The sum
Traffic is the number of requests multiplied by the size of each. The size is where people guess wrong, because it depends on how the page is fetched.
| How you fetch | Typical size | Pages per GB |
|---|---|---|
| An API that returns JSON | 5 to 50 KB | tens of thousands |
| HTML only, with a library | 50 to 300 KB | several thousand |
| A full page in a browser | 2 to 5 MB | a few hundred |
| Video | 1 to 3 GB per hour | none worth counting |
These are ordinary ranges, not promises: measure your own target. Fetch a few pages through the proxy and look at the usage on your plan page.
Ways to use less
- Fetch the HTML with a library instead of a browser when the data is in the HTML.
- In a browser, block images, fonts and video. They are most of a page's weight and rarely what you came for.
- Ask for compressed responses. Most libraries do this already.
- Do not send things through the proxy that do not need it: your own API calls, uploads to your storage, software updates.
- Stop retrying on errors that will not fix themselves, such as a wrong login.
When gigabytes are the wrong unit
For video, large files or a device that is online all day, paying by the gigabyte adds up fast. Unlimited datacenter plans are charged for time and speed instead, with no limit on traffic.
Start small
Buy one gigabyte, run a slice of the job and read the usage. Multiply. Larger orders cost less per gigabyte, and a plan can be topped up later and keeps its login. See pricing.
Questions
Does failed traffic count?
What passes through the proxy counts, whether or not the website gave you what you wanted. A blocked page is usually small, though.
Do uploads count?
Yes. Traffic is counted in both directions.