Are you looking for the best residential proxy companies and brands? Then you are on the right page as we will go through the top 10 best residential proxy companies and brands and discuss them enough for you to know their offerings.
I've dedicated considerable time to researching the residential proxy market, and I'm excited to share the insights I've compiled. Before Exploring the top seek residential proxy companies and brands, Let's delve into the residential proxy market first,
| Metric | Data |
|---|---|
| Market Growth CAGR | 18.2% (2019-2024) |
| Market Value (2019) | $200 million |
| Projected Market Value (2024) | $879 million |
| Use Cases |
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| Major Providers |
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| Speeds |
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| IP Blocking | Dynamic IP rotation to avoid blocks |
With the right provider, residential proxies allow you to scrape and analyze web data at scale without facing blocking or detection. Compare proxy network size, geographic diversity, connection speeds, reliability, bandwith limits, ease of use, pricing options, and customer support when evaluating major vendors.
The leading residential proxy providers leverage vast global proxy pools with millions of IPs for smooth rotation at high success rates. Expect connection speeds from 1Mbps up to 25Mbps or higher for premium proxies. Bandwidth caps can range from 5GB/month for basic plans to fully unlimited usage for power users, some offer free trials.
Opt for backconnect rotating proxies or sticky IPs, depending on your specific use case. Combine your chosen residential proxy service with intelligent proxy management platforms for maximized results. Whether you need web scraping capabilities, advanced market research, competitive pricing data, or localized ad verification, choosing the right residential proxy provider will enable you to extract valuable web data and insights without disruptions. Check our top picks and compare vendors thoroughly before committing.
Table Of Contents
| Company/Brand | IP Pool Size | Features | Suit for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bright Data | 72+ Million IPs | Overall Best Residential Proxy Company & Brand | Large-scale businesses, data collection, web scraping |
| Netnut | 1+ Million | Fastest Growing ISP Service | Small, Medium, and Large-scale businesses, data Extraction, Web Scraping, SEO, Social Media Management |
| Soax | 5 Million IPs | Clean proxy pool, rotating and sticky proxies available | Small to medium-sized businesses, social media management |
| Shifter | 31+ Million IPs | Unlimited bandwidth support, geo-targeting | Web scraping, data mining, online ad verification |
| Smartproxy | 40+ Million IPs | Fastest residential proxies, rotating and sticky proxies | Data mining, web scraping, SEO, social media management |
| Nimbleway | N/A | Advanced features, DIY proxy creation | Developers, coders, technical users |
| Oxylabs | Largest pool in market | Advanced features, custom plans, proxy server for teams | Enterprise-level businesses, data collection, scraping |
| Proxy-Cheap | 5 Million IPs | Affordable pricing, fast proxies, multiple locations | Small to medium-sized businesses, social media management |
| IPRoyal | 3 Million IPs | No expiry date on bandwidth, high anonymity | Data collection, web scraping, SEO |
| Hydraproxy | 10+ million IPs | Support for proxy list generation, rotating proxies | Web scraping, SEO, data collection |
| ProxyEmpire | N/A | High uptime, fast proxies, dedicated and shared proxies | Online ad verification, web scraping, data collection |
There are many residential proxy providers in the market that one can even keep track of. And to make things worse, new providers are entering the market, with some being better at marketing and branding than proxy technicals. If you are not careful, you could get deceived and end up with a bad residential provider.
It is for this reason that this article was written — to discuss the best residential proxy companies and brands with a focus on real technicals. In this article, we will be looking at the providers that have developed a good brand for themselves, and their proxies are equally as good as they should be.
While the focus here will be on their residential offerings, there are companies and brands on the list that provide more than just residential proxies, as some provide all the types of proxies in the market. Let’s get started!
Formerly known as Luminati Networks, Bright Data is arguably the most known proxy brand in the market. And this is not without reasons. It does not only spend heavily on marketing but also invests heavily in its proxy infrastructure, branding, and R&D. This residential proxy company is the leader of the market driving innovation in the proxy market in general.
Its residential proxy network has over 72 million IP addresses in it, with IPs from all regions of the world. It has got the best session control system for a rotating proxy network. While the proxies are rotating, you can choose to maintain an IP address and, thus, session for a while at your will. Bright Data is an ethical provider as it seeks consent before using the devices of users as exit nodes.
Aside from offering residential proxies, Bright Data offer proxies in all of the other proxy categories. Of late, it is repositioning itself as a web data collection service too.
