If you’re in need of a reliable residential proxy service, there are many options to choose from. However, not all proxy services are created equal. To help you make an informed decision, we’ve compiled a list of the top 8 residential proxy services based on our research and testing.
Residential proxies are a great way to protect your online identity while browsing the internet or scraping data. Residential proxies offer IP addresses that are assigned by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to homeowners.
- Bright Data – most customizable provider.
- Soax – very flexible filtering options.
- Shifter – reliable residential proxy provider with unique features.
Smartproxy – feature-rich provider with unique backconnect proxy. - Proxy-Cheap – affordable provider with rotating residential proxies.
IPRoyal – affordable provider with flexible filtering options. - HydraProxy – affordable provider with a large pool of mobile proxies.
- ProxyEmpire – feature-rich provider with a focus on Personal uses
These proxies are much more reliable and trustworthy than other types of proxies. In this article, we will provide you with a comprehensive guide on the top 8 residential proxy services that are available in the market, along with their pros and cons.
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Top 8 Residential Proxy Services
Here’s a comparison table to help you compare the features and pricing of each service:
| Provider | Number of Residential Proxies | Number of Countries | Type of Proxies | IP Refresh | Price (Cheapest Plan) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bright Data | 72+ million | 130+ | Residential, mobile | Static, rotating | $500/month (20GB) |
| Soax | 8+ million | 120+ | Residential, mobile | Static, rotating | $20/week (5GB) |
| Shifter | 31+ million | 130+ | Residential, mobile | Static, rotating, sticky | $249/month (10 proxies) |
| Smartproxy | 40+ million | 195+ | Residential, datacenter | Static, rotating | $75/month (5GB) |
| Proxy-Cheap | 6+ million | 127+ | Residential | Rotating | $5/month (50 proxies) |
To create this list, we conducted extensive research and tested a variety of residential proxy services. We evaluated each service based on factors such as speed, reliability, customer support, and pricing.
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Bright Data
Bright Data is one of the most popular residential proxy services available in the market. It offers over 72 million residential proxies in more than 195 locations across the world. It has a user-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support. One of the major advantages of Bright Data is that it offers a built-in rotation feature that automatically rotates the IP addresses after a specified period of time.
Pros:
- Offers over 72 million residential proxies in more than 195 locations across the world.
- User-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support.
- Built-in rotation feature that automatically rotates the IP addresses after a specified period of time.
Cons:
- Minimum commitment period of one month.
- Expensive compared to other residential proxy services.
Why did we choose it,
We have selected Bright Data as the most customizable provider on this list. With over 72 million residential proxies in 130+ countries, Bright Data offers a highly customizable proxy service with advanced features like IP rotation, session control, and geo-targeting. Their high-level of customization makes them an ideal choice for businesses with specific web scraping or data mining needs.
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SOAX
SOAX is another popular residential proxy service that offers over 8.5 million residential proxies in more than 100 countries. It offers a user-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support. SOAX offers a unique feature called Sticky IP that allows you to keep the same IP address for up to 10 minutes.
Pros:
- Offers over 8.5 million residential proxies in more than 100 countries.
- User-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support.
- Sticky IP feature that allows you to keep the same IP address for up to 10 minutes.
Cons:
- Limited number of locations compared to other services.
- Expensive compared to other residential proxy services.
Why did we choose it,
SOAX has been selected for its very flexible filtering options. With over 8 million residential proxies in 120+ countries, SOAX offers a user-friendly dashboard with advanced filtering options to help users find proxies that meet their specific needs. Their flexible filtering options include filtering by country, city, ISP, ASN, and many other parameters.
Shifter
Shifter is a relatively new residential proxy service that offers over 31 million residential proxies in more than 130 countries. It has a user-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support. One of the unique features of Shifter is that it offers a free trial for its services.
Pros:
- Offers over 31 million residential proxies in more than 130 countries.
- User-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support.
- Offers a free trial for its services.
Cons:
- Limited number of locations compared to other services.
- Expensive compared to other residential proxy services.
Why did we choose it,
- Shifter has been chosen for its impressive number of residential proxies. With over 31 million residential proxies in 130+ countries, Shifter offers static, rotating, and sticky residential proxies. Shifter’s sticky proxy feature allows users to keep the same IP address for a set period of time, making it a great option for tasks that require stable IPs.
