If you are looking for a way to access the web anonymously, bypass geo-restrictions, scrape data, or run multiple accounts, you might need a residential proxy.
Unlike data center proxies, which are easily detectable and often blocked by websites, residential proxies are more reliable and trustworthy, as they appear as regular users.
However, residential proxies are not cheap. They are usually sold by proxy providers with access to millions of IP addresses from different countries and regions.
This blog post will show you how to find cheap residential proxies in 2024 without compromising quality or performance.
We will also review some of the best residential proxy providers in the market and compare their features and prices. By the end of this post, you can choose the best residential proxy for your needs and budget.
What Are Residential Proxies and Why Are They Useful?
A residential proxy is an intermediary server that uses an IP address provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to a homeowner rather than a data center.
This means that the IP address is attached to a physical location, allowing users to surf the web as if they were real users in that area.
When you use a residential proxy, your web requests are routed through the proxy server and then to the target website. The website sees the proxy IP address as your own and grants you access.
Residential proxies are useful for various purposes, such as
Web Scraping
You can use residential proxies to scrape data from websites that block or limit data center proxies or bots. It can help you avoid CAPTCHAs, IP bans, rate limits and collect large amounts of data from different sources.
Sneaker Copping
Sneaker proxies are popular among sneaker resellers and enthusiasts who want to secure quality shoes from Adidas and Nike, especially the limited editions that get sold within minutes or a couple of hours.
Residential proxies can help you bypass geo-restrictions, create multiple accounts, and increase your chances of getting the sneakers you want.
Ad Verification
Residential proxies can be used to verify if your online ads are displayed correctly and reach the right audience. In addition, they can help you avoid ad fraud, monitor your competitors' ads, and optimize your ad campaigns.
Marketers use proxies for ad verification and compliance services, ad intelligence, and social media influencer advertising.
SEO Monitoring
You can use residential proxies to monitor your website's ranking and performance on different search engines and locations.
They can help you avoid skewed results, track your competitors' SEO strategies, and improve your SEO efforts.
SEO proxies are mainly used to automate SEO tasks, such as tracking any changes in your target keywords' positions and identifying opportunities to improve your website's ranking on different search engines like Google.
Social Media Management
Residential proxies allow you to create and run multiple social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter. As a result, you can prevent account bans, increase your online visibility, and interact with your potential customers.
What to Look for in a Cheap Residential Proxy
Before buying a residential proxy, consider some important aspects that will affect your experience and results.
Here are some things to look for in a cheap residential proxy:
Large and Diverse IP Pool
The more IP addresses a provider has, the more options you have to access different websites and regions.
A large and diverse IP pool also reduces the risk of getting blocked or banned by websites, as you can switch to a new IP address whenever you need.
Look for a provider with at least a few million IP addresses from various countries and cities.
High Speed and Low Latency
The speed and latency of a residential proxy depends on the quality and location of the IP address.
A high-speed proxy will allow you to browse the web faster and complete your tasks more efficiently.
A low-latency proxy will reduce the delay between your request and the response from the website.
Ideally, you should look for a provider with an average speed of at least 50 Mbps and an average latency of less than 100 ms.
Flexible Rotation and Session Control
The way a residential proxy manages its rotation and session control will determine how frequently and for how long you can use a particular IP address.
With a flexible rotation option, you can switch your IP address as needed, either manually or automatically.
Likewise, a flexible session control option lets you hold onto the same IP address for a desired amount of time or until it expires.
The best approach is to search for a provider offering rotating and sticky proxies with customizable time intervals to best suit your requirements.
Easy Integration and Management
The integration and management of a residential proxy depend on the interface and features of the provider.
If integration is simple, then the proxy can be used with any software or tool that works with HTTP or SOCKS protocols.
If management is straightforward, you can easily keep track of and regulate your use of the proxy, whitelist your IPs, create new sessions, and perform other tasks through an easy-to-use dashboard or API.
It's best to seek a provider offering web-based and API-based integration and management options.
Customer Support and Documentation
The customer support and documentation of a residential proxy depend on the quality and availability of the provider’s team and resources.
A good customer support option will allow you to get help and guidance from experienced and friendly agents via live chat, email, phone, or ticket system.
