How Many Proxies Do You Need for Arbitrage, SMM, and Scraping: Calculating Pool Size for Your Needs

One of the most common questions when working with proxies is how many IP addresses do you really need to buy? A pool that is too small will lead to bans and blocks, while one that is too large will result in overpayment for unused resources. In this article, we will explore specific calculation formulas for different tasks: farming Facebook Ads accounts, multi-accounting on Instagram, scraping Wildberries, and other popular scenarios.

Basic Principle: One Account — One IP or Not?

A common myth is that each account requires a separate proxy server. In practice, this is not always the case. The size of the pool depends on three factors:

• Type of Task: Farming new accounts requires strict isolation (1 account = 1 IP), while working with warmed-up accounts is more flexible.
• Platform: Facebook strictly tracks connections between accounts, Instagram is more lenient, and marketplace scrapers are not tied to accounts at all.
• Work Intensity: If you make 1000 requests per hour from one IP, that is a red flag for any platform.

The key rule is: the higher the risk of a ban, the greater the ratio of IPs to accounts should be. For farming Facebook Ads, this is 1:1 or even 2:1 (two IPs for one account to switch in case of suspicious activity). For managing warmed-up Instagram accounts, a ratio of 1:3 (one proxy for three accounts) can be used if you are working through an anti-detect browser like Dolphin Anty or AdsPower.

Arbitrage: Farming and Warming Up Facebook/TikTok Ads Accounts

Traffic arbitrage is the most demanding task for proxies. Facebook and TikTok actively combat multi-accounting, using machine learning algorithms to identify linked accounts. If the system detects that several ad accounts are accessing from one IP, it can lead to a chain ban — blocking all linked accounts.

Farming New Facebook Ads Accounts

For farming (creating and warming up new accounts), a ratio of 1:1 — one account per proxy is recommended. Moreover, many arbitrageurs keep 2-3 backup IPs for each account in case the main proxy gets blacklisted by Facebook.

Example calculation for farming 20 Facebook Ads accounts:

• Main pool: 20 proxies (one for each account)
• Backup pool: 10 proxies (for rotation during suspicious activity)
• Total: 30 proxies for comfortable work with 20 accounts

Type of proxies: residential proxies or mobile proxies. Data center proxies are not suitable for farming Facebook as they get blacklisted too often. Mobile proxies show the best trust score but are more expensive.

Working with Warmed-Up TikTok Ads Accounts

If the accounts have already been warmed up (have a history of activity for 1-2 months, launched campaigns, spent budget), the requirements for proxies are more lenient. TikTok is less aggressive in tracking multi-accounting than Facebook. For warmed-up accounts, a ratio of 1:2 — one proxy for two accounts can be used, provided you are working through an anti-detect browser with different fingerprint profiles.

Example: you have 10 warmed-up TikTok Ads accounts. The minimum pool is 5 proxies, the recommended pool is 7-8 proxies (with a reserve for rotation).

SMM: Managing 10-50 Instagram and TikTok Accounts

SMM specialists and agencies usually manage client accounts: publish content, respond to comments, launch targeting. This is a less risky task than farming because the accounts are real, with history and followers. However, mass logging into 30 accounts from one IP also looks suspicious.

Instagram: Managing Client Accounts

Instagram is relatively lenient towards SMM agencies if basic security rules are followed. The recommended ratio is 1:3 or 1:5 (one proxy for 3-5 accounts). A mandatory condition is the use of an anti-detect browser (Dolphin Anty, AdsPower, Multilogin) with unique profiles for each account.

Example calculation for an agency managing 30 Instagram accounts:

• Conservative approach: 10 proxies (1:3)
• Optimal approach: 6-8 proxies (1:4 or 1:5)
• Risky approach: 5 proxies (1:6) — possible blocks during active work

An important nuance: if you are using automation (mass posting, auto-replies), reduce the number of accounts per IP. For automated actions, a safe ratio is 1:2.

TikTok: Working with Business Accounts

TikTok is stricter about suspicious activity than Instagram. For managing business accounts, a ratio of 1:2 or 1:3 is recommended. If you are publishing content manually (without auto-posting), you can use one proxy for 3 accounts. When using schedulers and automation — strictly 1:2.

E-commerce: Scraping Wildberries, Ozon, Avito

Scraping marketplaces and classifieds is a task where the number of proxies is determined not by the number of accounts, but by the volume of requests and scraping speed. Wildberries, Ozon, and Avito actively block IP addresses that make too many requests.

Monitoring Competitor Prices on Wildberries

Suppose you are tracking the prices of 500 competitor products on Wildberries. You need to scrape these products every hour to respond quickly to changes. That’s 500 requests per hour, or 12,000 requests per day.

The safe limit for Wildberries is approximately 100-150 requests per hour from one IP (depends on the quality of the proxy). Calculation:

• 500 products / 100 requests per IP = 5 proxies (minimum)
• Recommended pool with a reserve: 8-10 proxies
• Type of proxy: residential proxies (data centers get blocked faster)

If you scrape less frequently (for example, every 6 hours), you can manage with a smaller pool — 3-5 proxies will be sufficient.

Mass Posting on Avito

Avito limits the number of ads from one IP. For mass posting (for example, 50 ads per day), you need to distribute them across different proxies. A safe norm is no more than 5-7 ads from one IP per day.

