Best Residential Proxies to Use in 2026

Looking for a way to browse the web without getting flagged or blocked? You're probably tired of websites detecting your proxy and shutting you down before you can even get started.

That's where residential proxies come in. Unlike regular datacenter proxies that scream "I'm a bot!" to every website you visit, residential proxies use real IP addresses from actual home internet connections. To websites, you look like just another person browsing from their couch.

But here's the thing: not all residential proxy providers are created equal. Some have tiny IP pools that get you blocked anyway. Others charge ridiculous prices for mediocre performance. And don't even get me started on the ones with non-existent customer support.

We tested eight popular residential proxy providers to find out which ones actually deliver on their promises. We looked at everything from pool size and speed to pricing and customer support. No fluff, no sponsored rankings—just straight facts about what works and what doesn't.

What Makes a Residential Proxy Worth Your Money?

Before we dive into the rankings, let's talk about what residential proxies actually do.

A residential proxy routes your internet traffic through a real person's IP address. These IPs come from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and are assigned to actual residential locations—think someone's home or apartment.

When you use one, websites see you as a regular user from that location. This makes residential proxies incredibly effective for tasks that would normally trigger anti-bot measures.

Here's why people use them:

You can access geo-blocked content from streaming platforms and websites that restrict access based on location. Companies use them for ad verification—making sure their ads display correctly across different regions. If you're into sneaker drops or limited releases, residential proxies help you cop items before bots detect and block you.

👉 Get reliable residential proxies with global coverage and real user IPs

SEO professionals rely on them for keyword research, rank tracking, and web scraping without getting their IPs banned. E-commerce sellers use them to monitor competitor pricing and market trends across different regions.

The beauty of residential proxies is that they're nearly impossible to detect. Websites can't tell the difference between you and a legitimate user from that location. This is why they work better than datacenter proxies for sensitive tasks where getting blocked would waste your time and money.

Top 8 Residential Proxy Providers Ranked

We evaluated each provider based on proxy pool size, performance metrics, pricing, customer support quality, and overall user experience. Here's what we found.

1. Bright Data – The Industry Veteran

If you want proven reliability, Bright Data has been around since 2017 and serves over 20,000 users worldwide. They offer more than 72 million residential IPs across 195 locations.

Their proxy pool used to be the largest in the industry, though Oxylabs has since overtaken them. Still, 72 million IPs is more than enough for most use cases.

What you get: HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 protocol support with rotation per request or custom sticky sessions. Success rate sits at 99.1% with an average response time of 0.8 seconds.

Pricing starts at $15 per GB with a pay-as-you-go option. That's on the higher end, but you're paying for consistency and scale.

The dashboard takes some getting used to. It's not as intuitive as newer providers, and beginners might feel overwhelmed at first. Customer support is email-only unless you buy a premium plan—then you get live chat access.

2. Oxylabs – Premium Performance at a Premium Price

Oxylabs operates the largest residential proxy pool with over 100 million IPs covering every country and city you can think of. They even offer ASN and ZIP code targeting for ultra-precise location selection.

Performance is exceptional: 99.6% success rate and 0.6-second response time. If you need residential proxies that simply work without hiccups, this is your best bet.

The catch? Pricing starts at $10 per GB, which adds up quickly for high-volume users. But if you're running serious operations where downtime costs more than the proxies themselves, the investment makes sense.

Account creation is straightforward—you can use your Google account. The dashboard includes everything you need: documentation, FAQs, quick-start guides, and a Chrome extension for easier proxy management.

Customer support is available 24/7 via live chat and email. They actually respond quickly and provide helpful answers instead of generic copy-paste replies.

3. Smartproxy – Best Value for Most Users

Smartproxy hits the sweet spot between price and performance. You get over 40 million residential IPs across 195 locations for $8.5 per GB.

The success rate is 99.4% with 0.6-second response times—nearly identical to Oxylabs but at a lower cost. This makes it ideal for businesses that need reliable performance without breaking the bank.

The dashboard is clean and beginner-friendly. You can access stats, free tools, quick-start guides, and video tutorials all from one place. Account creation takes seconds, and you don't need to enter card details until you're ready to buy.

Customer support includes live chat, extensive documentation, and even a Discord community where users help each other out. Responses are fast and actually useful.

If you're choosing between providers and want solid performance without premium pricing, Smartproxy delivers the best overall value.

4. IPRoyal – Non-Expiring Traffic That's Yours to Keep

Most residential proxy providers operate on a "use it or lose it" model. Buy 10GB, don't use it within 30 days, and it's gone.

IPRoyal does things differently. When you buy traffic, it never expires. You can use those gigabytes whenever you want—no pressure, no waste.

They offer over 32 million residential IPs across 195 locations with support for HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5. Pricing starts at $7 per GB, making it one of the more affordable options.

The tradeoff? Performance isn't quite as polished as the top-tier providers. Success rate is 89.5% and response time averages 3.5 seconds. That's fine for basic tasks but might frustrate you if you need lightning-fast speeds.

👉 Try IPRoyal's residential proxies with traffic that never expires

Customer support is solid. You get 24/7 access via live chat, email, and Discord. The team is responsive and helpful, especially for business clients who need personalized setup assistance.

The dashboard is straightforward with easy access to documentation, quick-start guides, and support resources. Account creation requires a phone number as part of their KYC process—standard practice for serious proxy providers these days.

5. NetNut – Detailed Reports for Data-Driven Users

NetNut's selling point is its real-time proxy usage reporting. From the dashboard, you can see detailed metrics including request counts, success rates, response times, and data usage.

