Skip to contentShared vs dedicated IP
The address the internet sees can be shared with other users or reserved just for you. Here's how shared and dedicated exit IPs differ, and when the s4m dedicated-IP add-on is worth paying for.
When a dedicated IP earns its price
A dedicated IP is about control, not extra secrecy. It pays off in a few specific situations.
Allowlisting and access
A static address you can add to a corporate VPN, database firewall, admin panel, or partner API allowlist once and forget.
Clean reputation
Sole tenancy means you do not inherit captchas, rate limits, or blocks triggered by strangers sharing your exit.
Session consistency
The same address on every connection, which helps with services that flag or log out on sudden IP changes.
Shared is often enough
If you just want to hide your origin IP cheaply, a shared exit does that well and costs less. Reach for dedicated only when you need it.
Binding and allowlisting a dedicated IP
Once a dedicated IP is bound to your proxy in the dashboard, every request exits from the same address, so you can allowlist it on the far end. The host, ports, and auth stay identical to any s4m proxy.
# SOCKS5 (port 1080) curl -x socks5h://USER:[email protected]:1080 https://api.ipify.org # HTTP (port 3128) curl -x http://USER:[email protected]:3128 https://api.ipify.org # Persist for a shell session export ALL_PROXY="socks5h://USER:[email protected]:1080" curl https://api.ipify.org # -> your dedicated exit IP, unchanged each run # Allowlist that address on the far end (example firewall rule): # allow from <your-dedicated-ip>
The honest trade-off
Be clear about the goal. If you simply want to hide your real origin IP, a shared exit does that just as well as a dedicated one, and mixing your traffic with many other users can make you harder to single out. A dedicated IP buys you control, not more secrecy: you own the reputation, the address is predictable, and you can allowlist it.
s4m keeps this a paid add-on rather than baking it into every plan, so you only pay for a static address when you actually need one. It runs on the same no-logs, RAM-first infrastructure as the rest of the platform, and you can optionally unlink it from your account identity. For casual or throwaway use, standard shared exits and the third-party free public proxy list are enough. See the guides for setup help.
Questions, answered
Is a dedicated IP more anonymous than a shared IP?
Not automatically. A dedicated IP is reserved for you and stays associated with your s4m account. A stable exit can help with allowlists, but it does not by itself provide anonymity.
Are s4m dedicated IPs residential?
No. Dedicated personal IPs are datacenter addresses, the same class as our proxy network. If your use case specifically requires residential IPs, s4m does not offer them.
Can I bind a dedicated IP to both the VPN and a proxy?
You attach a dedicated IP to one service at a time, either the WireGuard/OpenVPN VPN or an authenticated SOCKS5/HTTP proxy. You can change which service it is bound to from your dashboard.
Will a dedicated IP stop all captchas and blocks?
It removes the neighbor problem, so you no longer inherit reputation from other users. But no exit is immune: a site can still choose to block any datacenter IP, dedicated or not. We avoid absolute promises here.
Does the dedicated IP ever change?
No. It is static and stays the same across sessions, which is exactly what makes it suitable for allowlisting and for services that watch for IP changes.
Check your exit-IP configuration
A dedicated IP is exclusive during its assignment under the service terms. Prior history, assignment duration, availability and supported bindings still matter. An exit IP can have a prior history. Accounts, cookies and browser signals may still identify a user; changing an address does not guarantee a clean reputation.
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