Web scraping is an invaluable tool for extracting data from websites at scale. However, when sending a large number of requests to a site, you risk getting your IP address blocked. This is where rotating residential proxies come in.
A residential proxy routes your web requests through an intermediary IP address belonging to a real device on a real network, making them appear as normal user traffic. When utilizing rotating residential proxies, the IP address used for each request changes, distributing traffic across a pool of millions of IPs. This greatly reduces the chance of blocks or bans.
While there are many proxy providers on the market, not all are equal in terms of performance, reliability, and cost. In this post, we‘ll take an in-depth look at the top 5 rotating residential proxy services for web scraping as of 2023.
But first, let‘s examine the difference between residential proxies and data center proxies, another common proxy type.
Residential Proxies vs Data Center Proxies
The key difference is that residential proxies provide IP addresses tied to real, physical devices, whereas data center proxy IPs come from a secondary corporation and aren‘t affiliated with an ISP.
Some major advantages of residential IPs are:
- Regarded as real user traffic and less likely to be blocked
- Better able to get around CAPTCHAs and other anti-bot measures
- Ideal for web scraping large amounts of data from tough targets
In contrast, data center IPs are more readily flagged and blocked by websites, as they are easier to detect as coming from a secondary service. The main advantage of data center proxies is that they are faster and cheaper than residential IPs. They can be a good choice for less demanding scraping tasks.
Key Factors in Choosing a Residential Proxy Provider
Before we get to the top providers, these are the most important criteria to evaluate when selecting residential proxies for web scraping:
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Pool size – The number of IP addresses available. Bigger pools mean more IPs to rotate through and less chance of bans. Ideally you want at least 1-10 million residential IPs.
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Locations – Where the IPs are based geographically. The more locations, the better, for accessing local content. Look for good coverage in your target markets.
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Success rates – The percentage of requests that complete successfully. Higher success rates mean fewer failed requests and retries needed. 90%+ success rates are desirable.
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Rotation settings – Options to control how/when the IPs rotate, such as rotating on each request or maintaining sessions. More flexibility is better to fine-tune performance.
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Concurrent requests – How many requests you can send at the same time. Important for optimizing scraping speed and efficiency.
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Bandwidth & limits – How much data you can transfer via the proxy. Some providers have bandwidth caps while others are unlimited. No limits is usually better value.
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Pricing & minimum spend – How the provider charges for the service and what the minimum commitment is. Residential proxies are typically more expensive than data center IPs. Costs can add up fast, so understanding the pricing model is key.
With these factors in mind, let‘s compare the top rotating residential proxy services for web scraping as of 2023.
1. Bright Data (Formerly Luminati)
Bright Data is the largest proxy network in the industry with over 72 million residential IPs spanning every country worldwide. Widely regarded as the top premium proxy provider, they are known for their massive scale, performance, and advanced features.
Key advantages of Bright Data proxies are:
- Huge residential IP pool with best-in-class location coverage
- Very high 99.99% success rates and fast speeds
- Flexible rotation settings including on-demand sticky sessions
- Advanced proxy manager and API for granular control
- Dedicated 24/7 customer support
The main downside is that Bright Data is a relatively expensive, premium service, with a $500 monthly minimum commitment for residential IPs. Pricing is volume-based at $25 per GB for the first 40 GB and gets cheaper at scale.
Use cases: Bright Data is best for large scale, high-volume web scraping projects that need global location targeting, high success rates, and advanced customization. A top choice for enterprise customers and serious scrapers.
2. Smartproxy
Smartproxy is a popular premium proxy provider that offers a well-rounded service suitable for most scraping needs at a more affordable price point than Bright Data.
Noteworthy features:
- Over 40 million residential IPs in 195+ locations
- Solid 90%+ success rates
- Fast rotating proxies with configurable sticky sessions
- Unlimited threaded connections and bandwidth
- User-friendly proxy manager and Chrome extension
The main drawback is that Smartproxy‘s network is notably smaller than Bright Data‘s and they offer less advanced customization. However, their service is very reliable and a great value for the price.
Pricing starts at $75/month for 5 GB ($15/GB) with discounts at higher volumes. The $200/month plan for 20 GB ($10/GB) is the best value.
Use cases: Smartproxy is an excellent versatile residential proxy for a wide variety of scraping projects. Their generous bandwidth and concurrency limits make them especially cost-effective for large jobs. An overall top pick for most users.
3. Oxylabs
Oxylabs is another major player that operates one of the largest proxy networks, with 100 million residential IPs. They are well-regarded for their high-quality infrastructure, customer support, and ethical practices.
Key advantages include:
- Massive residential IP pool covering virtually all countries
- 24/7 dedicated account managers for enterprise clients
- High 95%+ success rates with retries
- Advanced rotation, throttling, and concurrent request controls
- Machine learning-optimized dynamic proxy routing
One drawback is that like Bright Data, Oxylabs has a relatively high minimum commitment requirement of $300/month billed by bandwidth. However, they do offer a free trial for testing.
Pricing for residential IPs starts at $300/month for 20 GB ($15/GB), with discounts at scale.
Use cases: With their advanced features and account management, Oxylabs is particularly well-suited for complex, long-term enterprise scraping projects. Their optimized architecture makes them a strong choice for harvesting difficult targets.