Calculation for posting 50 ads per day:

• 50 ads / 5 ads per IP = 10 proxies
• Recommended pool: 12-15 proxies (considering rotation)

Automation and Mass Actions on Social Media

Automation (mass likes, follows, comments, direct messages) is a red flag for any social network. Even if you use quality automation tools, a high frequency of actions from one IP will lead to blocking.

General rule: the more aggressive the automation, the more proxies you need. For mass following on Instagram (300-500 follows per day from one account), it is recommended to use a separate proxy for each account, even if you are managing only 5-10 accounts.

Mass Messaging on Telegram

Telegram has strict limits on sending messages. From one account, you can send about 40-50 messages per day to new users (without adding them to contacts). If you use 10 accounts for messaging, that’s 400-500 messages per day.

Recommendation: one proxy per account for mass messaging. For 10 accounts — at least 10 proxies. Using one IP for multiple messaging accounts will almost certainly lead to floodwait (temporary blocking of message sending).

IP Rotation: When a Large Pool is Needed with a Small Number of Accounts

There are scenarios where the size of the proxy pool needs to be significantly larger than the number of accounts. This is due to the necessity for frequent IP rotation.

Scraping with High Request Frequency

If you are scraping a site that aggressively blocks suspicious IPs (for example, scraping Google or Yandex search results), you will need a large pool for rotation. One IP can make 10-20 requests, after which it needs to be "cooled down" for several hours.

Example: you are scraping 1000 requests on Google per hour. Considering a limit of 10 requests per IP, you need at least 100 proxies. In practice, a pool of 150-200 proxies is recommended for comfortable rotation without blocks.

Working with Geo-Targeting

If you need to check ads or content from different cities (for example, if you are setting targeting for 20 cities in Russia), you need proxies from each region. Even if you have one ad account, the proxy pool must cover all target geos.

Example: you are launching ads on Avito in 15 cities and want to check how the ads appear in each region. You need at least 15 proxies (one for each city), even if you have only one account.

Calculation Formulas for Popular Tasks

We have compiled practical formulas for quick calculation of proxy pool size for different tasks:

Common Mistakes When Choosing Pool Size

Let’s discuss common mistakes that lead either to overpayment for unused proxies or to bans due to an insufficient pool.

Mistake 1: Buying Too Small a Pool "for Trial"

Many beginners buy 3-5 proxies to work with 20 accounts, thinking "I’ll try, and if necessary, I’ll buy more." The result is a chain ban of all accounts within a week. Restoring banned Facebook Ads accounts is nearly impossible, and the time lost on farming and warming up amounts to weeks of work.

Solution: Calculate the pool with a reserve of 20-30%. It’s better to have unused proxies than to lose accounts.

Mistake 2: Using Data Center Proxies for Tasks Requiring Residential Proxies

Data center proxies are cheaper, which tempts you to save. However, for farming Facebook, working with Instagram, or scraping protected sites, they are unsuitable — the block rate is too high. In the end, you buy 20 data center proxies, they get blocked in 2 days, and you still have to buy residential ones.

Solution: Use data center proxies only for tasks where they are effective: scraping simple sites, SEO monitoring, checking availability. For social networks and protected platforms — only residential or mobile.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Geo-Distribution of Proxies

You buy 20 proxies to work with the Russian segment of Instagram, but all IPs turn out to be from Kazakhstan or Ukraine. Instagram sees that an account with a Russian SIM card and Russian-language content is constantly logging in from another country — this is suspicious.

Solution: Always check the geo of proxies before purchasing. For working with Russian accounts — proxies from Russia, for Ukrainian accounts — from Ukraine. The exception is if you intentionally imitate a traveler user, but that’s a separate strategy.

Mistake 4: Lack of Rotation When Scraping

You bought 5 proxies for scraping 2000 products on Wildberries and set the scraper to use them in turn. The scraper makes 400 requests from each IP per hour — all proxies get blocked. You have to wait several hours for the IPs to "cool down," or buy new ones.

Solution: For high-frequency scraping, use either a large pool (20-30 proxies) with slow rotation or proxies with automatic IP rotation (sticky sessions with a short session lifetime — 5-10 minutes).

Mistake 5: Using One Proxy for Linked Accounts

You are farming 10 Facebook Ads accounts, using different proxies, but at some point decide to log into two accounts from one IP "just to check." Facebook detects the connection, and when one account gets banned, both are banned.

Solution: Never violate the account isolation rule. If you are working on a "1 account = 1 IP" scheme, this rule must always be followed, without exceptions. Use anti-detect browsers with proxy binding to profiles — this will eliminate accidental mistakes.

Conclusion

The optimal size of the proxy pool depends on three factors: the type of task, the platform, and the intensity of work. For farming Facebook Ads accounts, use a ratio of 1.5:1 (30 proxies for 20 accounts), for managing warmed-up Instagram accounts, a ratio of 1:4 (10 proxies for 40 accounts) is sufficient, and for scraping marketplaces, calculate the pool based on the number of requests per hour.

The main rule is to always take a pool with a reserve of 20-30%. It’s better to have unused proxies than to lose accounts or face blocks at the most inconvenient moment. Use anti-detect browsers (Dolphin Anty, AdsPower, Multilogin) for isolating accounts, even if several accounts are working through one proxy — the fingerprint must be unique.

If you plan to work with traffic arbitrage, multi-accounting on social media, or scraping marketplaces, we recommend starting with residential proxies — they provide the optimal balance between cost and platform trust level. For tasks with high trust score requirements (farming Facebook, TikTok Ads), consider mobile proxies.