When you buy proxy traffic by the gigabyte, the vendor decides how long you have to use it. There are three common models:
- Monthly reset. A subscription's allowance ends with the billing month, and unused gigabytes are gone.
- Validity window. Pay-as-you-go traffic expires a fixed number of days after purchase.
- No expiry. Traffic stays on the account until you use it.
Why it matters
Expiry turns unused traffic into a price increase. If you buy 50 GB for $150 and use 30 before it expires, you paid $5/GB, not $3. For teams whose usage swings from month to month, that gap can be larger than any difference in list price between vendors. Compare providers on what you pay per gigabyte you use:
effective rate = amount paid / GB used before expiry
Questions to ask
- Does the allowance roll over, and for how long?
- Does pay-as-you-go traffic have a validity window, even when subscriptions do not?
- Does buying more extend the expiry of what you already hold?
- What happens to leftover traffic if you upgrade or downgrade?
On ProxyHive
Traffic never expires, and neither does your balance. Rates hold for 12 months after purchase. Proxy traffic expiry compares how five vendors handle unused traffic, with the figures from their own pages.
Common confusion
No expiry does not always mean cheaper. A monthly plan that you use in full each month can have a lower per-GB rate than a non-expiring one. Expiry only costs you what you do not use, so estimate your waste honestly before you choose.