Proxies are used for security and anonymity on digital platforms and websites. They mask your real IP address to prevent your online information from getting tracked. Although all proxies provide security and anonymity, the reason for which different users want security is different. Some people want to prevent their real IP from getting blocked while web scraping. Others want to access shows on Netflix not available in their region or make online purchases without any restrictions. There are different kinds of proxies available for different reasons. Two of the widely used proxies among them are Datacenter proxies and residential proxies. However, which one is preferred more by the users? Let’s try and answer this question. But before starting, it’s better first to understand what residential and data center proxies are.
What are Residential Proxies?
Residential proxies are the proxies that mask your real IP address with IP addresses of real users. These IP addresses belong to real users, and they can be traced back to an actual physical area or place. Therefore, it is very difficult for websites to flag them as proxies or to block them eventually. As a result, residential proxies are highly secure to use. This makes them perfect for scraping large amounts of data. You can also use some of the best residential proxies to perform data mining or extract data from bigger websites with robust security.
Smartproxy’s residential proxies are well-known for their anonymity, speed, and high performance. They consist of over 40 million unique IPs from real mobile and desktop devices worldwide. You can choose from more than 195 locations worldwide, any city you need, and 50 US states.
There’s no connection or thread limit as Smartproxy lets you access their whole residential IP pool regardless of your subscription – you only pay for the traffic usage. Be it web scraping, sneaker copping, brand protection, or managing multiple social media accounts – Smartproxy’s residential proxies will help you scale your business fast. The smallest plan starts at just $75/month + VAT.
What are Data Center Proxies?
Unlike residential proxies, data center proxies do not belong to the real users or an actual physical location. Rather, they are provided to you by the data centers, hence the name “data center” proxies. Because of fast system speed and broad bandwidth, these data centers can handle many proxy IPs at the same time. Since data center proxies do not belong to a real residential IP address, they are not that secure. They can be identified as proxies if used for data mining or web scraping on bigger websites with sturdy security.
If you’re searching for a perfect combo of affordable prices, 24/7 live customer service, and high-performance results, look no further. Smartproxy offers a 40K+ HTTP(s) datacenter proxy pool that originates from the US with 99.99% uptime!
You’re charged only for monthly bandwidth, and you can have unlimited concurrent connection requests to any website. IPs rotate automatically with every request; however, if you want, you can choose sticky sessions and keep the same IP for 30 minutes. Plans start from $50 + VAT/month and include a 3-day money-back option.
Residential Vs. Data Center Proxies: Comparison of Features
As we have seen, residential proxies and data center proxies both are different in terms of the IP addresses they both use. While residential proxies provide you with real IPs, data center proxies offer proxies managed by the data centers. But which one offers better features?To find out which proxy is the best, let’s have a look at some of the essential factors.
- Pricing: Which proxy is better when it comes to the pricing? Datacenter proxies are cheaper compared to data center proxies. It is because residential proxies belong to authentic users, while data center proxies are managed and created in large numbers by the data centers. Therefore, there’s no doubt that residential proxies are more expensive.
- Security: Residential proxies are a hundred times more secure than the data center proxies. It is difficult to identify residential proxies as proxies as the IPs belong to the real users. In comparison, data proxies’ behavior can be easily identified and flagged inappropriate by large websites with strong security. Hence, residential proxies are far more secure to use in cases of managing large businesses.
- Speed: Between residential and data center proxies, data center proxies are much faster. However, to overcome the speed limit, you have static residential proxies. Static residential proxies offer all the features of residential proxies and a high speed.
- Availability: Datacenter proxies are available in large numbers. The reason behind this is simply that they are created in bulk by the data centers. However, residential proxies belong to real users who lease out their IP addresses. Therefore, they are not available in large numbers.
- Reliability: Residential proxies are certainly more reliable than data center proxies. The logic behind it is straightforward. It is difficult for websites to view residential flag proxies as inappropriate or fake because they can be traced to a real physical location. Hence, residential proxies are more reliable when it comes to security and bypassing IP blocking or geo-blocking.
Conclusion
So, which one is the best between residential and data center proxies? Residential proxies definitely when you consider security and reliability. Although data center proxies are easily available and faster, they don’t offer high security and protection. Moreover, the very purpose for which proxies are used is for security, privacy, and anonymity. Other features, such as faster speed and availability, are additional bonuses. Nonetheless, data center proxies can be used if you want to do web scraping or data mining at a lower level. You can also use them for basic requirements such as bypassing restrictions on the shows on Netflix. But for large businesses and greater use, residential proxies are appropriate as they do not get traced easily. Hence, residential proxies are the best, even though you have to spend extra on them.
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