If the provider offers a good documentation service, you can access up-to-date and comprehensive information regarding the proxy's features, settings, problem-solving, and recommended practices.
To ensure you receive the best service, you should look for a provider that offers 24/7 customer support and comprehensive documentation.
Top 9 Cheap Residential Proxy Providers in 2024
Now that you know what to look for in a cheap residential proxy, let’s look at some of the best residential proxy providers in 2024.
We have selected these providers based on their features, prices, reviews, and reputation. We have also included tables that show different price plans for each provider for your convenience.
1. ScrapingAnt
ScrapingAnt offers residential proxies for web scraping and not only. It also provides an API that handles everything from rotating proxies to headless browsers, CAPTCHA, and Cloudflare.
ScrapingAnt offers unrestricted web access with ethical proxies with high success rates and low latencies. The platform has a free plan and a simple interface that makes it easy for beginners and experts.
ScrapingAnt has different web scraping API pricing plans for different traffic volumes and proxy types. The cheapest plan is $19/month for 100,000 requests with data center proxies, and the most expensive plan is $249/month for 3,000,000 requests.
Residential proxies are available starting from $30/month for 5 GB of traffic.
ScrapingAnt also offers a free plan for 10,000 requests per month and 24/7 customer support. You don’t even need to provide credit card information to start using to trial (unlike others)!
Remarkable Features
- The simple and easy-to-use API allows users to scrape any website with a single request
- The JavaScript rendering enables users to scrape dynamic websites that use JavaScript frameworks
- The geo-targeting allows users to access data from 17 countries across the world
- The documentation and blog provide useful guides and tips for web scraping
Room for Improvements
- The lack of mobile proxies that would be useful for some use cases such as social media monitoring and goods purchasing
2. Geonode
Geonode is a proxy service offering unlimited and pay-as-you-go residential proxies for web scraping and other purposes.
It claims to have the best price per GB on the internet and a diverse pool of IP addresses with 160+ country targeting that are not easily blocked or rate-limited by websites.
Geonode has different pricing plans depending on the proxy type and the amount of data or concurrent requests needed.
Its unlimited residential plan allows users to scrape at scale without worrying about data transfer limits or usage restrictions. Users can also choose a pay-per-concurrent-request option to control costs and scale scraping efforts as needed.
| Plan | Bandwidth | Price | Price per GB | Concurrent Requests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unlimited Residential | Unlimited data | $49/month | - | 10 |
| Pay-as-you-go residential | 1 GB | $4/GB | $4 | Unlimited |
| Starter | 15 GB | $45/month | $3/GB + $3/extra GB | Unlimited |
| Medium | 120 GB | $300/month | $2.5/GB + $2.5/extra GB | Unlimited |
| Enterprise | 1 TB | $2000/month | $2/GB + $2/extra GB | Unlimited |
Geonode allows users to target specific countries, cities, or ISPs for scraping, allowing them to collect data from a specific region or location.
Geonode also gives users full control over their proxies, allowing them to access real residential IP addresses that are exclusively theirs during connection.
It provides a code generator that helps users integrate their applications with Geonode’s tools and synchronize their devices with Geonode’s database. Geonode supports HTTP, SOCKS, and SOCKS5 protocols.
Advantages
- Unlimited bandwidth and pay-per-concurrent-request options
- Geo-targeting features
- Full control over proxies
- Instant API integrations
- Competitive pricing
Limitations
- A limited number of concurrent requests
- Lack of independent reviews or tests
- No refund policy
3. SOAX
SOAX specializes in residential proxies for data collection at scale. SOAX offers two types of residential proxies: Wi-Fi proxies and Mobile proxies.
Wi-Fi proxies are IP addresses of devices connected to a Wi-Fi network, while Mobile proxies are IP addresses of mobile devices connected to a 4G network.
SOAX has a pool of over 8.5 million active IPs from all over the world (excluding the State of Texas, USA).
SOAX has different pricing plans for different proxy types and traffic volumes. The cheapest plan is $99/month for 8 GB of Wi-Fi proxies, and the most expensive plan is $4000/month for 1000 GB of Wi-Fi proxies.
