Datacenter Proxies: Top Options for Web Scraping & More

Managing tasks like web scraping and ad verification, or bypassing online restrictions, is more convenient with a proxy. But there are numerous options out there. In this guide, we’ll focus on datacenter proxies — what they are, how they work, and whether they’re the right choice for your business. We’ll also look at the key differences between shared and dedicated datacenter proxies, compare them to residential proxies, and highlight some of the best proxy sites out there.

What Are Datacenter Proxies and How Can They Benefit You?

Datacenter proxies are proxy servers that use IP addresses generated in data centers, rather than residential networks. Unlike residential proxies, which route your requests through devices owned by real people, datacenter proxies rely on servers to hide your IP address. This makes them a faster and cheaper solution for things that require high volume. They’re great for high-speed, automated tasks.

But how do they actually work? Let’s break it down…

How Datacenter Proxies Work

They assign IP addresses that originate from data centers, which are large-scale facilities that home several servers. When you connect to the internet through a datacenter proxy, your requests are routed through these servers first. This masks your IP address with one from the data center.

Here’s what happens when this type of proxy is used:

• When you send a request (like visit a website), it’s first routed through the proxy server from the data center.
• The server forwards your request to the website you want to visit. It’s as if you’re sitting in the data center with a laptop, trying to access the website.
• At this time, the website sees the data center’s proxy address instead of yours.
• Once the website processes the request, the data (web page, in this case) is sent back to the proxy server.
• The server forwards the request to your device.

This effectively hides your real IP address, all automatically in the background—you don’t have to do anything extra. The proxy replaces your original IP address with one of its datacenter IP addresses. To the website, it appears as though the request is coming from the proxy server, not your device.

Some providers give you additional features such as the ability to occasionally change the proxy IP (these are called rotating proxies), enable HTTPS for secure connections, and make the same IP available for a particular duration.

Dive Into the Different Types of Proxies and Find the Best Fit for You

Datacenter proxies come in a few variations, allowing you to customize your choice according to your budget, speed requirements and privacy requirements based on what you need.

Shared vs. Dedicated Datacenter Proxies

Shared proxies are cheaper because many users share the same IPs. But this can mean slower speeds, and if someone else using the IP gets banned, you might, too. On the other hand, dedicated proxies give you your own IPs, meaning nobody else uses them. They cost more, but you’ll get faster speeds and lower risk of bans since you’re not sharing. Choose shared to save money but risk issues. Pick dedicated for reliability if the price works.

Residential vs. Datacenter Proxies

Residential proxies use real home IP addresses, like borrowing a neighbor’s internet. They’re stealthier and harder to block but slower and pricier. However, datacenter proxies are like bulk-owned server IPs. They’re faster, cheaper, and easier to scale but easier to spot since they’re not tied to real homes. So, if you want to be invisible, the residential option is the best one for you. However, if you need speed and affordability — datacenter wins.

The Power of Datacenter Proxies and Their Key Benefits

Datacenter proxies offer several advantages for businesses due to:

• Speed: They’re optimized for speed since they don’t rely on residential networks, so they can handle large amounts of traffic without significant delays.
• Affordability: Compared to residential proxies, datacenter proxies are much cheaper. If your business has a strict budget for proxies, this might be the right direction for you.
• Scalability: They are available in bulk, so they’re perfect for projects that need thousands of simultaneous connections.
• Availability: Because they’re generated in controlled environments, datacenter proxies don’t face the same availability issues that residential IPs do.

Important Drawbacks to Think About Before You Dive In

While datacenter proxies have their strengths, they also come with limitations.

• Lower Anonymity: These IP addresses are artificial, so they’re a bit easier to detect and block by websites that use advanced proxy detection tehcniques.
• Limited Location Diversity: They may not offer the same global coverage that residential proxies provide.
• Blacklisting Risk: High-volume use from a single data center can raise some flags which could turn into banned IPs.

Are Datacenter Proxies Right for You?

If your business is looking to save money with a proxy, but it requires lots of speed, datacenter proxies could be the right fit. These are also useful if your use case doesn’t involve super secure or geo-specific tasks. Here are some examples of tasks that could mean you’re a good fit for this type of proxy:

• If you need to collect large sums of public data via scraping, and you don’t want it to cost an arm and a leg.
• Is ad verification on your to-do list? A datacenter proxy can ensure ad targeting accuracy for cheap.
• To access geo-restricted content.
• You have multiple social media accounts that need automated.

Explore the Best Datacenter Proxies for Your Privacy and Security

Here’s a handpicked list of the best providers. Pay close attention to our pros and cons, but don’t forget to visit each website for a full look at their features and additional pricing information, which could include limited-time deals.

Bright Data

Whether you require shared or dedicated IPs, Bright Data’s proxies are said to deliver unmatched speed and reliability for anonymous data collection. It offers one of the largest global datacenter networks — over 770,000 IPs across 98 countries — and is designed for scalability. These proxies are also built for performance; they claim a 99.9% success rate and 99.99% uptime. You’ll also have access to a real-time network status monitor to keep things running smoothly.

For pricing, there are two options: you can either pay for each individual IP address (as cheap as 90 cents per IP) or based on the amount of data transferred (as low as 43 cents per GB). The cost for geo-targeting and domain-related services is included in the pricing.

