Do you want to get the fastest proxies? Do you want to find the never blocked proxies for web scraping & Does the rotating residential proxies worth to buy?
Today, we will carefully explain the difference between the two types of proxy: residential and datacenter proxies. Both of these types have its strengths and weaknesses, and today we will try to cover all aspects of both.
Table of Contents
One of the many tools that help is proxies. The general definition is a server that works as a gateway to the internet or simply put the ability to change your local IP address.
That enables us to access content that is restricted to our location, post ads from certain locations, verify posted ads, scrape data from other websites and so on.
There are two main types of proxies: datacenter and residential.
Top 5 residential proxies providers
Top 5 dedicated datacenter proxies providers
Today we will be going over both types, detailing their strengths and weaknesses as well as real-life scenarios in which you can use them.
Datacenter proxies
The most common type of proxy is the data center. These proxies are not associated in any way with an ISP. They come from an organization that owns the server where the proxies are. The data center proxies will only provide you with a gateway to the internet. Besides being used for surfing the internet anonymously, they can also be used for scraping data, SEO activities, etc.
What is Datacenter Proxy?
Datacenter proxy is the proxy server assigned with a Datacenter IP. Datacenter IPs are IPs owned by companies such as AWS( Amazon Web Services), Azure Cloud, Digital Ocean, Linode and so on.
This type of IPs mainly used in a Datacenter for Virtual Private Servers, Cloud Servers, Dedicated Servers, etc. Primarily a data center IP is considered to be used for hosting purposes, not for human browsing purposes.
How do DataCenter Proxies work?
The principle behind the data center proxies is simple. A company that owns the server can sell you a batch of IP addresses that you can use to hide your online identity. In many cases, the batch consists of sequential IP addresses. The datacenter proxies are actually IP addresses that are not located in anyone’s home. Instead, they come from a secondary corporation.
Types of Data Center proxies
There are mainly two types of data center proxies: dedicated and semi-dedicated proxies.
The dedicated proxies, as the name suggests, are proxy addresses that can be used only by one person. That means that when you pay for the proxies, you are the only one that can use them. That will remain for as long as you continue to pay for them. These proxies tend to cost more.
Read more: Guide to buying a dedicated IP proxy for beginners.
The semi-dedicated proxies or shared proxies are the ones that are not used exclusively by one person. Several accounts can have access to them. Their proxies are cheaper than the dedicated proxies.
Pros and Cons of DataCenter proxies
As we already mentioned, each proxy type has its strengths and weaknesses. Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of the data center proxies.
Pros:
- Price: The data center proxies are very cheap. You can find them for as little as $1 per IP address.
- Availability: Since these are the most common types of proxies, that means that there will be easy to find. There are hundreds of companies that sell data center proxies.
- Speed: We already mentioned that these proxies are part of a server. That means that the speed is something that they are extremely good at. You can get a data center proxy with ten times faster internet speeds than your own local.
- Geo-restricted content: In general, they are good at providing you with access to content that is restricted to your location, such as Netflix.
Cons:
- Detection: we mentioned that data center proxies are good at hiding your actual IP address, but this is not always the case. Certain websites and services are good at discovering data center proxies. Take Wikipedia for example. From the screenshot below you can see that it was able to detect the data center proxy that we used.
BTW, almost all the VPN services are using datacenter IPs also.
- Already blacklisted: Websites or services that are strict about who gets access to their content already know the range of IP addresses that are sold as data center proxies. That means that there is a chance that the proxies that you bought are already blocked. For example, almost all ticket sites blacklist proxies. A workaround for this is datacenter proxies with subnets. That is not perfect it sometimes it works. Sneaker websites are a different story. Most datacenter proxy providers admit that their proxies won’t be able to access them.
Based on our guide, if you think that the datacenter proxies won’t work for you, you should check out the residential proxies.
Residential Proxies
The datacenter IPs are mainly for web hosting or other web services. Before we discuss the residential IP proxies, Let me check your internet connection.
You should know that any device connected to the internet has an IP address, When you access the internet, you have to pay for the internet at your home and they are the ones that assign an IP address to your connection, We call those service as Internet Service Provider (ISP).
For example, if you need an internet connection at your home, you can call Version or other ISP, Then the tech crew comes over and install the hardware that will enable the ISP’s server to provide you with an IP address for your residence. That is the reason for calling these proxies residential.
What are Residential proxies?
Residential proxies are proxy servers assigned with residential IPs. These are IP addresses that are assigned to users by ISPs. ISP is that company that you have to pay for your home internet connection, companies like Verizon, AT&T, Comcast, Spectrum, Cox, Time Warner and so on.
Read More, What is a Residental IP Address?
How do Residential Proxies work?
Now that we know that the residential proxies are IP addresses provided by an ISP, it’s time to explain how they work.
