Which Brand Fits Your Project? Best Proxy Providers 2026, Residential and Datacenter Comparison

ProxyEmpire is the provider to choose if your project could end up needing any proxy type, because rotating residential, static ISP, datacenter and mobile all sit on one account. Decodo is the pick if you want a free residential trial and low per-IP datacenter pricing, and Bright Data fits if your project runs at enterprise scale with compliance reviews attached.

The rest of this list covers narrower briefs, from budget prepaid traffic to week-long sticky sessions. You'll find a quick comparison first, then a short explainer on residential vs datacenter proxies, the provider profiles, a pricing summary and a final set of recommendations matched to different projects.

Residential vs Datacenter Proxies

Before you pick a provider, decide which network your project actually needs, because that choice drives most of your cost.

Residential proxies route your traffic through IPs assigned to home internet connections. To a website, your requests look like ordinary visitors, which helps on targets that block automated traffic. You usually pay per gigabyte, and prices are higher.

Datacenter proxies use IPs owned by hosting companies. They're fast and inexpensive, often priced per IP or per bundle, but some sites treat them with suspicion because real shoppers rarely browse from a server.

Static ISP proxies sit in between. They're fixed addresses registered to internet providers, so they look residential while staying the same over time, which suits account work and allowlisting.

Mobile proxies use carrier IPs, which many real users share, so some sites are reluctant to block them in bulk.

For most projects, the practical answer is a mix: datacenter for easy pages, residential or ISP for protected ones, and mobile for the hardest targets. That's why one account covering several networks saves time.

Matched to the Project in Front of You

1. ProxyEmpire: Best for Every Proxy Type on One Account

If your project needs a stable identity as well as rotating IPs, ProxyEmpire covers both without a second vendor. Its static ISP proxies cost $3.50 for one IP and fall to $2.30 per IP at 500 IPs and $2.20 per IP from 1,000, available in 24 countries. You can run those fixed addresses for account logins while rotating residential handles bulk collection.

Around the ISP product, the same account gives you rotating residential at $3.50 per GB, rotating mobile at $4.50 per GB, datacenter from $25 a month for 40 GB, unlimited residential from $200 a day and dedicated US 5G from $20 a day. Free targeting reaches ZIP and ASN on residential and carrier on mobile, and unused GB on GB plans roll over.

You'll get 24/7 live chat and email support, a public status page and a dedicated account manager on Corporate and Enterprise plans. All sales are final, so test residential and mobile with the $1.97 trial before you scale.

Key features:

• Static ISP, rotating residential, mobile, datacenter and unlimited plans
• Free targeting down to ZIP, ASN and carrier
• GB that roll over without expiring
• Integration guides for antidetect browsers

Pricing: Static ISP from $2.20/IP at 1,000+; residential $3.50/GB; mobile $4.50/GB; datacenter from $25/month.

2. Decodo (formerly Smartproxy): Best for a Free Trial and Low Datacenter Entry

Decodo gives you an easy start on both networks. You can try 100 MB of residential traffic free for 3 days, and datacenter IPs begin at $0.02 each from a pool of 500K+, with ISP from $0.27 per IP.

On residential, every plan reaches 115M+ IPs, and you can target down to ZIP and ASN at no cost. Monthly plans run from $3.75 per GB on 3 GB to $2.75 per GB on 100 GB, and mobile starts from $2.25 per GB.

Watch two details: the trial converts to a paid plan unless you cancel, and you can't use Wallet pay as you go while a subscription is active.

Key features:

• Free 3-day residential trial
• Free ZIP and ASN targeting
• Web Data API and SDKs

Pricing: Residential from $3.75/GB; datacenter from $0.02/IP; mobile from $2.25/GB.

3. SOAX: Best for Projects with Strict Budgets

SOAX lets you put a hard ceiling on each project. You can attach traffic caps, protocol limits and domain allow or block lists to every package, which keeps one project from eating another's budget.

Residential and mobile cost the same, paid with monthly credits worth $1 each, and the rate depends on the country tier. The plan builder shows 100 GB of US traffic at $3.00 per GB. SOCKS5 runs over TCP and UDP.

SOAX doesn't list datacenter proxies, so pair it with another provider if you need cheap bulk IPs. Its traffic analytics show delivered vs blocked requests, which tells you when a target needs a different network.

Key features:

• Per-package guardrails
• Residential and mobile at one price
• Free Sandbox account

Pricing: Credit-based; example of $3.00/GB for US traffic.

4. DataImpulse: Best for Budget Residential Volume

DataImpulse is the place to buy residential traffic in bulk at a low rate: 50 GB for $50 or 1 TB for $800, with no subscription and no expiry.