It also offers a paid trial for $1.99, which gives 100 MB of traffic. You can test the quality and speed of the proxies before committing to a bigger plan. You can pay SOAX through Wire Transfers and PayPal.
| Plan | Price per month | Traffic | Price per GB | Whitelisted IPs | Ports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter Residential | $99 | 8 GB | $12 | 2 | 300 |
| Pro Residential | $300 | 27 GB | $11 | 3 | 400 |
| Plus Residential | $500 | 55 GB | $9 | 4 | 500 |
| Regular Residential | $700 | 100 GB | $7 | 5 | 600 |
You can save 20% on your monthly payments for all packages if you opt for an annual plan. You can also switch between plans or cancel your subscription at any time.
Standout Features
- City and ISP-level geo-targeting
- Mobile IPs for various use cases
- Ample documentation and support
- Industry leadership as The World Ethical Data Forum (WEDF) partner
Limitations
- No extensions/apps for browsers/devices
- High price per GB compared to others
- Dependency on software/bot quality
4. Storm Proxies
Storm Proxies offers four plans for residential proxies, ranging from $50 to $300 per month. Each plan has a different number of ports, which determines how many concurrent connections you can make with the proxies.
The more ports you have, the more IPs you can use simultaneously. The cheapest plan gives you one port, while the most expensive one gives you 100 ports.
All plans have unlimited bandwidth and access to the same pool of 700,000 IPs from the USA and EU countries.
| Ports | Price per port | Total price per month |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $19 | $19 |
| 5 | $10 | $50 |
| 10 | $9 | $90 |
| 20 | $8 | $160 |
| 50 | $6 | $300 |
| 100 | $5.5 | $550 |
You can choose to use either USA IPs or EU IPs in the member area. The proxies rotate every 5 minutes, meaning you get a new IP for every request or every 3 or 15 minutes, depending on your settings.
You can also use one access IP address per plan, which means you can only use the proxies on one device.
To use Storm Proxies' residential proxies, you must whitelist your access IP address in the member area and then configure your browser or software to use their proxy server.
They provide detailed instructions and tutorials on how to do this for various browsers and tools. You can also email their support team 24/7 if you have any questions or issues.
They also offer a 24-hour money-back guarantee for the five ports plan, so you can try their service risk-free.
Standout Features
- Unlimited bandwidth and instant access after payment
- High performance and fast network optimized for multi-threaded tools
- High anonymity and security with their own technology
- 24-hour money-back guarantee and premium support
Limitations
- Small residential proxy pool compared to other providers
- Fixed proxy rotation time at 5 minutes
- Limited to one access IP address per plan
- Only support HTTP(s) protocols
5. Shifter
Shifter is a residential proxy service that offers ultra-fast and reliable proxies for data collection, web scraping, ad verification, and other use cases.
Shifter claims to have over 50 million IPs in its network, covering every country in the world. It also provides a scraping API that handles anti-bot detection and captcha solving at a large scale.
Shifter’s residential proxies are available in four types: rotating, on-demand, static, and fast.
Rotating proxies allow users to configure custom IP rotation time and geo-targeting settings.
On-demand proxies let users request a residential IP from any country with a single-entry point.
Static proxies offer unlimited traffic and large subnet ranges. Fast proxies are optimized for speed and low latency.
Shifter’s pricing plans are based on the number of ports and the type of proxies. Users can choose from monthly or yearly subscriptions or pay as they go.
| Plan | Price per month | Traffic | Ports |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rotating Residential Proxies | $99.98 | 31M+ IPs | 5 |
| Static Residential Proxies | $74.99 | Unlimited | 25 |
| Scraping API | $89.99 | Depends on usage and location (from $0.5 to $2 per GB) | 1 |
Check out the detailed pricing plan of Shifter from their website.
Shifter has a positive reputation among its customers and has been in the proxy industry since 2012. They also offer a free trial and a money-back guarantee!
Impressive Features
- 99.99% uptime and high success rates
- Easy to use and customize
- Developer-friendly API and multiple protocols
- 24/7 customer support
- Enterprise infrastructure and scalability
Drawbacks
- No mobile proxies
- No city-level targeting
- No SOCKS5 support for static proxies
- No advanced filtering options
6. Proxy-Cheap
Proxy-Cheap is one of the cheapest residential proxy providers in 2024. It offers over 7 million residential IP addresses from 127+ countries with unlimited bandwidth and no monthly commitment.