Similar to servers, ISPs have a range of IP addresses that they own and assign to their users. Companies that sell residential proxies are selling someone’s home IP address. They acquire them by asking the users to install a plugin or an application that works in the background that provides them with access to the IP. Take Luminati for example. Their p2p or peer to peer network consists of over 35 million proxies that using another person’s home internet as a proxy for you. That means that they are selling 35 million residential IP addresses.
You may be like to read, How does Luminati.io proxy network work?
The reason why the residential proxies are better than datacenter ones is that websites and services treat these residential proxies as individual users and the chances of getting banned are very slim.
Pros and Cons of Residential proxies
Even though we mentioned many advantages of residential proxies, there are some drawbacks as well. Below we will cover them.
Pros:
- Detection: The residential proxies are almost undetectable as proxies. Certain sneaker sites like Adidas have already blocked most of the data center proxies on the internet. The advantage of the residential proxies is that even though you are using a proxy, they won’t be able to detect it.
- Genuine & security: The reason for that is the fact that most residential proxy providers rely on the P2P network. That means that the data sent from your computer goes through the proxy’s computer making your surfing session more genuine. So, as mentioned before, the chances of getting banned are slim.
Cons:
- Choice: Unlike the number of data center providers, there aren’t too many companies that sell residential proxies.
- Price: Due to the complicated process or acquiring a residential proxy, they are much more expensive than the data center ones.
- Speed: This is not one of the residential proxy’s strong suit. The reason for this is that the connection is limited to the speed of the internet connection of the person whose IP address you are using.
Datacenter IP Proxies vs residential IP proxies: How to choose?
We went through the differences, as well as the pros and cons of data center and residential IP addresses. The main question is which one to get?
That is a debate that goes back to the origins of proxies. Many people express their opinion based on their personal preferences or experience. It all comes down to you. For what are you going to use the proxies? How much are you willing to spend? How much of them do you need?
Usage & Purpose
The first step to deciding what type of proxy addresses you need to get is to figure out what you need them for. For example, if you need to post ads from a specific location or check prices from various locations, then it is recommended to go with the residential IPs. On the other hand, if you’re scraping data, then you can get data center IPs. But here’s where it gets complicated.
If you’re scraping data, the datacenter proxies might not work for you. Scraping small amounts of data from small websites is not a problem, in some rare cases, you might not be required to use a proxy. On the other hand, if you are scraping data from Google or LinkedIn or Amazon, then you’ll need residential proxies.
Let’s take sneaker sites for another example. Websites like Adidas, Nike, Ticketmaster, etc. are websites that are very strict in allowing users to access them. That means that a datacenter proxy will never be able to get access to them. That is why we would recommend going for the residential proxies.
You may be like to read, Residential or Dedicated proxies for copping sneakers.
Quantity Needed
Another criteria that you need to keep in mind is the quantity. Residential IP addresses are rare and might be hard to come by. If you need thousands of addresses, then you might be better off with datacenter. You can get thousands of residential ones, but it might cost you a lot, and you might need to get them from multiple companies.
If you are a company or individual that needs to scrape a lot of data, then you will need a lot of IP addresses. That is so that the service that you’re scraping from doesn’t start blocking your proxies. A good approach to this is to get data center proxies.
Speed
Speed also plays a huge role. As we mentioned, database center proxies are faster than residential ones. On the other hand, anonymity is better on residential proxies.
If you’re looking to browse the web anonymously, then the speed will not play a big role in the decision. On the other hand, if you want to access streaming services that are not available in your country, then you should go for proxies at greater speeds.
Budget
The budget isn’t something that will make a huge difference in your decision. We already mentioned that the residential proxies are more expensive than the data center ones.
The only difference it can make is in the decision of which provider to get. There are numerous proxy providers on the internet, so you have a choice. When you make this decision, compare several companies to see if it will be worth going for the cheaper one, which may have fewer features than the more expensive ones.
Following our tips should help you with your choice. If you are using and purchasing proxies for the first time, then it is recommended to get data center proxies. The reason for this is not to spend too much money on something that might not work as you thought it would.
If you are buying residential or datacenter proxies make sure that you are buying them from a legit company. We mentioned to be careful when buying residential proxies, but the same goes for datacenter ones. Regardless if you are spending dollars or hundreds, you don’t want to get scammed.
Summarize
Overall, the choice is difficult and easy at some time. Our recommendation in most scenarios is,
If you only need a few or hundreds of proxy addresses, Going for datacenter proxies at first! The virgin dedicate proxies or clean private proxies are works on most websites. That is the best solution to save your cost!
If you need thousands of proxies monthly or If the datacenter IPs are blocked, then go for residential proxies.
So the recommendation of our recommendation is to follow our tips and decide which proxies will work best for you. But, regardless of what you are buying, always make sure that you check if the company is legit. The last thing you would want is to get scammed.