Best Residential Proxies for Web Scraping, Ad Verification, and More

If you’re wondering what residential proxies are, you’ve come to the right place. These intermediary servers allow users to temporarily substitute a different IP address instead of their own when browsing the internet.

Of course, there’s more to it, but we’ll get into the technical details soon. Meanwhile, this guide will explain more about this service, discuss must-have features to look for when selecting a proxy provider and give a short overview of our recommendations for the best residential proxies. 

Here’s a brief table for those in a hurry: 

How Residential Proxies Work

Getting into the details of proxies, you should first understand what an IP (internet protocol) address is. IP addresses are assigned by internet service providers (ISPs) which are then registered into public databases. They are associated with smartphones, computers, tablets, and other such devices. When browsing the web, a site will be able to use the IP to ascertain the ISP network and the location of the device connecting to it. 

Some users aren’t too happy about that. 

For anyone wanting to protect their location and other browsing information, proxies come in by providing a different IP address to use instead, usually from a pool of millions. This keeps the user’s real information hidden because the website thinks the proxy is the real IP address.

There are different kinds of proxies, but a residential proxy uses IP addresses that have been linked with actual residential, physical devices. This means they are registered in a database by an ISP, so they look completely valid (they are) when you’re browsing the internet.

A website will not be able to tell that this alternate IP is not the real one associated with you. This means anti-bot protections on websites will usually not flag you, as they cannot detect that you’re obscuring your identity. For this reason, a residential proxy has a higher reputation and level of trustworthiness compared to other types. 

Another aspect of a residential proxy is that you can choose where you want your proxy server to connect to. These geo-targeting options allow you to select a specific region to get your proxy IP from, making it seem like that’s where you’re physically located.  

Here’s how it works: 

1. The user sends a connection request to a website via a proxy server
2. The server assigns you a residential IP that’s connected to a real, registered IP address
3. The proxy server functions as a middle-man, sending your request to the website on your behalf
4. The website thinks this request is originating from a regular residential IP address
5. The website’s response is sent back to the proxy, which then sends it to you

Types of Residential Proxies

The world of proxies is extensive, but here are some aspects of residential ones worth noting. 

Rotating Residential

Sometimes called back-connect proxies, rotating residential proxies come from a large pool of IP addresses. These IPs frequently change based on a period of time or with each requested connection.

Every time you make a connection request it looks like you’re using a different IP address, which greatly lowers your chance of anti-bot detection and also helps you elude IP bans. Rotating proxies are especially helpful when you need to make a large amount of requests within a short time span. 

Static Residential Proxies

Static (also called sticky) proxies let you use the same IP address for longer amounts of time than a rotating proxy. These “sticky sessions” may continue for a particular time allotment, such as an hour, or even until it is changed by the user. Some proxy providers allow varying degrees of customization for this. Static proxies are great for when users need their IP address to be consistent, such as for managing multiple accounts or using social media. 

Mobile

Mobile proxies are basically the same as residential ones, but these are specifically sourced from mobile devices, such as smartphones. Their IPs are also linked to genuine devices, and mobile proxies are particularly fast and reliable. That said, they can be a little more work for proxy platforms to source, making them more expensive for the user. 

Benefits of Residential Proxies

There are multiple types of proxies. Residential ones, however, are particularly useful. Here are some reasons to consider them: 

• Anonymity: Because your proxy IP address is associated with a genuine household while also hiding your actual IP address, your real information is obscured.
• Reliability: Compared to other types of proxies, residential ones add a great deal of reliability. Because they use trusted, valid IPs, blocks and detection is greatly reduced. Many proxy platforms also provide redundancy and failover options, switching you to another IP if something goes wrong with the one you’re using.
• Location coverage: Besides obscuring your real location, the option to choose where your IP server is comes in particularly handy when trying to overcome geo-blocks. This is when content availability is limited to a specific region. By selecting a proxy server in the area where the content is available, users suddenly gain access they would otherwise be denied. 

Use Cases

Use cases refer to the situations and specific tasks why proxies are deployed. Here are the most common use cases to know.

Web Scraping

Web scraping uses automated tools or software to extract data from websites. This is usually for collecting large quantities of data, which may be used for analysis or marketing purposes. Many websites try to protect their data from being collected, and have anti-scraping measures in place. 

The reason proxies come in handy is because residential versions seem so trustworthy, and they can fool a lot of servers into thinking they are legitimate, giving you a greater chance of scraping data successfully. That said, be aware that there are cases where data scraping is prohibited. Some data is protected by law and others are protected by the site’s terms of service. If you scrape data in these circumstances, there may be legal or other consequences. 