You can choose between rotating and session proxies with unlimited bandwidth and no monthly commitment. You can choose between rotating and session proxies with up to 30 minutes of session duration.
You can also filter the proxies by country and city. Proxy-Cheap supports HTTP protocol and user/pass authentication but not SOCKS5 protocol.
You can integrate and manage your proxies via a web-based dashboard or a public API. Proxy-Cheap also offers 24/7 customer support via live chat and email.
Its pricing is based on the number of gigabytes you use per month. The more gigabytes you buy, the lower the price per gigabyte.
For example, buying 1 GB of residential proxies will pay $4.99 per GB. But if you buy 100 GB of residential proxies, you will pay only $4 per GB.
| Plan | Price per GB | Total Price |
|---|---|---|
| From 1GB | $4.99 | $4.99 |
| From 50GB | $4 | $200 |
| From 200GB+ | $3 | $600 or more |
You can also get a custom plan if you need more than 500 GB of residential proxies per month.
Notable Features
- No monthly commitment or additional fees
- Rotating and session IPs for different use cases
- User-friendly dashboard and proxy generator
Complains
- Only support HTTP protocol, not Socks5
- Only offer the user/pass authentication, not IP authentication
- May have a slower speed and higher latency than data center proxies
- Not suitable for some tasks that require more stability or security
7. Smartproxy
Smartproxy is another affordable proxy service that offers residential and data center proxies for various use cases, such as web scraping, SEO, social media automation, ad verification, and more.
It has a large pool of over 50 million residential IPs from over 195 countries. It also supports HTTP and Socks5 protocols, user/pass and IP authentication, rotating and session IPs, and city-level targeting.
It has a user-friendly dashboard, a proxy generator, and several apps and browser extensions to help users manage their proxies. It also provides 24/7 customer support via live chat and email.
Smartproxy has flexible plans that start from $12.5. There are no monthly commitments or additional fees, and users can pay as they go or choose a subscription plan that suits their needs.
Users can access the entire pool with unlimited connections and targets and switch between different locations and IP types as they wish.
| Plan | GB | Price Per GB | Total Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay As You Go | 1 GB | $12.5 | $12.5 |
| Micro | 8 GB | $10 | $80 +VAT billed monthly |
| Starter | 25 GB | $9 | $225 + VAT billed monthly |
| Regular | 50 GB | $8 | $400 + VAT billed monthly |
| Advanced | 100 GB | $7 | $700 + VAT billed monthly |
Smartproxy has several apps and extensions that make it easy to use its proxies with various tools and platforms.
For example, it has a proxy manager app that allows users to create custom rules and filters for their proxies, a search engine proxy app that enables hassle-free Google scraping, an X Browser app that generates unique user profiles to avoid bans and captchas, and browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox that allow users to switch proxies with one click.
Pros
- Affordable pricing
- Huge proxy pool
- Useful apps and extensions
- 24/7 support
Cons
- No free trial
- Single direct support option (live chat only)
- No annual plan discounts
8. Oxylabs
Oxylabs has a large and diverse pool of over 100 million residential IPs from 195 countries and regions. You can access them through a single back-connect entry point and target specific country, city, or state locations.
Oxylabs also offers unlimited concurrent sessions so that you can scale up your web scraping projects without any restrictions.
Oxylabs residential proxies have an average success rate of 99.95% and an average response time of 0.6 seconds, which means you can scrape data faster and more reliably.
They also provide 24/7 tech support and a user-friendly dashboard to manage your proxy usage.
Oxylabs static residential proxies are officially assigned by ISPs, making them look like organic website users. They offer high performance, reliability, uptime of 99.9%, and support for HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 protocols.
These are ideal for scraping data that requires high speed and stability, such as e-commerce sites or social media platforms.
Oxylabs is committed to ethical and compliant data-gathering practices. They source their residential proxies from carefully selected partners that adhere to business ethics and strict compliance. They also ensure that their proxy network is secure and transparent.
And to do all of these, they couldn’t keep their prices in check, so they’re the most unaffordable option in this list of the best cheap residential proxies.
| Plan | Price | GB | Dedicated Account Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay as you go | $15 / GB | Up to 50 GB per month | No |
| Starter | $300 / month / GB | 25 GB | No |
| Advanced | $600 / month | 60 GB | No |
| Premium | $800 / month | 100 GB | No |
However, you can enjoy a generous 10% discount for all yearly plans from Oxylabs.