NetNut is an Israeli-based proxy service that offers Reliable Static Residential Proxies (ISP) that cater to data-obsessed organizations. These static residential proxies come with an impressive pool of 1 million+ reliable static IPs, ensuring speed, reliability, and 100% anonymity. NetNut's ISP proxy services are available all week long, no matter the location. Such unrestricted reach makes them ideal for market research purposes.
The NetNut ISP proxy network is versatile, suitable for various use cases, and provides standard support for both HTTP(S) and SOCKS5 protocols. Overall, NetNut is a dependable ISP proxy solution that should appeal to professionals, companies, and businesses that are very data-inclined.
NetNut's flexible and practical pricing plan is one of its strongest suites, accommodating a wide range of business and budgetary needs. The Starter plan, for instance, is a 20GB bandwidth offer for $350 per month ($17.5/GB). Along with this, you get IP whitelisting and nonstop email support. For those with larger bandwidth requirements, NetNut also offers advanced Production plans that are competitive as well. Finally, there's a free no-credit card trial available for anyone who wishes to try out their packages.
Soax is quite a new proxy brand when compared to Bright Data and some of the other providers on the list. However, it has made a name for itself by operating the cleanest proxy pool in the market. This company regularly checks its residential proxy pool and removes the bad IPs so you only have to deal with good IPs.
This means the frequency of getting inactive IPs assigned to you is greatly reduced. But that is not all; Soax is an incredible provider of residential proxies. Its residential proxy network has over 5 million IPs from over 100 countries across the globe.
You also have the option of maintaining sessions even though the proxies provided are rotating proxies. As in the case of Bright Data, you are required to do a KYC before accessing the infrastructure it provides in a bid to be compliant.
Shifter remains one of the oldest residential proxy companies in the market. However, it has undergone a rebrand from the name it is known for (Microleaves) to Shifter of recent. Currently, this provider is known to offer one of the unique residential proxy offerings, which is unlimited bandwidth residential proxies.
Unlike in the case of the other providers mentioned in the article, you can enjoy unlimited bandwidth and get charged based on the number of ports. Proxy rotation for this service is time-based, as you can’t get new IP assigned to you after every request, as in the case of Bright Data.
You can use their proxies for a good number of tasks, including automation, marketing research, sneaker botting, and many other use cases. In terms of pricing, Shifter is tilting towards mid-scale to enterprise users as it is not affordable to small proxy users because of the minimum monetary commitment required.
Proxy-IPv4 stands out as a provider of ISP proxies with static IPs, not just ordinary residential proxies. These high-trust IP addresses enable seamless automation of tasks, significantly reducing the risk of blocks or captchas, and are available for a minimum rental period of three days. They are versatile, supporting a wide range of websites and programs for various applications. Users have access to proxies from numerous countries, including US, UK, Brazil, Germany, Israel, Spain, Canada, and more.
The key features of these proxies include support for unlimited traffic, compatibility with HTTP/S and SOCKS5 protocols, and the provision of individual proxy assignments. Round-the-clock technical support ensures uninterrupted service. Additionally, the automatic ordering process and user-friendly client API facilitate easy management of proxies. This includes features for monitoring balance and financial records, exporting data in various formats, and neatly organizing proxies into folders, enhancing the overall user experience.
Another popular brand in the residential proxy market is Smartproxy. The Smartproxy company is known to operate the fastest residential proxy network, even faster than Bright Data in terms of response time. This provider is also known for maintaining sessions for up to 30 minutes. However, if you need it to rotate after every request or after 5 or so minutes, you can configure that too.
Currently, Smartproxy has over 4 million residential IPs in its pool. You can create unlimited numbers of connections and threads, and you still will only get charged based on consumable bandwidth. One of the strengths of this provider also lies in its ability to create a proxy list for you at no extra cost.
Its proxy pool has IPs from 195 countries from around the world. Because of the undetectable and fast nature of their proxies, they are used in a good number of critical applications. Smartproxy residential proxies are some of the best for sneaker copping, social media automation, and all kinds of automation in general.
Nimbleway is actually a new proxy provider. However, it has been able to study the market and understand the need of proxy users, especially in the automation market, to provide a proxy infrastructure that has all it takes to get your job done.
This provider offers a premium proxy infrastructure that is highly optimized to choose only the best IPs to make sure you do not get blocked. It has got worldwide coverage in terms of location support allowing to use of the geo-targeting feature to collect localized data.
