How to read this comparison
Residential proxy providers all sell access to large pools of real home IPs, usually billed per GB. What separates them is pool depth in your countries, cleanliness on your targets, speed, session stability, targeting options, pricing structure, support and sourcing practices. Most of those can only be judged by testing on your own targets.
This page summarises how well-known providers are generally positioned, so you can build a shortlist. It deliberately avoids quoting prices or benchmark scores, which change constantly and depend on your workload. For a buying framework, see best residential proxies and our residential proxies pillar guide.
Provider overview
| Provider | Market position | Notable for | Typically suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bright Data | Premium / enterprise | Broadest product range, compliance programme, granular targeting | Enterprises, compliance-driven teams |
| Oxylabs | Premium / enterprise | Large pool, scraper APIs, support | Large scraping operations |
| Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) | Mid-market | Value, simple dashboard, broad features | Growing teams |
| SOAX | Mid-market | Flexible geo/ASN targeting, residential + mobile | Location-sensitive work |
| NetNut | Mid-market | ISP-sourced residential, static options | Stability-focused teams |
| Rayobyte | Value | US-centric, ethics emphasis, DC/ISP strength | US-focused buyers |
| IPRoyal | Budget | Non-expiring traffic, low entry point | Small and irregular buyers |
| Webshare | Budget | Residential alongside cheap DC | Developers |
| PacketStream | Budget | Simple low pricing, P2P network | Cost-sensitive buyers |
| Infatica | Mid/budget | Residential and mobile options | General scraping |
Feature checklist to compare
| Feature | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Live IPs in your countries | Real capacity, not marketing totals. See proxy pool size |
| City / ASN targeting | Needed for local SEO, ads |
| Sticky session length | Browser automation, logins |
| SOCKS5 support | Non-HTTP tools |
| Traffic expiry | Effective cost for irregular use |
| Concurrency limits | Throughput |
| Sub-users and API | Team management |
| Sourcing transparency | Compliance. See ethically sourced proxies |
| Trials and refunds | Testing before committing. See proxy free trials |
How to choose between them
- Shortlist one provider from each tier that fits your budget.
- Run identical tests on your targets, at your time of day. See how to test proxies before buying.
- Compare success rate, latency, bytes per success and session stability.
- Calculate cost per 1,000 successes at your real volume.
- Check support responsiveness during the trial.
Patterns we often see
- Premium providers usually lead on features, targeting and compliance.
- Mid-market providers often deliver the best cost per success on typical targets.
- Budget providers can be excellent for moderate targets and small volumes, but vary more.
- Performance on a specific hard target can surprise in either direction, which is why testing matters.
Proxy tip: If you're building a shortlist, add Geonode to it. It offers per-GB residential traffic that doesn't expire, unlimited residential plans, static ISP and rotating datacenter proxies, and scraping APIs. We look at where it fits in our Geonode proxies guide.
Example shortlists by profile
| Buyer profile | Shortlist to test |
|---|---|
| Enterprise data team | Bright Data, Oxylabs, plus one mid-market challenger |
| Growing startup | Decodo, SOAX, NetNut |
| Freelancer / small agency | IPRoyal, Decodo, Webshare |
| Sneaker raffles | A sneaker-focused residential reseller + one direct provider |
| Location-heavy (local SEO, ads) | SOAX, Bright Data, Oxylabs |
Interpreting test results
- Similar success, different price: choose the cheaper one.
- Higher success, higher price: compute cost per success; the pricier one may still win.
- Good overall, poor on one target: route that target elsewhere.
- Good now, worse later: re-test monthly.
How to weigh features you can't easily test
Some differences only matter in specific situations:
| Feature | Matters most when |
|---|---|
| ASN targeting | You need consistency with a specific ISP, or ISP-specific testing |
| ZIP targeting | Hyper-local pricing or delivery data |
| Very long sticky sessions | Long browser sessions on protected sites |
| Sub-user API | Agencies and teams managing many projects |
| Compliance documentation | Enterprises and regulated industries |
| Unblocker add-on | A few very hard targets |
If none apply, focus on success rate, cost and support.
How provider positioning evolves
The residential proxy market changes quickly: prices fall, providers rebrand (Smartproxy became Decodo), new entrants appear and products expand. Treat any comparison, including this one, as a starting point and re-check before buying. See cheapest proxy providers and best proxies.
Comparing pool claims fairly
Pool size is the headline on every residential provider's homepage, and the hardest number to compare. Different providers count different things:
- Unique IPs seen over a month (or longer), which counts every address a device had, including churn.
- IPs online now, which is much smaller and closer to what you can actually use.
- IPs in the whole network, which may include partner pools you can't target directly.
To compare like with like:
- Ask what the number counts and over what period.
- Ask for numbers in your countries, at your time of day, rather than the global figure.
- Measure it yourself. Sample exits through each provider's gateway with the same targeting, and estimate the available pool with the capture-recapture method described in proxy pool size.
- Check diversity, not just size. Count distinct networks (ASNs) and subnets in your sample. A huge pool concentrated in a few networks behaves like a small one.
In practice, success rate on your targets and cost per successful request decide more than pool size ever does, provided the pool is comfortably bigger than your concurrency. For the full testing method, see how to test proxies before buying. For the sourcing side of pool size, see how proxy providers source their IPs.
Key takeaways
- Premium providers lead on features and compliance; mid-market providers often win on cost per success; budget providers vary more.
- Live availability in your countries matters more than headline pool size.
- Compare targeting, session length, expiry, SOCKS5, sub-users and sourcing.
- Shortlist across tiers and run identical tests.
- Re-check periodically because the market changes fast. See best residential proxies.
FAQ
Which residential proxy provider has the biggest pool?
Large providers advertise pools in the tens of millions or more. Live availability in your countries matters more than the headline total.
Are budget residential providers reliable?
Many are. Test before scaling, and check sourcing practices.
Should I use more than one residential provider?
Many teams do, for resilience and to route targets to whichever performs best.
Editorial note: Proxy providers change their pools, features and prices often, so treat any figures here as typical ranges at the time of writing and confirm current terms with the provider before you buy.