the **Available IPs** column on the [Proxy](https://console.apify.com/proxy/groups) page. + +If you need more IP addresses than your plan includes: + +- On a paid plan, go to **Billing** > **Subscription**, select **Buy add-ons**, and enter the number of IP addresses in **Shared datacenter proxies**. +- Upgrade to a plan that includes more IP addresses. For the IP addresses and add-on price of each plan, see the [Apify pricing page](https://apify.com/pricing). +- For more than 1,999 additional IP addresses, [contact support](https://apify.com/contact). +- For IP addresses that only you use, ask support about [dedicated proxy groups](./datacenter_proxy.md#dedicated-proxy-groups). + +## Adjust the estimate + +These are rough estimates. On some websites, they can be far off. If websites don't block your scrapes, try fewer IP addresses. If you see blocking, add more. diff --git a/sources/platform/proxy/index.md b/sources/platform/proxy/index.md index dad87cd46b..8ac76e1a08 100644 --- a/sources/platform/proxy/index.md +++ b/sources/platform/proxy/index.md @@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Your proxy settings and password are on the [Proxy](https://console.apify.com/pr ## Proxy types -Each proxy type has distinct advantages, disadvantages, and pricing. Use them to access websites from different geographies and with different levels of anonymity. +Each proxy type has distinct advantages, disadvantages, and pricing. Use them to access websites from different geographies and with different levels of anonymity. To check whether your plan includes enough datacenter IP addresses, [estimate how many you need](./estimate-ip-addresses.md). Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2026 07:52:53 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 3/7] docs: use an imperative title for the own proxies page --- sources/platform/proxy/your_own_proxies.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/sources/platform/proxy/your_own_proxies.md b/sources/platform/proxy/your_own_proxies.md index 23ad76f40f..210f5f4223 100644 --- a/sources/platform/proxy/your_own_proxies.md +++ b/sources/platform/proxy/your_own_proxies.md @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ --- -title: Using your own proxies +title: Use your own proxies description: Add your own proxy URLs to Actor runs in Apify Console or configure them in the Apify SDK using the proxy configuration API for JavaScript and Python. sidebar_position: 10.6 slug: /proxy/using-your-own-proxies From 745a870c04acc93b39c36903788092278cdaf9c4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Micha=C5=82=20Olender?= <92638966+TC-MO@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2026 08:30:23 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 4/7] docs: describe IP estimates in terms of jobs, not scrapes Apify Proxy serves more than scraping. The heuristic still counts page visits, so the unit stays pages. --- .../platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md | 40 +++++++++---------- 1 file changed, 20 insertions(+), 20 deletions(-) diff --git a/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md b/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md index c5579a4bbe..85cefc1d4f 100644 --- a/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md +++ b/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md @@ -1,26 +1,26 @@ --- title: Estimate how many datacenter IP addresses you need sidebar_label: Estimate IPs -description: Estimate how many datacenter proxy IP addresses a scrape needs, compare the result with your plan, and get more with an add-on or a plan upgrade. +description: Estimate how many datacenter proxy IP addresses a job needs, compare the result with your plan, and get more with an add-on or a plan upgrade. sidebar_position: 10.25 slug: /proxy/estimate-ip-addresses --- -Your plan includes a fixed number of [datacenter proxy](./datacenter_proxy.md) IP addresses. Before you run a large scrape, estimate how many IP addresses it needs and compare the result with your plan. +Your plan includes a fixed number of [datacenter proxy](./datacenter_proxy.md) IP addresses. Before you run a large job through the proxy, estimate how many IP addresses it needs and compare the result with your plan. -The estimate applies to datacenter proxies only. [Residential proxies](./residential_proxy.md) are billed by traffic, the [Google SERP proxy](./google_serp_proxy.md) by request, and [Unblocker](./unblocker.md) in Unblocker units, so their IP count doesn't limit you. To scrape Google Search results, use the Google SERP proxy instead of sizing datacenter IP addresses for it. +The estimate applies to datacenter proxies only. [Residential proxies](./residential_proxy.md) are billed by traffic, the [Google SERP proxy](./google_serp_proxy.md) by request, and [Unblocker](./unblocker.md) in Unblocker units, so their IP count doesn't limit you. For Google Search results, use the Google SERP proxy instead of sizing datacenter IP addresses for them. ## Calculate the estimate -The number of IP addresses a scrape needs depends on how many pages you scrape from a single domain, how long one scrape can take, and how often it runs. Major websites need 10 times more. +The number of IP addresses a job needs depends on how many pages it visits on a single domain, how long it can take, and how often it repeats. Major websites need 10 times more. -| One scrape can take up to | Divide by | -| ------------------------- | --------- | -| A month | 10,000 | -| A day | 1,000 | -| An hour | 100 | +| The job can take up to | Divide by | +| ---------------------- | --------- | +| A month | 10,000 | +| A day | 1,000 | +| An hour | 100 | -| The scrape runs every | Multiply by | +| The job repeats every | Multiply by | | --------------------- | ----------- | | Month | 1 | | Day | 10 | @@ -28,24 +28,24 @@ The number of IP addresses a scrape needs depends on how many pages you scrape f To estimate the number of IP addresses: -1. Take the number of pages you need to scrape from a single domain. +1. Take the number of pages the job visits on a single domain. 