Ad Verification

This is a useful way for companies to assess if their online ads are functioning as desired. They allow marketers to evaluate performance in various locations and regions. It’s a way of fine tuning and adjusting marketing efforts so that consistency is reached, regardless of where the ad is being shown. They can also check for ad fraud, such as fake accounts, ad bots, and other problematic practices.

Bypassing geo-restrictions

As already mentioned, accessing geo-blocked content is a huge benefit of proxies. An example of this would be media streaming. Often media copyrights only apply to specific regions, which means viewers outside that area are out of luck if those rights don’t extend to where they live. Disguising your location, however, may allow you to access region-specific movies and TV shows. That said, streaming platforms are catching on to this, and sometimes, they may block detected proxies or VPNs. 

Market Research

Data scraping capabilities are a huge way that proxies help market research. Large quantities of data can be collected and analyzed so that strategies can be formed based on these evaluations. Some specific ways marketers can harness proxies: 

• Competition can be monitored anonymously, including things like pricing strategies and other tactics
• Foreign markets can be analyzed through bypassing geo-blocks
• Search engine optimization monitoring lets marketers keep track of rankings, performance, and visibility
• SERP scrapers are most effective paired with rotating IP addresses, such as from residential proxy services

Price Monitoring

You can track and analyze prices of merchandise or services on different platforms or in different locations. This not only helps you find the best deals, it also helps avoid geographical pricing, where your location can affect the product price. 

Social Media Management

When social media managers have to juggle multiple accounts, they can do so from their current location without the fear of being banned or flagged for suspicious activity. Using different IP addresses for different accounts helps users to blend in. 

Residential vs. Datacenter Proxies

 Datacenter proxies work pretty much the same way as residential ones. The difference is datacenter proxies don’t use IP addresses that are linked to existing residential accounts. This means they may be flagged more by anti-bot measures as they don’t blend in quite as well.

Their IP addresses come from cloud hosting services or data centers, as the name implies. In spite of being viewed as less trusted by websites, datacenter proxies have some advantages, such as: 

• Less expensive than residential options as they are easier to source
• Higher speeds and performance than other proxy types
• They usually have larger proxy pools than residential options
• Can have higher resource availability, such as handling large traffic volumes or high-frequency requests
• They are very well-suited for large data scraping functions, so long as the data doesn’t come from sites that have robust anti-scraping measures in place

How to Choose the Right Residential Proxy Provider

Not all proxy providers have the same features, so it’s important to know what must-haves to look for when making your selection. Here are some baselines to know: 

• Speed: Look for providers with low latency, fast response times, and high loading speeds.
• Coverage: The more options for geographic locations and available IPs, the more options you have as a user, especially if you want to access specific regions.
• Cost: Some services have fair prices, others…not so much. Look into what price plans are available, including if add-ons like web scraper tools cost extra. Some providers also have commitment requirements for the best prices, so be on the hunt for any hidden gotchas that may haunt you later. In that vein, introductory pricing can be a double-edged sword. Renewal prices are often far more expensive, so try to find out what you’ll pay once that initial discount ends. 
• Customer support: If you rely on proxies frequently, you’ll want a platform that can keep you up and running. The easier customer support is to contact, the better. 
• Ease of use: Depending on the proxy service, user interfaces can be intuitive and beginner friendly or…less so. If you have the know-how, you may be able to benefit from more complex platforms. If you’re new to proxies, however, look for options that are simple to use.  

Best Residential Proxies

Making a list of all the best residential proxies would be quite the endeavor. We’ve narrowed down our top 5 favorite proxy providers, with quick pros and cons of each. This should hopefully get you started on finding the right provider for you.

Smartproxy

Smartproxy makes nearly every list you’ll find for top proxy services. They’re easy to use, highly respected, and have plenty of web scraper tools that fit nearly every need, including 99% uptimes, HTTP(S) & SOCKS5, and <0.5s response times. Live statistics, advanced geo-targeting and unlimited threads pair nicely with their highly lauded customer support service. While it does have fewer IPs than some on our list, it more than holds its own against the competition.

Pros: 

• Free trial
• 24/7 free technical support
• Rotating and sticky sessions available
• 55M+ IP pool
• Beginner friendly

Cons: 

• Pricing tiers can be confusing
• Not quite as many IPs as some providers

Bright Data

Another top name in the proxy industry, Bright Data, is known for their generous IP pool and user customizations. They also have datasets and marketing tools, along with web scraping automations.