In terms of IP rotation, Nimbleway changes IP for each request, but it does have support for session control, allowing you to maintain the same IP address for such a session. Nimble IP is actually a wing of Nimbleway; it has other services such as Nimble API (a Scraping API) and Nimble Browser, an automation browser.
Oxylabs is one of the most popular proxy brands. In fact, you can put it at the same level of popularity as Bright Data. Its proxies are also at the same level as what is obtainable from Bright Data, with even aspects it beats Bright Data. One of the areas in which no other proxy brand beats it is the area of proxy pool size.
Currently, Oxylabs does have over 100 million residential IP addresses in its pool, making it the largest proxy pool in the market. With this size of IP address, the unique IPs you will get when carrying out web scraping or other kinds of automation are unrivaled.
It also has got one of The best location coverage with all countries and most cities around the world supported. Oxylabs residential proxies are some of the fastest residential proxies you can get in the market. If you are the type that requires your provider to assign you a deviated account manager, then Oxylabs is the best for you.
While you might not want to spend too much as a small proxy user, there is a price level proxies will fall below, and you can be assured of purchasing chunk that won’t work. Proxy-Cheap is one of the residential proxy brands that understand and stay above this level while being effective. With Proxy-Cheap, you can purchase 1GB for $5, and the more bandwidth you purchase, the cheaper the price per GB becomes.
Even though it is cheap, it has got one of the best proxy infrastructures in the market. Proxy-Cheap does have over 6 million IP addresses in its pool sourced from over 127 countries from around the world.
While it is a rotating proxy network, you are allowed to maintain their sticky IPs for up to 30 minutes. However, if you decide to make use of Proxy-Cheap, you do need to know that it only supports the HTTP protocol. Authentication-wise, only username, and password is supported.
IPRoyal is another residential proxy brand you will come to like. This provider also started small with a sister service known as IPRoyal Pawn, which it uses as a source for its IP addresses. Now, it has grown to a status you can be proud of. This provider still has a long way to go in terms of increasing its proxy pool size, as it has got only a little over 2 million IP addresses in its pool.
IPRoyal is quite different from all of the other providers mentioned in this article when it comes to the expiration of proxies because it never expires. Pricing is based on bandwidth, and your bandwidth never expires until you consume it in full.
This, together with the fact that the price per GB is affordable, makes it a good company to purchase proxies from. You can get started with just $7 per GB. The more bandwidth you purchase, the cheaper the price per GB becomes.
Hydraproxy can be seen to be in the same class as Proxy-Cheap in a good number of ways. And for some reasons, it remains one of the best providers to purchase proxies from, especially if you are looking for really cheap proxies to make use of. From this provider, you can purchase 1GB for $5, and the price gets cheaper the more bandwidth you purchase.
One of the features you will come to like about Hydraproxy is its proxy endpoint generation support. With this, you can generate as many proxy endpoints to use as you like — and you do not get charged any additional fee for that. Hydraproxy does have over 5 million residential IPs in its pool sourced from over 100 locations across the globe.
This provider, like every other provider above, supports both rotating and sticky proxies. For the sticky proxies, you can maintain a session for up to 30 minutes to even an hour in some cases.
Last on our list is the ProxyEmpire. This residential proxy brand is a mid-level proxy provider with proxies in a good number of proxy categories. However, in this article, we will focus on their static residential proxies. In all of the providers mentioned above, the focus was on their rotating proxies.
There are instances where one does not want his IP address to keep changing. In this case, you need a static residential proxy also known as an ISP proxy, and ProxyEmpire is here for you. ProxyEmpire will provide you with static residential IPs from 21 countries.
And the price is quite cheap. However, you will have to choose the location you need at the point of purchase — not as flexible as you can in the case of rotating residential proxies. ProxyEmpire allows you to create an unlimited number of threads, and no bandwidth cap is placed for you.
When evaluating residential proxy providers, there are several key factors to consider:
By evaluating providers across these criteria, you can determine the best residential proxy service for your specific requirements and use case. Combining with proxy management tools is recommended for optimum results.
Market Growth
The residential proxy market is set for robust expansion, with an estimated Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 18% spanning from 2019 to 2024. This growth trajectory is projected to elevate the market's value from around $200 million in 2019 to a substantial $879 million by 2024.