4. SOAX
SOAX is a lesser-known but powerful provider that operates a sizable network of over 8.5 million residential proxies across 120+ countries. They emphasize high performance and user experience.
Noteworthy features are:
- Pure peer-to-peer residential proxies for high anonymity
- Very fast rotating and static proxies available
- Flexible rotation settings, including custom intervals
- Unlimited concurrent requests
- Intuitive API and proxy manager with real-time analytics
Main drawbacks are SOAX has somewhat fewer IPs and locations than the top tier providers. However, their basic plan requires no minimum commitment.
Pricing starts at $99/month for 8 GB ($12.37/GB), with cheaper per-GB rates at higher volumes. The $499/month plan for 50 GB ($9.98/GB) offers solid value.
Use cases: SOAX is an appealing option for small to mid-volume scraping projects that prioritize fast rotating IPs and an easy proxy management experience. Their custom rotation intervals and P2P network make them great for aggressive scraping.
5. NetNut
NetNut provides a high-quality residential proxy service powered by DiViNetworks, an innovative peer-to-peer network that crowdsources internet connections. This unique architecture results in excellent speeds.
Key strengths of NetNut are:
- 20+ million residential IPs with strong coverage in Tier 1 countries
- Static and rotating proxies up to 30-40 Mb/sec
- 99% success rates with dynamic IP reputation
- API access and browser extensions available
- Simple pricing model with unlimited bandwidth
The main limitation is that NetNut offers fewer exotic locations compared to the other top providers. Their residential proxy service is also a bit newer and hasn‘t been "battle-tested" as much.
Pricing is per port rather than bandwidth. 1 port for $300/month, 5 ports for $1,000/month, 10 ports for $1,400/month. More ports can be added for $8/day per port.
Use cases: NetNut is a compelling choice for scrapers who prioritize speed and performance. Their unlimited bandwidth pricing is uniquely cost-effective for large-scale crawling on major sites. Well-suited for most common scraping projects.
Head-to-Head Comparison
Here is a quick comparison of the top 5 residential proxy providers on the key criteria:
| Provider | Bright Data | Smartproxy | Oxylabs | SOAX | NetNut |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential IPs | 72 million | 40 million | 100 million | 8.5 million | 20 million |
| Countries | 200+ | 195+ | 180+ | 120+ | 50+ |
| Success Rate | 99.99%+ | 90%+ | 95%+ | 95%+ | 99%+ |
| Pricing Model | Bandwidth + min. $500/mo | Bandwidth + min. $75/mo | Bandwidth + min. $300/mo | Bandwidth + min. $99/mo | Port-based, unlimited bandwidth |
| Cost per GB* | $12.50 | $10 | $11.25 | $9.98 | n/a (unlimited) |
*Based on mid-tier bandwidth pricing plans, excluding setup fees.
As shown above, the providers vary quite a bit in scale, performance, pricing models, and cost. There is no single "best" proxy that is right for everyone – the optimal choice depends on your specific needs and budget.
Recommendations
Here are my general recommendations for rotating residential proxies based on different common use cases and priorities:
Best overall: Smartproxy – An excellent versatile provider that balances large network size, great performance, and affordable pricing for most scraping projects. Recommended for the majority of users.
Largest network: Oxylabs – With a massive pool of 100M IPs and high quality standards, Oxylabs is the top choice for large-scale global scraping projects that need maximum location targeting.
Highest success rates: Bright Data – Known for its market-leading 99.99% success rates, Bright Data is the best pick for scraping websites that have strong anti-bot measures in place. Ideal for harvesting difficult, high-value targets.
Best for speed: NetNut – NetNut‘s unique architecture provides unmatched speeds of up to 30-40 Mb/s. Their unlimited bandwidth pricing is perfect for large crawling jobs that prioritize fast data extraction.
Most cost-effective: SOAX – SOAX‘s plans offer some of the lowest per-GB costs, with no minimum commitment on the basic plan. A great option for smaller scraping projects on a budget.
Additional Tips
Regardless of which residential proxy provider you choose, here are some additional tips to get the most out of your proxies for web scraping:
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Experiment with different rotation settings and concurrent request limits to optimize success rates and performance for your particular target sites. Don‘t be afraid to start slow and scale up.
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Whenever possible, distribute your scraping requests over time and across multiple domains to avoid overloading any single site. Triggering rate limits is a surefire way to get blocked.
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Monitor for drops in success rates or increases in CAPTCHAs, as these are warning signs you may be getting detected. Scale back and reassess your approach if needed.
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Respect robots.txt whenever feasible and limit your requests to reasonable volumes and frequencies. Using proxies to harvest data doesn‘t mean you have carte blanche to hammer sites.
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Combine your residential proxies with other scraping best practices like dynamic delays, IP geotargeting, browser fingerprinting, and spoofing user agents for the best results.
Final Thoughts
Residential proxies are an essential tool in any serious web scraper‘s toolkit. When selected and used properly, they greatly improve your ability to extract data reliably and at scale from even the most challenging websites.
While the differences between the top residential proxy providers can be nuanced, the five covered here are all solid options that can meet the needs of most scraping projects. Test out a few to see which works best for your specific use case.
Happy scraping!