Add free geo-targeting, 99.95% success rates and a 0.7 response time and you’ve got it made. There may be a slight learning curve for new users, but they have some of the top features on the market, so it’s hard to go wrong. 

Pros: 

• 72M+ Residential IP pool
• Both sticky and rotating sessions are available
• 3rd party software integration
• Native integration for dozens of tools
• Unlimited concurrent sessions

Cons: 

• A little harder for beginners to learn
• Customer support can be a little harder to reach

Oxylabs

Oxylabs has one of the biggest residential proxy pools available, blowing smaller services like Smartproxy out of the water. They can easily handle enterprise-level needs, provide web scraper tools, and have a variety of datasets.

This provider also has a developer hub with helpful release notes, tutorials, and other resources. They use the QUIC protocol, have advanced filtering for IP quality enhancements, and have a success rate of 99.82%.

Pros: 

• 192 geographic locations and a whopping 100M+ residential IP pool
• Integrations with popular 3rd party tools and software
• 24/7 support, even on basic pay tiers
• Unlimited concurrent sessions

Cons: 

• Response times are a little slower than some providers

SOAX

Specializing in data extraction and scraping, SOAX also has an excellent proxy service, including residential options. As many IPs as Oxylabs have, SOAX has more. 155M+ residential IPs, to be exact.

They also provide API access, have web optimizations, a 99.95% success rate, and work with HTTP(S), UDP/QUIC and SOCKS5. For anyone needing to pair their proxy needs with data scraping, this is the perfect place for one-stop shopping. 

Pros: 

• 155M IPs and 195 geographical locations
• Very beginner friendly
• Free trial
• Easy-to-understand user dashboard
• Advanced geo-targeting

Cons: 

• Can be more expensive than other platforms
• Not quite as many different kinds of proxy plans as some, though they have several residential proxy options

NetNut

NetNut is another favorite proxy provider, though they don’t have quite the massive list of products and plans as some of the others on our list. What they do have is a very strong proxy pool and nearly 0% fail rates, as well as automated web unlocking and a CAPTCHA solver.

They don’t use intermediaries, which means better uptimes for users. Also, customers can also choose between rotating or static residential proxies, scrapers, and datasets.  

Pros: 

• 85M+ rotating residential IPs and 1M+ static IPs
• 195 global locations
• Automated web unblocking
• 99.9% uptime
• Easy to configure

Cons: 

• Monthly pricing costs more
• Not as many plans or features as some providers

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some common questions regarding proxies that you may find useful.

• Are residential proxies illegal?

It depends on where you’re located. They’re legal in places like the U.S. and Europe, so long as they aren’t used in an illegal manner. Other countries, such as Turkey and Russia, try to block the use of proxies. In regions where proxies are legal, they can be used for: 

• Privacy purposes
• By-passing geo-restrictions (to an extent)
• Performing business or marketing operations
• Web and data scraping from sites that don’t prohibit this

Illegal use of proxies includes: 

• Cybercrime, fraud, and hacking
• Violating terms of service
• Pirating copyrighted content
• Online stalking and harassment

• Can you be traced with a proxy?

Using a proxy, especially a residential one, makes it difficult to trace your real IP address. That said, it isn’t impossible. Some ways you could be detected: 

• Your proxy provider keeps logs and turns over information about you
• Websites that use cookie and session tracking
• Unsecure proxy provider that is hacked, giving access to your information
• Advanced tracking tools
• DNS leaks
• Browser fingerprinting

To further protect your privacy, be sure to choose a proxy service with robust security and privacy features, consider using a trusted VPN provider, and make sure you have safe browsing habits. 

• Why would someone use a proxy?

The biggest reasons are to improve anonymity when browsing the web. It’s not a perfect means of protection, but it is an effective tool to bolster online privacy. Overcoming geo-restrictions is another huge reason to use a proxy, as are marketing and data scraping advantages.

• What are the disadvantages of a proxy server?

Despite their uses, proxies (even residential ones) can have their downsides, including: 

• Slower speeds and load times
• Inadvertently violating privacy laws or terms
• You’re reliant on the proxy server and provider to be secure
• Doesn’t have as many protections and encryption capabilities as VPNs
• Certain proxy services may not have compatibility with all protocols or applications
• May not work as well with certain browsers

Proxy services have a great deal of uses, but they are by no means perfect. Knowing what gaps proxies have and what protections you need to fill those can help to offset any vulnerabilities or shortcomings.