If you're the type who likes to monitor everything and optimize based on actual numbers, this level of transparency is valuable.

They offer 52 million residential IPs across 150 locations with 93.5% success rate and 2-second response time. Pricing starts at $300 for 20GB ($15 per GB), which is steep compared to competitors.

There's no pay-as-you-go option, so you're committing to at least 20GB upfront. For that price, you could get better performance elsewhere—but you wouldn't get the detailed reporting dashboard.

Customer support is 24/7 via email, with Skype support available for larger packages. Response times can take up to two hours depending on when you reach out.

6. Webshare – For DIY Users Who Know What They're Doing

Webshare is designed for users who want control over their proxy setup. You can choose bandwidth limits, set network priority features, and customize rotation settings.

They offer 30 million residential IPs across 195 locations with a 96.7% success rate and 2.8-second response time. Pricing starts at $7 per GB with no pay-as-you-go option.

The big limitation: no HTTPS support, only HTTP and SOCKS5. If you need HTTPS, look elsewhere.

Customer support is available via email from 6 AM to 6 PM Pacific Time, Monday through Friday. Outside those hours, you're on your own. Email responses can take up to 24 hours.

The dashboard provides instant answers through documentation, which helps if you're comfortable troubleshooting issues yourself. But if you need hand-holding or prefer live chat support, this isn't the right fit.

7. Nimble – AI-Optimized Performance

Nimble is a newer player that brings AI optimization to residential proxies. Their system personalizes each IP request based on your specific needs, going through four phases to deliver the best possible IP for your task.

They offer millions of reliable residential IPs across 250+ countries with a 99.4% success rate and 0.25-second response time—the fastest on this list.

Pricing is on the premium end: $300 to $700 monthly for individuals, and $1,100 to $4,000 for professionals and enterprises. You're paying for the AI optimization and hands-on support from their team.

Before committing, you can book a demo with Nimble experts who'll help you find the right plan. The dashboard is intuitive with comprehensive tutorials and guides.

Customer support is available via email with responses typically within 24 hours. It's responsive but lacks the instant live chat option some users prefer.

8. Asocks – Budget-Friendly for Simple Tasks

Asocks offers residential proxies for just $3 per GB—the cheapest option by far. You get access to over 7 million residential IPs across 150+ locations.

The catch? The proxy pool is small, success rate is 93.5%, and response time is 2.6 seconds. This isn't for serious business operations or high-stakes tasks.

But if you need residential proxies for simple personal projects or light testing, paying $3 per GB is hard to beat. Protocol support includes HTTP and SOCKS5, and proxies rotate every 15 minutes.

Customer support is surprisingly robust for the price: 24/7 via email, phone, Telegram, WhatsApp, and Skype. You even get a dedicated account manager.

Account creation takes about two minutes and is completely free. The dashboard is straightforward with accessible FAQs for quick answers.

How to Choose the Right Provider for Your Needs

Here's the thing: the "best" residential proxy depends entirely on what you're trying to accomplish.

If you're a large business that needs rock-solid reliability and can afford premium pricing, go with Oxylabs. Their 100 million IP pool and 99.6% success rate justify the cost when downtime isn't an option.

For most users who want excellent performance without paying top dollar, Smartproxy offers the best value. You get nearly identical performance to Oxylabs at a significantly lower price point.

Small businesses and individuals doing basic tasks should consider IPRoyal. The non-expiring traffic model means you're not racing against a 30-day deadline, and $7 per GB is reasonable for the features you get.

Budget users with simple personal projects can save money with Asocks at $3 per GB. Just don't expect premium performance or a massive IP pool.

DIY users who want customization options and don't need much support will appreciate Webshare's flexibility—just remember there's no HTTPS support.

If you're data-driven and want detailed usage reports to optimize your proxy performance, NetNut's dashboard provides that transparency. You'll pay more for it, but the insights can be valuable.

Residential Proxies vs Datacenter Proxies: Which Should You Use?

Here's a quick reality check: datacenter proxies are faster and cheaper, but websites can spot them from a mile away.

Residential proxies are slower and more expensive, but they're nearly impossible to detect because they use real user IP addresses from ISPs.

Datacenter IPs come from cloud hosting companies. They're generated in bulk, which makes them easy to identify and block. If you're doing anything that requires stealth—web scraping, accessing geo-blocked content, buying limited releases—datacenter proxies will get you flagged.

Residential proxies use IPs distributed by Internet Service Providers to real homes. Websites can't tell the difference between you and a legitimate user from that location.

The tradeoff is speed and cost. Datacenter proxies are blazing fast and cheap because they're generated artificially. Residential proxies are slower because they route through real devices, and more expensive because they're harder to source.

For high-stakes tasks where getting blocked wastes time and money, residential proxies are worth the investment. For simple tasks where detection isn't a concern, datacenter proxies work fine and save you money.

Final Thoughts

After testing eight residential proxy providers, here's the bottom line: Oxylabs offers the best overall performance if you can afford it. Their 100 million IP pool and 99.6% success rate make them the top choice for serious operations.

But for most users, Smartproxy delivers the best value—nearly identical performance at a lower price with excellent customer support.

If you need non-expiring traffic and don't want to worry about monthly deadlines, IPRoyal's model is refreshingly different. And budget users doing simple tasks can save significant money with Asocks.

Choose based on your specific needs: pool size, performance requirements, budget constraints, and support preferences. Every provider on this list is legitimate and functional—they just excel in different areas.

The worst choice you can make is picking a residential proxy based solely on price without considering performance and support. Getting blocked halfway through a project because you went with the cheapest option ends up costing more in wasted time than you saved on the proxies.