READ: Smartproxy vs Bright Data

Pros:

• Large global IP pool
• Integrate with dozens of tools
• Meets all compliance standards
• Shared and dedicated IPs

Cons:

• May feel overwhelming for new users
• Not all plans get 24/7 support

Smartproxy

Smartproxy provides access to over 500,000 servers that are spread out around the world. They offer both shared and dedicated options, so you can pick based on your needs. The proxies are fast, reliable, and affordable, with impressive stats like 99.99% uptime and quick response times under 0.3 seconds. They support common protocols like SOCKS5 and HTTPS.

You can pay based on how much data you use (from 50 cents per GB) or per IP (from $0.026 per IP), and their pricing is pretty budget-friendly with discounts of up to 74%. Plus, they offer a 14-day money-back guarantee, so there’s a chance to test them out.

READ: Smartproxy review

Pros:

• 500K+ proxies with global coverage
• Flexible payment options and affordable pricing
• High uptime and fast response times
• 24/7 live chat support

Cons:

• Shared proxies may have limited exclusivity
• Limited locations compared to some competitors

MyPrivateProxy

MyPrivateProxy focuses on providing private proxies that are both anonymous and high-performance. They offer instant activation and multiple data center locations. You can easily manage your proxies with their automated control panel. They allow up to 10 IPs for authentication, or you can use a username/password setup.

One proxy is $2.49 per month, but you can buy in bulk to bring that down to $1.54. The proxies support up to 100 threads per proxy and come with unlimited bandwidth. They’re powered by fast Intel Xeon servers for reliable speed. Plus, you can get a free monthly proxy refresh if you ask for it. 

Pros:

• 99% uptime
• All headers are disabled
• Multiple data centers (12+ in the US and several in Europe)
• 24/7 support (tickets, email, and chat)

Cons:

• Smaller proxy pool compared to competitors
• No rotating proxies, only static options

Oxylabs

Oxylabs offers high-performance datacenter proxies designed for web scraping and data collection. Their IP pool covers regions like the U.S., Europe, and Asia. You’ll get automatic IP rotation, 99.9% uptime, and unlimited bandwidth, with some limits based on fair usage. They also have flexible billing, where you can pay per IP (starting at $12 per month for 10) or based on traffic (as low as $50 per month for 77 GB).

They provide detailed documentation, integration guides for tools like Selenium and Scrapy, and a user-friendly dashboard to manage everything easily.

Pros:

• 5 IPs for free
• Global IP pool
• Automatic IP rotation
• Unlimited bandwidth
• 24/7 support (email and chat)

Cons:

• Pricing slightly higher than some competitors
• Concurrent session limits apply after reaching 50 GB

How to Choose the Best Datacenter Proxy Provider

You’ve made it through our list of proxies that we recommend. What now? When choosing a provider, keep these factors in mind:

• Performance: Servers that offer high speeds with little downtime are ideal if you rely on scraping or automation.
• Pricing: An obvious choice here. You need to make sure the cost aligns with your budget. Compare plans and pay-per-use options to find the best choice.
• IP Pool Size: A larger pool reduces the risk of banned IPs, which in turn means you can get the most out of what you’re paying for.
• Customer Support: You’ll be thankful to have a group of responsive support team members when technical issues arise. Maybe you prefer live chat or phone support over email—make sure the provider you’re interested in supports your preferred method.
• Security Features: Look for rotating datacenter proxies and support for other important things like HTTPS to ensure that your data is protected.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can datacenter proxies be used for gaming or streaming?

They can work for these high-bandwidth, low-latency demands by providing snappy connections and bypassing geographical restrictions. However, they may not be as reliable as residential proxies for accessing region-locked content, since sites like Netflix and Steam are usually on top of things enough to flag datacenter IPs.

How do providers ensure their datacenter proxies remain undetected?

They aren’t 100% effective; these proxies are more detectable than residential proxies. They can try, however, by keeping their IP pools fresh with new IPs, using smart proxy management tools, and offering IP rotation.

How do proxy providers handle IP rotation for datacenter proxies?

Some proxy companies include automated IP rotation, where the server periodically assigns the device a brand-new IP from its available pool of IPs. The provider maintains this huge pool of IP addresses from various data centers and then cycles through them so that the device’s IP address changes over and over. This rotation might happen after the device sends a certain number of requests, or it might kick off at set time intervals.

Are there ethical considerations when using datacenter proxies?

Ethical use of these proxies means following legal guidelines and respecting the terms of services of the websites you visit. Misuse via data scraping or hacking is not only unethical but also likely illegal all over the globe.

What is proxy chaining, and is it possible with datacenter proxies?

Proxy chaining means that your connection is routed through multiple proxies with a singular goal: to make you more anonymous (the same reason there are multi-hop VPNs). While this is doable with a datacenter proxy, it will definitely affect speed and is usually not as useful as using residential proxies for sensitive tasks. It’s more often used in cybersecurity scenarios.

What tasks are better suited for residential proxies instead of datacenter proxies?

Residential proxies are good for anything that needs a higher level of anonymity, like managing sensitive accounts or bypassing geo-restrictions. They mimic real user behavior by routing the traffic through residential devices. This means they’re less likely to be flagged.