The Proxy Provider Checklist: 30 Questions Before You Buy

How to use this checklist

Copy these questions into a spreadsheet, one column per provider. Many answers are on providers' websites or in their documentation; for the rest, ask sales or support. Pay attention not just to the answers but to how quickly and clearly they come back. That's a preview of the support you'll get. For the overall process, see how to choose a proxy provider.

Pool and IPs

1. What proxy types do you offer (residential, ISP, datacenter, mobile)?
2. How many IPs are typically online at once in the countries I need, not just total pool size? See proxy pool size.
3. How diverse are the subnets and ASNs?
4. For datacenter and ISP: are IPs dedicated to me, semi-dedicated or shared?
5. For ISP: which ISPs (ASNs) are the IPs registered to?
6. How do you handle IPs that are flagged or banned?

Targeting and sessions

1. Which targeting levels are included: country, state, city, ZIP, ASN?
2. Do any targeting options cost extra?
3. How long can sticky sessions last, and how reliably do they hold?
4. Can I control rotation per request and per session?
5. Is there a limit on concurrent connections?

Protocols and integration

1. Do you support HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5? Is UDP supported over SOCKS5?
2. Do you support username/password and IP whitelisting? How many whitelist slots?
3. Is there a proxy-list generator for tools that need ip:port:user:pass lists?
4. Is there an API for usage, sub-users and configuration?
5. Are there code examples for my tools (Python, Node.js, Puppeteer, Playwright, Selenium)?

Performance

1. Can I trial the service on my real targets?
2. Do you publish uptime or success-rate figures, and how are they measured?
3. Where are your gateways located? Can I choose the nearest?
4. Do you block any target domains?

Pricing

1. What's the price at my expected volume and term?
2. Does unused traffic expire or roll over?
3. What are overage rates?
4. Are there minimum commitments or setup fees?
5. What's the refund policy, and are there usage caps on refunds?

Support and service

1. What support channels are available (live chat, email, Discord, phone), and what are typical response times?
2. Is there a dedicated account manager at my volume?
3. Is there an SLA? What does it cover? See proxy provider support and SLAs.

Sourcing and compliance

1. How are residential and mobile IPs sourced, and how do peers consent? See ethically sourced proxies.
2. What KYC do you perform on customers, and what uses do you prohibit?

Scoring

Score each provider on the categories that matter most to you. For most buyers, the order of importance is:

1. Performance on your targets (from your own tests).
2. Cost per successful request.
3. Session and targeting features you need.
4. Support quality.
5. Sourcing and compliance.

If a provider can't answer the sourcing question, or refuses any kind of trial or refund, treat it as a red flag.

Red-flag answers to watch for

See proxy provider red flags.

Turning the checklist into a scorecard

1. Copy the 30 questions into a spreadsheet.
2. Add a column per provider.
3. Mark each answer as meets / partially meets / doesn't meet.
4. Weight the categories (performance and pricing highest for most buyers).
5. Combine with your test results from how to test proxies before buying.

Checklist variations by use case

For sneakers: add questions about site-specific performance, daily packages, Discord support on release days, and replacement speed. See best proxies for sneaker bots.

For social media: add questions about IP exclusivity, long-term availability in specific cities, and replacement within the same location. See best proxies for social media.

For enterprise: add questions about SLAs, DPAs, security reviews, invoicing and named contacts. See enterprise proxy providers.

For scraping: add questions about unblocker products, concurrency limits and per-target success. See best proxies for web scraping.

Sending the checklist to a provider

You'll get better answers if you ask in writing and make it easy to reply:

• Choose the ten questions that matter most for your use case, not all thirty.
• Explain your situation: what you're doing, expected volume and timeline. Sales teams answer specific questions faster and more honestly.
• Ask for written answers with links to documentation or terms where possible.
• Give a reasonable deadline; a week is fair.

A short template:

Subject: Proxy evaluation: [company], [use case]

Hello,
We're evaluating residential proxy providers for [use case], around
[X] GB per month in [countries], starting [date]. Could you answer the
questions below in writing, with links to your documentation or terms
where relevant?
1. ...
Thanks,
[name]

Grade each answer as clear, partial or evasive. "Let's discuss on a call" in response to a basic sourcing or refund question counts as partial at best. Keep the replies; they're useful if a provider's behaviour later contradicts them.

Then test what they've told you; see how to test proxies before buying. Larger buyers will find more on contracts in enterprise proxy providers, and evasive answers are covered in proxy provider red flags.

FAQ

Do I really need to ask all 30 questions?

No. Skip those that don't apply. But questions 2, 9, 17, 21, 22 and 29 matter for almost everyone.

What if a provider won't answer?

That tells you something about their support and transparency.