Residential proxies IPs that breathe new life into your bot or web scraping software by assuring real anonymity.
But which residential proxy providers are actually worth your money? After running extensive tests, we know the answer to that question. So here are the top five residential proxy providers of 2022.
1. Smartproxy
The provider that takes the first place is one that never fails to impress Smartproxy. This provider offers the best backconnect residential proxies for anyone that needs them. It performs well, is affordable, and includes many features, so it is a good choice for most tasks.
The user experience is also impeccable. There are several tools, such as proxy control tools, that allow you to adjust your account easily and have extensive customer support. It's a perfect option for those of you who prefer minimal interaction. A Smartproxy emphasizes self-service smart proxy's biggest drawbacks are no socks 5 support and no carrier or ASN targeting.
How much does all of that goodness cost? The pricing starts from $80/8GB. Also, a three-day refund is available.
2. Bright Data
The second provider we recommend is Bright Data. It is the second largest proxy provider in the market, with a huge pool of rotating residential IPs worldwide.
Bright Data includes a proxy control solution that enables you to manage your proxies immediately and easily with its open-source proxy manager. The proxies have many features and allow targeting by ASN. When testing, we found their performance to be great. When the provider didn't impose artificial limits like Oxylabs.
Bright Data is mostly concerned with large business customers. We wouldn't recommend it for beginners. The service can be complex, and the pricing structure is somewhat confusing. There's also a strict KYC process, which rules out some gray hat use cases.
There are two purchasing options: either subscribe to a pricing plan or pay as you go. Pricing starts from $500; a 7-day free trial for businesses and a 3-day refund for individuals are available.
3. Soax
Next up, Soax, this provider controls a network of over 8.5 million residential proxies and stands in that area between cheap and premium providers.
Like Smartproxy, Soax's two distinguishing features are rotation and location targeting. Both are very flexible. You can keep an IP anywhere from 90 seconds or less until it becomes unavailable. Targeting wisely, Soax lets you specify the country, region, city, and ASN.
Proxies may be a bit slow, but they get the job done beautifully. Otherwise, Soax is still pretty raw; this doesn't detract from the service. But it is noticeable some technical choices the provider made also raise questions. HTTPs traffic over SOCKS 5 obligatory IP whitelisting and limited ports for plans. On the money side of things, the pricing starts from $99/9 GB and 300 ports.
So, all things considered, choose this if you need flexibility up
4. Netnut
This provider used to be the poster boy of static residential proxies offer. Large businesses introduced rotating residential proxies in bulk to medium and expanded the pricing plan to include a wider audience.
Netnut ‘s proxies perform relatively well. Before choosing this provider, you should also know that Netnut isn't the easiest to use, and it's still the best. If you need proxies at scale, the cheaper plans lock features such as API access or Skype support; the pricing starts from $300 for 20GB, and a 7-day free trial is available.
5. Oxylabs
Another residential proxy provider you absolutely need to know about is Oxylabs. Especially if you are looking for a premium option to boost your business.
Oxylabs has the largest residential proxy pool in the market, with over 100 million IPs. Still, the size is not their only strength. These proxies cover all countries and cities worldwide and offer ASN targeting. The proxies have class-leading performance are stable, and are highly scalable.
But of course, product performance is not the only thing that matters when choosing a provider. After purchasing a plan, you'll get a dedicated account manager and tips to improve your scraping success.
The downside is that Oxylabs isn't the best option for beginners or individual use. The pricing is somewhat expensive, as it starts from $300. That said, it does scale well as you buy up. They offer a 7-day free trial for businesses and a three-day refund for individuals.
6. Geosurf
One more premium residential proxy provider that is worth your attention is Geosurf. What distinguishes it from the others is that – it very much focuses on quality over quantity.
Over 3 million IPs are hand-picked from tier one countries and major consumer ISPs. Another strength is extensive location coverage and multiple rotation settings. With a built-in API and a browser extension, accessing geo-targeted content is both easier and faster.
Geosurf is one of the more expensive providers, but it does provide a great service. Also, the limited proxy pool raises your chances of encountering abused IPs.
For Geosurf, the pricing starts from $300 for 25 GB, and a demo session is available.
