Minimum commitment
The floor a provider sets on a purchase, expressed as a monthly spend, a traffic volume, or a contract length.
Why it costs you money
It is what separates a headline rate from a rate you can buy. The cheapest per-gigabyte figures in this market sit on the largest commitments, so a rate quoted at 100 TB is not available to a buyer spending a few hundred dollars a month, no matter how prominently it appears on the page.
See it in the data
Related terms
- Per-GB pricingBilling by the gigabyte you move, the dominant model for residential proxies and the one most comparisons assume.
- Prepaid trafficBuying a block of gigabytes up front and drawing it down, instead of committing to a recurring monthly allowance.
- Pay as you goBuying bandwidth in top-ups instead of a monthly plan. Cheaper for bursty work, dearer per gigabyte.
- Bandwidth overageWhat a provider charges once you pass the gigabytes your plan includes. Often several times the headline rate.
- Every term we define