It also sells premium residential, mobile at $2 per GB (per its official blog) and datacenter proxies. Country targeting is free, but you'll pay extra for state, city, ZIP or ASN.

Support is available 24/7 by chat, email and Telegram, and a 7-day refund policy applies. Integration guides for Scrapy, Playwright and Puppeteer help you plug it into an existing scraper quickly.

Key features:

• Traffic that never expires
• No monthly minimum
• SOCKS5 support

Pricing: Residential from $1/GB; mobile $2/GB.

5. Webshare: Best for Small Projects That Start Free

Webshare lets you start with 10 free datacenter proxies and no card. When you're ready to pay, datacenter packs start at $2.99 a month for 100 proxies, and rotating residential starts at $3.50 for 1 GB.

You can also buy static residential IPs from providers such as Comcast and AT&T, from $6.00 a month for 20 IPs. Plans are customizable by count, bandwidth and location.

There's no mobile product, so look elsewhere if your project needs carrier IPs.

Key features:

• Permanent free datacenter plan
• Static residential (ISP) options
• 24/7 support and dedicated account managers

Pricing: Datacenter from $2.99/month; residential from $3.50 (1 GB); ISP from $6.00/month.

6. Bright Data: Best for Enterprise Projects

Bright Data covers residential, ISP and datacenter at large scale: 400M+ monthly residential IPs, 1.3M+ ISP IPs and 1.3M+ datacenter IPs. Datacenter starts at 10 IPs for $14 a month, and ISP at 10 IPs for $18.

Residential pay as you go costs $4 per GB with code RESIGB50. You'll pass a KYC check before using residential IPs, and unused monthly commitments don't roll over.

If your project goes through procurement, the listed ISO 27001, SOC 2, SOC 3 and CSA STAR Level 1 help.

Key features:

• Very large pools across networks
• Certifications listed
• AWS Marketplace and Azure billing

Pricing: Residential $4/GB with code; ISP from $18/month; datacenter from $14/month.

7. IPRoyal: Best for Long Sessions Across Networks

IPRoyal sells residential, ISP, datacenter and mobile, and its residential sticky sessions last up to 7 days, useful for projects that need one identity for a long time.

Residential traffic never expires, starting at $7 per GB on 1 GB. ISP starts from $1.80 per proxy, datacenter from $1.39 and mobile from $10.11 per day.

Workspace roles and 2FA help if several people share the account, and you can register without a credit card. The docs report an average support response of 58 seconds.

Key features:

• 7-day sticky sessions
• Non-expiring residential traffic
• 650+ tool integrations

Pricing: Residential from $7/GB; ISP from $1.80; datacenter from $1.39; mobile from $10.11/day.

8. NodeMaven: Best for Account Projects Needing Clean IPs

NodeMaven focuses on IP quality. Its filter screens each residential and mobile address for fraud score and blacklist status before you get it, and sticky sessions last up to 24 hours.

ISP proxies start from $2.33 per IP for 30 days with unlimited traffic, and residential and mobile share a rollover balance from $2.20 per GB on monthly plans.

Datacenter proxies aren't listed, so use another provider for cheap bulk work. A $3.50 trial for 750 MB lets you check IP quality on your own accounts first.

Key features:

• IP Quality Filter
• ISP proxies with unlimited traffic
• Traffic rollover and cashback

Pricing: Residential and mobile from $2.20/GB; ISP from $2.33/IP.

Pricing Compared

Entry prices depend on the network you need. On residential, DataImpulse starts lowest at $1 per GB on its 50 GB plan, followed by NodeMaven at $2.20 per GB monthly. ProxyEmpire and Webshare both start at $3.50, Decodo at $3.75 per GB, Bright Data at $4 per GB with a code and IPRoyal at $7 per GB. SOAX depends on country tier.

On datacenter, Decodo starts at $0.02 per IP, IPRoyal at $1.39 per proxy, Webshare at $2.99 a month for 100 proxies, Bright Data at $14 a month for 10 IPs and ProxyEmpire at $25 a month for 40 GB.

On static ISP, Decodo starts at $0.27 per IP, IPRoyal at $1.80, Bright Data at $1.80 per IP on its 10 IP plan, NodeMaven at $2.33 per IP and ProxyEmpire at $3.50 for one IP, falling to $2.20 per IP at 1,000+.

Remember that billing units differ, so compare the plan you'd actually buy, and check whether unused traffic rolls over.

Which Provider Should You Choose?

Choose ProxyEmpire if your project needs rotating residential, static ISP, datacenter and mobile under one account, with GB that never expire.

Choose Decodo if you want a free residential trial and low datacenter entry pricing.

Choose SOAX if you need hard spending caps per project.

Choose DataImpulse if you're buying residential volume on a budget.

Choose Bright Data if your project goes through enterprise procurement.