Residential vs Datacenter Proxies: Complete Comparison
Residential proxies exit through real home internet connections and target down to a state, city, ZIP or ASN, from $2.75/GB. Datacenter proxies are server IPs for public websites, from $1.25/GB. Both run on one gateway, so switching is one word in your username.
Last updated:
- Cumulative historical catalogue totals; not live availability
- 34M+ vs 80K+
- Targeting, one selector per request
- State, city, ZIP or ASN vs country or continent
- Entry order
- 5 GB for $13.75 vs 10 GB for $12.50
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- Historical residential catalogue total; not live availability
- 34M+
- Historical datacenter catalogue total; not live availability
- 80K+
- Requested residential sticky window where available
- Up to 1440 min
- One word in the username switches networks
- 1 gateway
The verdict: choose the origin your job needs
Start with Residential for local shopper views and city or ZIP targeting. Choose Datacenter for server-origin requests to public sites.
Residential Proxies: 5 GB for $13.75. Datacenter Proxies: 10 GB for $12.50. The entry-order total differs by $1.25; the allowances above show what each order includes.
The short answer, side by side
Where shown, latency values are published network comparison figures, not destination-specific guarantees; benchmark the exact route and workload. Read the IP reputation study.
Quick Overview
The two networks in one look, with the smallest order for each.
Residential Proxies
- Real home-connection exits, rotating on every new connection
- Country, state, city, ZIP, coordinates or ASN, one per request
- Sticky sessions up to 1440 minutes
- Pay-as-you-go traffic valid 186 days
- HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 on one gateway
Datacenter Proxies
- Server IPs for public websites
- Country or continent targeting, one per request
- Sticky sessions up to 120 minutes
- Down to $0.50/GB at 1,024 GB
- HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 on one gateway
Side-by-Side Comparison
Every difference that changes what you buy, with the prices from the current catalogue.
| Feature | Residential Proxies | Datacenter Proxies |
|---|---|---|
| Entry order | 5 GB for $13.75 ($2.75/GB) | 10 GB for $12.50 ($1.25/GB) |
| Price at volume | $0.90/GB at 1,024 GB | $0.50/GB at 1,024 GB |
| Traffic validity | 186 days on pay as you go, 31 days on packages | 31 days |
| IP pool | 34M+ IPs; cumulative historical catalogue, not current live availability | 80K+ IPs; cumulative historical catalogue, not current live availability |
| Network origin | Home internet connections assigned by consumer ISPs | Servers in commercial data centers |
| Geo-Targeting | Country, state, city, ZIP, coordinates or ASN, one per request Granular | Country or continent, one per request |
| Session Types | Rotating, or request up to 1440 sticky minutes where available | Rotating, or sticky up to 120 minutes |
| Protocols | HTTP proxying, HTTPS CONNECT, and SOCKS5 | HTTP proxying, HTTPS CONNECT, and SOCKS5 |
| Built for | Sites that answer by visitor location; city-level checks | Public websites and endpoints you own that accept server traffic |
What Are Residential Proxies?
Residential proxies route your request through real home internet connections, so the website sees an ordinary ISP address in the place you choose.
Use them for price and stock checks that must look like a local shopper, ad and placement checks by city, regional QA of your own sites, and public-data collection where a consumer origin changes the answer.
What Are Datacenter Proxies?
Datacenter proxies are server IPs in commercial data centers: exits for public websites and endpoints you own.
Use them for public catalogue and search checks, website and uptime monitoring, and testing your own services from another country, wherever the target accepts server traffic.
When Should You Choose Residential Proxies?
Choose residential when the website treats visitors by where they connect from, or when the job needs a state, city, ZIP or ASN. A sticky session requests the same exit for up to 1440 minutes where available, and pay-as-you-go traffic stays valid 186 days.
- Local price, stock and ad checks that must look like a real visitor
- Targeting down to ZIP code, coordinates and ASN
- 34M+ residential IPs in our historical catalogue; a cumulative count, not live availability
When Should You Choose Datacenter Proxies?
Choose datacenter when the target is a public website or an endpoint you own that accepts server traffic, and a country or continent is precise enough. You buy by the GB, from $1.25/GB at the entry size down to $0.50/GB at 1,024 GB.
- Public catalogues, search results and status pages that accept server IPs
- Monitoring and QA of your own sites from another country
- 80K+ IPs in our historical catalogue; a cumulative count, not live availability
Which Proxy for Your Use Case?
Start with the network marked for each job. Every use case links to a full guide with a worked example.
| Use case | Residential | Datacenter |
|---|---|---|
| Web scraping | Sites that answer by location or limit server traffic Start here Pick a country, state or city per request | Public pages that accept server trafficRotation on every new connection |
| Social media management | Accounts you manage that need a consistent home-connection origin Start here Sticky sessions up to 1440 minutes | Platform APIs and tools that accept server trafficUse the platform's own roles and tools first |
| Ad verification | The creative a local visitor sees, city by city Start here Record the exit, time and placement | Country-level checks on ad sources that accept server trafficRecord the exit, time and placement |
| Price monitoring | City and ZIP pricing viewsPick the ZIP the shopper would use | Storefronts that accept server traffic Start here Down to $0.50/GB at 1,024 GB |
| SERP tracking | City- and ZIP-level local resultsPick the city the client cares about | Country-level public results Start here From $1.25/GB |
| Travel fare aggregation | Fares and availability as a local visitor sees them Start here Record locale, currency, timestamp and route | Licensed feeds and partner endpoints that accept server trafficUse official feeds and partner APIs first |
Pick by Origin, Targeting and Price
Each network page has the full plan list and setup snippets.
Residential Proxies
Real home-connection exits with state, city, ZIP and ASN targeting. 5 GB for $13.75, valid 186 days.
See residential proxiesDatacenter Proxies
Server IPs for public websites, with country or continent targeting. 10 GB for $12.50, down to $0.50/GB at 1,024 GB.
See datacenter proxiesCompare All Proxy Types
All four networks on one page, each with its entry order.
View allResidential vs Datacenter Proxies FAQ
What is the main difference between residential and datacenter proxies?
Which proxy type is better for web scraping?
How should I compare residential and datacenter proxy cost?
Can I use both residential and datacenter proxies together?
-zone-residential to -zone-datacenter in the proxy username to move a job between networks.Run Both From One Account
Residential and datacenter proxies share one gateway and one dashboard. Start with the network the job needs and switch with one word in the username.
No contract · Card or crypto · Credentials in minutes