Usage Distribution
Understanding the various applications of residential proxies is crucial. Among the spectrum of applications, web scraping commands a significant 48% of the overall usage. This involves extracting substantial datasets from websites and APIs, a task that's facilitated by the emulation capabilities of residential proxies. Additionally, activities like comprehensive price monitoring, meticulous ad verification, and in-depth market research are heavily reliant on these proxies.
Top Residential Proxy Providers
The competitive landscape of residential proxy providers is marked by prominent players like Bright Data, formerly Luminati Networks, Oxylabs, Smartproxy, NetNut, and GeoSurf. These leaders boast expansive networks of residential IPs that span the global landscape. For instance, Luminati Networks boasts a proxy pool comprising an astounding 40 million IPs, while Smartproxy offers access to over 10 million residential IPs globally. These providers have strategically expanded their networks through P2P networks and synergistic partnerships.
- Bright Data: 72+ million IPs in Pool – <Start from $500 for 40 Gb | $12.5 per GB> – Most Advanced For All usages
- Smartproxy: 40+ million IPs in Pool – <Regular $400 for 50 GB | $8 per GB> – Best price with performance
- Soax: 5+ million IPs in pool – <Start from 300 ports and 19GB for a day for $20> – Detail geo-targeting options
- Proxy-Seller: Number of IPs in pool Undisclosed – <Start from $3 monthly for proxies – discount available> – Reliable ISP Residential Proxies
- Shifter: 26+ million IPs in Pool – <Start from 10 Ports for $249> – GEO targeting & unlimited bandwidth
IP Speed Range
Connection speed is a critical factor that impacts the performance of residential proxies. While basic plans may offer speeds as modest as 1 Mbps, premium proxies can surge ahead, offering speeds exceeding 25 Mbps. It's important to note that these speeds are inherently dynamic, influenced by geographical factors and concurrent usage demands.
Market Challenges
While the residential proxy market holds immense promise, it's not without its challenges. Ensuring consistent proxy quality at scale, expanding location coverage, and addressing the intricacies of IP blocking by websites remain ongoing concerns. Overcoming these challenges is essential for sustainable growth and reliable service provision.
I trust that this breakdown, including the data table, provides you with a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics within the residential proxy market.
The size of most residential proxy pools is usually in the millions, with the likes of Bright Data and Oxylabs having over 75 million and 100 million, respectively. But how do they get this number of IPs in their pool? It might interest you to know that they do not own them.
These networks create and manage their own P2P networks or use a third-party P2P network to get devices from which they can use their IP address as exit nodes. It is, for this reason, most of these services can’t afford to provide static IPs because they do not have control over their activeness.
If you have been following the proxy market, you will notice the rise of residential proxies with the decline of private proxies. This is because residential proxies are undetectable and treated as regular IP addresses, whereas private proxies are treated as hosting IP addresses. But that is not the only reason.
When you purchase a plan from a residential proxy company, such a company give you access to their whole pool, which means you have millions of IP addresses to use and rotate. In some cases, especially when you need a bunch of IP addresses, residential proxies can even be cheaper for you than private proxies.
Whenever you try to make use of residential proxies, this question is one that should come to your mind. Remember I stated that their IPs are gotten via P2P networks, right? But how legitimate is this? Some ethical P2P operators will let device users know and even compensate them with a free app or a few bucks.
However, a large percentage of P2P networks use malicious means to get people into their network, with some of them even going as far as infecting people’s computers with malware that will give them control of one system. Because of how unregulated the proxy market is, we can’t really tell how legitimate and ethical the providers in the market are as the real information is not available.
In the past, residential proxies were expensive as you require a minimum of $300 to get started with the top providers. However, top-tier providers like Bright Data, Oxylabs, and Smartproxy have introduced the Pay-As-You-Go model. This has made residential proxies a lot cheaper, as you can get started with as little as $12 per GB for top-tier providers.
Mid-tier providers like Proxy-Cheap and Hydraproxy even have that pricing at $5 per GB, and you get a discount for making bulk purchases. While this is cheap, if your tasks consume a lot of bandwidth, the money you spend can quickly hike up since pricing is per GB.
The residential proxy market is mature enough now, with known brands that have been able to stand out from the rest. Looking at the list provided above, you can tell that most of the providers do the same thing — offer you rotating proxies that switch IPs and charge you per GB. However, if you go into details, you get to see that some of them have some competitive advantages or even some features that others lack. These features should help you make the choice to choose the best one for you.