1. Divide it by the value from the first table. 1. Multiply the result by the value from the second table. 1. If the target is a major website, such as CNN, multiply by 10. ## Examples -| Scenario | Calculation | IP addresses | -| --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ------------ | -| 10,000 pages from a local e-commerce website, once a month, finished within a day | `10,000 / 1,000 * 1` | 10 | -| 5M products from a major online marketplace, once a month, spread over the month | `5,000,000 / 10,000 * 1 * 10` | 5,000 | -| 100 pages from each of 1,000 websites, every day, finished within a day | `100 / 1,000 * 10` | 1 | +| Scenario | Calculation | IP addresses | +| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ------------ | +| 10,000 pages from a local e-commerce website, once a month, finished within a day | `10,000 / 1,000 * 1` | 10 | +| 5M product pages from a major online marketplace, once a month, spread over the month | `5,000,000 / 10,000 * 1 * 10` | 5,000 | +| 100 pages from each of 1,000 websites, every day, finished within a day | `100 / 1,000 * 10` | 1 | Each estimate depends on its assumptions: -- The first estimate holds only if you spread the scrape across the whole day. A faster scrape needs more IP addresses. -- The second estimate seems high, but the scrape visits the same marketplace every day. [IP address rotation](./index.md#ip-address-rotation) spreads those visits across your IP addresses, so more IP addresses mean fewer visits from each one. Long-term reliable scraping of a major website needs about this many. -- The third estimate uses the number of pages per domain, not the total. Its one IP address covers all 1,000 websites. It holds only if you spread the scrape and the websites don't use Cloudflare or a similar distributed IP protection system. +- The first estimate holds only if you spread the job across the whole day. A faster job needs more IP addresses. +- The second estimate seems high, but the job visits the same marketplace every day. [IP address rotation](./index.md#ip-address-rotation) spreads those visits across your IP addresses, so more IP addresses mean fewer visits from each one. Long-term reliable access to a major website needs about this many. +- The third estimate uses the number of pages per domain, not the total. Its one IP address covers all 1,000 websites. It holds only if you spread the job and the websites don't use Cloudflare or a similar distributed IP protection system. ## Compare the estimate with your plan @@ -60,4 +60,4 @@ If you need more IP addresses than your plan includes: ## Adjust the estimate -These are rough estimates. On some websites, they can be far off. If websites don't block your scrapes, try fewer IP addresses. If you see blocking, add more. +These are rough estimates. On some websites, they can be far off. If the job repeats without being blocked, try fewer IP addresses. If you see blocking, add more. From 8247dc57fb52dfd3bab661a61324a0aec2cf9ff2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Micha=C5=82=20Olender?= <92638966+TC-MO@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2026 14:59:52 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 5/7] Update sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md Co-authored-by: Edyta <142720610+szaganek@users.noreply.github.com> --- sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md b/sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md index f412c0ca47..1d51a7783f 100644 --- a/sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md +++ b/sources/platform/proxy/datacenter_proxy.md @@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ When using Apify's datacenter proxies, you can either select a proxy group, or t Each user has access to a selected number of proxy servers from a shared pool. These servers are spread into groups (called proxy groups). Each group shares a common feature (location, provider, speed, etc.). -For a full list of plans and number of allocated proxy servers for each plan, see the [pricing page](https://apify.com/pricing). To check whether your plan includes enough proxy servers, [estimate how many IP addresses you need](./estimate-ip-addresses.md). To get more servers, buy the **Shared datacenter proxies** add-on (paid plans only) or upgrade your plan in the [subscription settings](https://console.apify.com/billing/subscription). +For a full list of plans and number of allocated proxy servers for each plan, see the [pricing page](https://apify.com/pricing). To check whether your plan includes enough proxy servers, [estimate how many IP addresses you need](./estimate-ip-addresses.md). To get more servers on a paid plan, buy the **Shared datacenter proxies** add-on or upgrade your plan in the [subscription settings](https://console.apify.com/billing/subscription). ### Dedicated proxy groups From 1ed6efe7b1e9025b6c6923788d9f70ab43a520d4 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Micha=C5=82=20Olender?