What We Like
- Large proxy pool
- Intelligent web scraping tools
- Free trial
- 24/7 support
What We Don’t Like
- Above-average prices
- Steep learning curve
9. Bright Data
Bright Data is one of the most customizable premium residential proxy providers. It offers over 72 million real IPs from 195 countries, shared by real people who have voluntarily opted into their peer-sharing community.
Bright Data’s residential proxies are fast, stable, reliable, and compliant with data protection laws such as GDPR and CCPA.
You can access website content from any location without IP bans or CAPTCHAs blocking you. You can also target any country, city, carrier, or ASN with their residential proxies.
| Plan | Price per GB | Traffic | Total price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay As You Go | $15.00 | No commitment | Variable |
| Growth | $11.48 | 43 GB | $493.64 |
| Business | $10.13 | 98 GB | $992.74 |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited scale | Custom |
If you pay yearly, you’ll get an additional 10% discount on all plans!
Notable Things
- The largest and most trusted residential proxy network in the industry
- The most comprehensive geographic coverage, including country and city-level targeting
- The highest success rates and speeds of any residential proxy provider
- 100% ethically sourced proxies that respect privacy rights
- Easy integration with Bright Data API and Super Proxy Servers
- Flexible pricing plans and free trials are available
Problems
- More expensive than other residential proxy providers
- It may have variable performance depending on the peer’s connection quality
FAQs
Q: Why Are Residential Proxies So Expensive?
A: Residential proxies are more expensive than data center proxies because they are more valuable and harder to obtain. They represent real people's IPs, which makes them more legitimate and less likely to be blocked by websites.
They are also more versatile and reliable than data center proxies, which adds to their value. The scarcity of residential proxies is another factor that drives up their cost.
Q: Is It Cheaper to Use a VPN or a Proxy?
A: Generally, a proxy may be cheaper to use than a VPN, but this depends on the specific proxy or VPN service being used. Proxies are often less expensive than VPNs because they only provide basic functionality and do not encrypt internet traffic.
VPNs are a better option for those who prioritize security and privacy, while proxies are a cheaper and quicker option for those who only want to hide their IP address.
Q: Are Proxies Illegal?
A: Using a proxy server in and of itself is not illegal. Using a proxy may be illegal when it is used for illegal activities such as circumventing content filters, hacking, or committing fraud.
Some countries (Iran, China, and North Korea) have restrictions on the use of proxies, in which case using a proxy may be illegal.
Q: Do Proxies Hide Your IP?
A: Proxies can hide your IP address by routing your internet traffic through another server before reaching the website you want to visit. This way, the website only sees the IP address of the proxy server, not your device’s.
However, unlike VPNs, most proxies won't encrypt your traffic, and they also won't hide your IP address from anyone who can intercept your traffic on the way to the proxy server. So, they can monitor what you’re doing online.
Q: Can Residential Proxies Be Traced?
A: Residential proxies can be traced to a certain extent using machine learning techniques, but they are less likely to be detected and blocked by websites than other types of proxies.
This is because residential proxies use IP addresses associated with real residential locations, which can make them appear more like legitimate user traffic.
Q: What Proxies Do Hackers Use?
A: Some proxies that hackers use to hide their identity and locations are:
- Attack proxy: A tool that automates scanning and attacking websites.
- Transparent proxy: A proxy that caches websites but does not hide the original IP address.
- Anonymous proxy: A proxy that hides the original IP address but is detectable as a proxy.
- Residential proxy: A proxy that uses home users’ IP addresses, often without their consent, to blend into regular traffic.
- TOR: A network of servers that anonymizes internet traffic and allows access to blocked content.
Conclusion
Residential proxies are a great way to access the web anonymously, bypass geo-restrictions, or scrape data from various sources. However, they can also be expensive, especially if you need a lot of them for your project.
That’s why we have compiled this list of the best cheap residential proxy providers in 2024. These providers offer affordable and flexible plans, large and diverse proxy pools, and various features to suit your needs.
We hope this article has helped you find the best cheap residential proxy provider for your needs and budget. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to contact us directly.
Happy web scraping and don't forget to re-check the prices at the time of reading this article 😉