Before talking about residential proxies, let us first talk about what a proxy generally means. A proxy is defined as an intermediate server between the internet and a user’s computer used to access information and websites. With the help of a proxy, you can surf blocked or restricted content in your country by connecting to a location server with access to that content.
A proxy is a middle man between your computer and the server connected through different networks in simpler terms. Web scraping proxies help protect and secure your data transmission while making you untraceable while browsing the internet. Now that we understand proxies better, let us talk about residential proxies.
What are residential proxies?
A residential proxy is set up over your default or residential IP address that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) allocates to you. The IP address allocated to you is marked with your residential address, so if you are surfing on the internet without a proxy, your location can be easily tracked.
Every IP address on the internet has a residential address marked with it, which a website can easily track. You should always avoid exposing your IP, primarily if you use bots for social media or regularly scrape content for SEO analysis.
When you send too much data across a website in a short time, the website can recognize you as a bot or a scraper and can block your IP address permanently. Residential proxies such as GeoSurf, Scraper API, etc., can help you bypass website security protocols by continuously switching your IP proxy address to avoid being tracked. Several web scraping proxies are available in the market that you can use to scrape the websites safely.
Also, a residential proxy will not only hide your IP address but also help you scrape data from different websites, create multiple accounts through the same computer, create a strong P2P connection for torrents, and stream any geo-blocked online content.
Now we know what residential proxies are, let us now talk about the best residential proxies in the market. There are several residential and web scraping proxies options, which can make choosing the right one confusing. We have made a choice more comfortable for you by listing out the three best proxies providers.
GeoSurf
GeoSurf is one of the safest and most reliable residential proxy providers. Their main target is to create proxies for web crawling and scraping. They provide the best web scraping proxies in the market. GeoSurf has over 2.5 million residential IP addresses in almost every country that can target over 1700 cities. They claim that you can scrape any website on the internet, preventing those websites from blocking your IP addresses.
Pros
- GeoSurf has a large distribution of IP addresses spread all over the world.
- They have excellent customer service and have a detailed FAQ page for quick resolutions to all your queries.
- GeoSurf is one of the most secure and reliable proxy service providers.
- They are ideal for web scraping because the websites are not able to block their proxies.
- There is a free trial to understand the ins and outs of the platform.
Cons
- Some users have observed speed drops while connected to a proxy.
- There can be a delay in response through their email support system.
Smartproxy
Smartproxy has been around for a long time and is one of the top residential proxies in the market. Unlike some of the providers, Smartproxy only offers residential proxies to provide the best features and support. Smartproxy has over 10 million residential IP addresses spanning across 190 plus countries around the world.
Pros
- They provide excellent customer support to their customers.
- Smartproxy is one of the most affordable residential proxy service providers.
- They have a vast pool of IP addresses and location coverage.
- They allow third-party integration from other providers.
Cons
- They cap your bandwidth, which in turn affects the browsing speed.
- There is no free trial available.
- You can only target eight cities using Smartproxy.
Microleaves
Microleaves, instead of providing residential proxies, provide back connect proxies. These back connect proxies in many aspects are similar to residential proxies. However, unlike how residential proxies are priced, Microleaves prices back connect proxies depending on ports. Their packages increase in price as the number of ports increases. Another unique thing about Microleaves is that all their residential IP addresses are located in the US.
Pros
- They provide a three-day money-back guarantee on all their purchases.
- You get access to unlimited bandwidth throughout the month.
- They have multiple IP addresses, all based out of the United States.
Cons
- There is no free trial available in Microleaves.
- Some smart websites can block the IPs on extensive usage.
Conclusion
Residential proxies can be a great tool, especially if you do web scraping frequently to avoid being blocked. These proxy providers can help you bypass website restrictions and access all the geo-restricted data without compromising your security and privacy. You can go with any of the proxy providers mentioned above, depending on your requirements, and start browsing the internet without worrying about being hacked or tracked.