Unlimited Residential Proxies: When They're Worth It (2026)
Most residential proxies are metered by the gigabyte. Unlimited plans flip the model — you pay for time, not traffic — which is a huge win for a few specific workloads and a waste of money for everyone else. Here's how to tell which camp you're in.
What “unlimited” means here
An unlimited residential plan gives you unmetered bandwidth on dedicated resources for a fixed period (billed per day/week/month) instead of charging per GB. There's no traffic counter to watch — you can push as much data as the connection allows.
When it's worth it
- AI / LLM training data. Multi-modal crawls (text, image, audio, video) burn terabytes; metering that is painful and expensive.
- Sustained heavy scraping. If you're consistently moving hundreds of GB to TBs a month, time-based pricing can be far cheaper than per-GB.
- Bandwidth-heavy media. Downloading large assets at scale.
When metered is better
If your usage is spiky, small, or unpredictable, metered per-GB wins — you only pay for what you use, and LunaProxy balances don't expire, so occasional projects never waste spend. Unlimited only pays off past a break-even volume; below it, you're renting capacity you don't use.
Do the quick math
Estimate monthly GB. Multiply by your per-GB rate for the metered cost. Compare to the unlimited plan's period price. If metered is clearly higher and your usage is steady, go unlimited; if it's lower or your usage varies, stay metered.
LunaProxy's approach
LunaProxy offers both: metered residential per GB (balance never expires) for flexible and small workloads, and unlimited-traffic plans on dedicated resources for AI data collection and sustained heavy scraping. You can start metered and move to unlimited once your volume justifies it.
Start with LunaProxy today
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View Pricing →FAQ
Are unlimited residential proxies really unlimited?
They provide unmetered bandwidth on dedicated resources for a fixed period, subject to fair-use and the connection's throughput. There's no per-GB counter, which is the point.
When should I choose unlimited over per-GB?
When your usage is high and steady — typically hundreds of GB to terabytes a month, or AI/LLM data collection. For spiky or small usage, metered per-GB with non-expiring balance is cheaper.
Does LunaProxy offer unlimited traffic?
Yes. LunaProxy has unlimited-traffic residential plans on dedicated resources alongside its metered per-GB residential, ISP and SOCKS5 options.