= <92638966+TC-MO@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2026 15:27:03 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 6/7] docs: address review comments on the IP estimate page Name the scenarios and tables the steps point at, lead the Console paragraph with its goal, and give the add-on options their own heading. --- .../platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md | 18 ++++++++++-------- 1 file changed, 10 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-) diff --git a/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md b/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md index 85cefc1d4f..251a028170 100644 --- a/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md +++ b/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md @@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ The estimate applies to datacenter proxies only. [Residential proxies](./residen ## Calculate the estimate -The number of IP addresses a job needs depends on how many pages it visits on a single domain, how long it can take, and how often it repeats. Major websites need 10 times more. +The number of IP addresses a job needs depends on how many pages it visits on a single domain, how long it can take, and how often it repeats. Major websites need 10 times as many IP addresses as other websites. | The job can take up to | Divide by | | ---------------------- | --------- | @@ -29,11 +29,11 @@ The number of IP addresses a job needs depends on how many pages it visits on a To estimate the number of IP addresses: 1. Take the number of pages the job visits on a single domain. -1. Divide it by the value from the first table. -1. Multiply the result by the value from the second table. +1. Divide it by the value for how long the job can take. +1. Multiply the result by the value for how often the job repeats. 1. If the target is a major website, such as CNN, multiply by 10. -## Examples +### Examples | Scenario | Calculation | IP addresses | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ------------ | @@ -43,13 +43,15 @@ To estimate the number of IP addresses: Each estimate depends on its assumptions: -- The first estimate holds only if you spread the job across the whole day. A faster job needs more IP addresses. -- The second estimate seems high, but the job visits the same marketplace every day. [IP address rotation](./index.md#ip-address-rotation) spreads those visits across your IP addresses, so more IP addresses mean fewer visits from each one. Long-term reliable access to a major website needs about this many. -- The third estimate uses the number of pages per domain, not the total. Its one IP address covers all 1,000 websites. It holds only if you spread the job and the websites don't use Cloudflare or a similar distributed IP protection system. +- The e-commerce estimate assumes you spread the job across the whole day. A faster job needs more IP addresses. +- The marketplace estimate seems high, but the job visits the same marketplace every day. [IP address rotation](./index.md#ip-address-rotation) spreads those visits across your IP addresses, so more IP addresses mean fewer visits from each one. Long-term reliable access to a major website needs about this many. +- The 1,000-websites estimate uses the number of pages per domain, not the total. Its one IP address covers all 1,000 websites. It assumes you spread the job and the websites don't use Cloudflare or a similar distributed IP protection system. ## Compare the estimate with your plan -In Apify Console, go to **Billing** > **Subscription** to see how many datacenter IP addresses your plan includes, listed under **Datacenter proxies**. For the count in each proxy group, see the **Available IPs** column on the [Proxy](https://console.apify.com/proxy/groups) page. +To see how many datacenter IP addresses your plan includes, go to **Billing** > **Subscription** in Apify Console and look under **Datacenter proxies**. To see the count in each proxy group, open the [Proxy](https://console.apify.com/proxy/groups) page and check the **Available IPs** column. + +## Get more IP addresses If you need more IP addresses than your plan includes: From 6ad1553b9967e10d638889f37692ca1df000df13 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Micha=C5=82=20Olender?= <92638966+TC-MO@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Thu, 22 Oct 2026 15:29:03 +0200 Subject: [PATCH 7/7] docs: name what gives the rough estimate "These" opened the section with no antecedent after the heading. --- sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md b/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md index 251a028170..0dbc04af19 100644 --- a/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md +++ b/sources/platform/proxy/estimate-ip-addresses.md @@ -62,4 +62,4 @@ If you need more IP addresses than your plan includes: ## Adjust the estimate -These are rough estimates. On some websites, they can be far off. If the job repeats without being blocked, try fewer IP addresses. If you see blocking, add more. +The tables give rough estimates. On some websites, they can be far off. If the job repeats without being blocked, try fewer IP addresses. If you see blocking, add more.