Smartproxy
Smartproxy is a residential proxy service that offers over 40 million residential proxies in more than 195 countries. It offers a user-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support. Smartproxy offers a unique feature called Backconnect Proxy that allows you to use a single IP address to access a pool of millions of residential proxies.
Pros:
- Offers over 40 million residential proxies in more than 195 countries.
- User-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support.
- Backconnect Proxy feature that allows you to use a single IP address to access a pool of millions of residential proxies.
Cons:
- Minimum commitment period of one week.
- Expensive compared to other residential proxy services.
Why did we choose it,
Smartproxy has been selected as the best value provider on this list. With over 40 million residential proxies in 195+ countries, Smartproxy offers a highly affordable residential proxy service that still manages to provide advanced features like backconnect proxies and 24/7 customer support.
Proxy-Cheap
Proxy-Cheap is a relatively new residential proxy service that offers over 6 million residential proxies in more than 127 countries. It has a user-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support. One of the unique features of Proxy-Cheap is that it offers a rotating residential proxy that automatically rotates the IP address after a specified period of time.
Pros:
- Offers over 6 million residential proxies in more than 127 countries.
- User-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support.
- Rotating residential proxy.
Cons:
- Limited number of residential proxies compared to other providers.
- No option for static residential proxies.
- Limited IP refresh options.
Why did we choose it,
Proxy-Cheap has been chosen for its rotating residential proxy service. With over 6 million residential proxies in 127+ countries, Proxy-Cheap’s rotating residential proxies automatically switch IPs after a set period of time, making it an ideal choice for web scraping or data mining tasks that require a large number of IPs.
IPRoyal
IPRoyal is a residential proxy service that offers over 4 million residential proxies in over 140 countries. It provides both static and rotating residential proxies, and users can choose the proxy type based on their needs. The service has a user-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support.
Pros:
- Offers over 4 million residential proxies in over 140 countries.
- Provides both static and rotating residential proxies.
- User-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support.
Cons:
- IP pool size is relatively smaller compared to other providers.
- No free trial option available.
- More expensive compared to other residential proxy services.
Why did we choose it,
IPRoyal has been selected as an affordable provider with flexible filtering options. With over 2 million residential proxies in over 150 countries, IPRoyal offers a user-friendly dashboard with advanced filtering options, including the ability to filter by country, city, and ASN.
HydraProxy
HydraProxy is a residential proxy service that offers over 2 million residential proxies in more than 100 countries. It offers both static and rotating residential proxies, and users can choose the proxy type based on their needs. The service has a user-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support.
Pros:
- Offers over 2 million residential proxies in more than 100 countries.
- Provides both static and rotating residential proxies.
- User-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support.
Cons:
- No free trial option available.
- Limited IP refresh options.
- More expensive compared to other residential proxy services.
Why did we choose it,
HydraProxy has been chosen for its high-quality residential proxies. With over 10 million residential proxies in 100+ countries, HydraProxy offers high-speed residential proxies that are suitable for web scraping, data mining, and other similar tasks
ProxyEmpire
ProxyEmpire is a residential proxy service that offers over 2 million residential proxies in more than 100 countries. It provides both static and rotating residential proxies, and users can choose the proxy type based on their needs. The service has a user-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support.
Pros:
- Offers over 2 million residential proxies in more than 100 countries.
- Provides both static and rotating residential proxies.
- User-friendly dashboard and provides 24/7 customer support.
Cons:
- More expensive compared to other residential proxy services.
- No free trial option available.
- Limited IP refresh options.
Why did we choose it,
ProxyEmpire has been chosen for its rotating residential proxy service and flexible pricing options. With over 2 million residential proxies in over 100 countries, ProxyEmpire’s rotating residential proxies switch IPs after a set period of time, and their flexible pricing options make them an affordable choice for both individuals and businesses.
How to choose the those best residential proxies
If you’re in the market for residential proxies, you’re probably wondering how to choose the best provider. With so many options available, it can be tough to know where to start. In this guide, we’ll cover the key factors you need to consider.
Residential Proxies vs Other Proxy Types
First, it’s important to understand the difference between residential proxies and other proxy types. Datacenter IPs are the most common alternative to residential proxies. While datacenter IPs can be cheaper, they’re often detected and blocked by websites that use IP reputation as a defense mechanism against bots. Residential IPs, on the other hand, are registered under consumer internet service providers and thus have a better reputation.
When does it make sense to use residential proxies instead of datacenter IPs?
There are three good reasons:
- Your target has strong protection mechanisms. Sneaker websites, travel fare aggregators, and other sites that encounter bot traffic use IP reputation as the first line of defense. Residential IPs have a good reputation because they’re registered under consumer internet service providers.
- You need broad location coverage. Residential IPs come from millions of people around the world, so they support many locations – much more than a data center could. This makes them a good choice for SEO crawling, ad verification, software localization, and similar tasks.
- You want to browse truly anonymously. VPNs and datacenter addresses hide you but not the fact you’re using them. Residential proxies make it look like you’re browsing as a real person.
How Much Do Residential Proxies Cost?
Now that you understand why residential proxies might be the right choice for you, let’s talk about cost. The price of residential proxies can vary widely depending on the provider and how much data you need. You’ll be looking at paying anywhere between $1 to $20 per gigabyte. A lot depends on how much you buy and if you commit to a long-term contract. The average for 100 GBs is around $7/GB.
A word about free trials: if you’re not a business, you probably won’t get one. Most providers will offer you a limited money-back guarantee instead. This is the market standard. Its purpose is to protect from abuse.
Pricing levels of major residential proxy providers (price/GB)
| Proxy Service | Features | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Bright Data | 72+ million residential IPs, rotating and static proxies, global coverage | Starting at $500/month |
| SOAX | 8+ million residential IPs, rotating and static proxies, global coverage | Starting at $75/month |
| Shifter | 31+ million residential IPs, rotating and static proxies, global coverage | Starting at $249/month |
| Smartproxy | 40+ million residential IPs, rotating and static proxies, global coverage | Starting at $75/month |
| Proxy-Cheap | 6+ million residential IPs, rotating proxies, global coverage | Starting at $2.50/day |
| IPRoyal | 7+ million residential IPs, rotating proxies, global coverage | Starting at $49/month |
| HydraProxy | 20+ million residential IPs, rotating and static proxies, global coverage | Starting at $249/month |
| ProxyEmpire | 5+ million residential IPs, rotating and static proxies, global coverage | Starting at $25/month |
How We Made This List
To come up with our list of top residential proxy providers, we put them through extensive tests. We evaluated each provider on their performance, customer support, and price. We also gathered data from our annual Proxy Market Research, where we made over 2 million connection requests for each provider over a period of three weeks.
Our top picks are Bright Data, SOAX, Shifter, Smartproxy, Proxy-Cheap, IPRoyal, HydraProxy, and ProxyEmpire. Each of these providers has unique features and pricing that make them a good choice for different use cases.
In conclusion, choosing the right residential proxy provider is essential for businesses and individuals who rely on web scraping or data mining. By understanding the difference between residential proxies and other proxy types, considering your location coverage needs and budget, and doing your research, you’ll be able to find the best provider for your specific use case. To learn more, you can read our guide on what is a residential proxy and Are residential proxies legal.
Conclusion
In summary, choosing the right residential proxy service is crucial for businesses and individuals who rely on web scraping or data mining. Each of the top 8 residential proxy services discussed in this article offers unique features and benefits.
If you require a large number of residential proxies and are willing to pay a premium price, then Bright Data might be the best choice for you. Soax is a good option if you are looking for a cost-effective solution that offers a decent number of residential proxies. Shifter offers a wide range of proxy types and is suitable for those who require sticky IPs.
If you need access to a pool of millions of residential proxies using a single IP address, then Smartproxy is an excellent choice. Proxy-Cheap is a good option if you need a rotating residential proxy at an affordable price. IPRoyal offers both residential and datacenter proxies, while HydraProxy is an excellent choice if you need a large number of residential proxies in a specific country. ProxyEmpire offers a mix of residential and datacenter proxies at competitive prices.
Ultimately, the choice of the residential proxy service that best fits your needs will depend on your specific requirements, such as the number of proxies needed, the locations you require, and the type of proxy you need. It is important to thoroughly research and compare the options available before making a decision.