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5 Best Residential Proxy Providers (Budget-Friendly Review 2025)

Best Residential Proxy

We evaluated the 5 best value residential real estate proxies of 2025, comparing prices, speed, stability, and genuine user reviews to help you make the best choice.

Residential proxies, which route traffic through real home IP addresses, have become indispensable for tasks like web scraping, market research, ad verification, and bypassing geo-restrictions. Yet, finding the best cheap residential proxies in 2025 that balance affordability with performance remains a challenge—many low-cost options suffer from poor uptime, limited pools, or aggressive bans.

What “cheap” actually means – pricing models and market trends

“Cheap” does not mean “free” or “unsafe.” Providers use three common pricing models:

Pay-as-you-go by bandwidth (GB) — the most common model for residential proxies; prices vary widely.

Subscription bundles — fixed monthly bandwidth at a set price (better for predictable high-volume use).

Proxy-count or port-based plans — less common for residential pools but still seen with some niche providers.

Market signals in 2025 show a broad price spread: P2P/reseller-style networks can undercut established players substantially (some as low as ~$1/GB), while mid-tier commercial services typically sit in the $2–$4/GB band. At the high end, enterprise providers remain above $4–$5/GB but deliver advanced management tools and SLA assurances. 

These differences matter: cheap bandwidth can be cost-effective for occasional scraping or testing, but for sustained or high-risk scraping tasks, success rate and IP hygiene must be weighed alongside price.

Top 5 Best Cheap Residential Proxies

The following list highlights the most affordable residential proxies, with options to suit a variety of needs, from small shoe-running bots to large-scale data collection.

1. Thordata

Thordata

Thordata is one of the fastest-growing and most innovative residential proxy service providers in the industry. Its proxy network boasts over 60 million fast, reliable, and ethically sourced global residential IP addresses. Thordata’s proxy services cover all proxy types, with residential proxies being particularly outstanding, supporting HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 protocols.

Based on its vast high-performance proxy network, it offers a series of advanced data scraping tools, including web scraping APIs, SERP APIs, and ready-to-use datasets. 

These products meet the needs of application scenarios, such as AI model training, ad verification, price intelligence, and market research, helping enterprises access clean, structured data with unparalleled efficiency.

Thordata’s services are trusted by enterprises and developers, offering flexible pricing models. It always places high importance on ethically sourced data and transparency, and strictly adheres to compliance standards to ensure responsible data operations.

With 99.95% uptime, global IP coverage, and 24/7 responsive support, Thordata provides a reliable infrastructure for organizations looking to securely and efficiently scale their data infrastructure. These advantages make Thordata one of the most reliable and forward-thinking residential proxy providers in 2025.

Key Features:

IP Pool: Over 60 million ethically sourced residential IPs sourced from real devices.

Locations: Covers over 190 countries, with targeting by city, region, and ISP level.

Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5; supports Python, Node.js, PHP, and more for easy integration. Rotation: Automatic IP rotation with customizable sticky sessions up to 90 minutes.

Uptime: Guaranteed 99.95% uptime with automatic failover for uninterrupted access.

Additional Features: Chrome proxy extension, Web Scraper API, SERP API, Universal Scraping API, Datasets

Benefits:

Free trial available, including scraping API tools.

High anonymity and success rate.

24/7 responsive support.

Top-tier support with managers.

Strict ethical compliance for risk-averse users.

Pricing:

Residential proxy pricing starts from $1.80/GB, plans from $3.5 (1GB) to $900 (500GB), volume discounts available for 500GB and above.

Black Friday - Thordata launches limited-time offer: up to $900 free, 50% off as low as $0.9/GB

2.IPRoyal

IPRoyal

IPRoyal continues to dominate the budget segment of residential proxies in 2025, thanks to its non-expiring traffic model that eliminates waste for intermittent users. With a pool exceeding 34 million IPs, IPRoyal delivers versatile solutions for e-commerce automation, social media management, and SEO audits. 

Its emphasis on speed—average response times under 1 second—makes it perfect for high-volume tasks where delays could mean lost opportunities. Users praise the provider’s ethical opt-in sourcing, which minimizes ban risks on platforms like TikTok or LinkedIn. In benchmarks, IPRoyal’s sticky sessions hold up to 7 days without detection, a boon for long-term account farming.

Key Features:

IP Pool: 34M+ residential IPs across 195+ countries.

Locations: Precise city and state-level geo-targeting.

Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5; unlimited concurrent sessions.

Rotation: Rotating or sticky options with up to 7-day persistence.

Uptime: 99.9% with dedicated account options.

Extras: Non-expiring bandwidth and 24/7 live chat support.

Pros:

Excellent speed and low latency for real-time apps.

User-friendly dashboard and API integrations.

Strong customer reviews (4.6/5 on Trustpilot).

Versatile for both beginners and pros.

Cons:

Smaller pool size than enterprise giants.

Pricing:

Pay-as-you-go from $3.68/GB; plans from $11.9 (2GB) to $17,500 (10TB).

3. SOAX

SOAX

SOAX solidifies its reputation in 2025 as a mid-tier powerhouse for clean, ban-resistant residential proxies, leveraging a 155 million+ IP pool from consented real users. Specializing in mobile and residential hybrids, SOAX shines in scenarios demanding hyper-local data, such as urban ad verification or regional price monitoring. 

Its advanced targeting—down to ASN and carrier levels—empowers marketers to simulate traffic from specific ISPs, boosting campaign accuracy. With UDP and QUIC protocol support, SOAX handles multimedia scraping effortlessly, ideal for video platforms.

Key Features:

IP Pool: 155M+ ethically sourced residential and mobile IPs.

Locations: 195+ countries with city, ISP, and ASN targeting.

Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5, UDP, QUIC for versatile use.

Rotation: Per-request, time-based, or sticky sessions.

Uptime: 99.99% with automatic rotation safeguards.

Extras: Comprehensive docs and proxy checker tool.

Pros:

High success rates (98-99.5%) on tough targets.

Affordable entry at $4/GB with generous trials.

Excellent for mobile-specific tasks.

Slick dashboard for monitoring.

24/7 support via multiple channels.

Cons:

Paid trial ($1.99 for 400MB) may deter testers.

No browser extensions included.

Higher tiers are needed for unlimited bandwidth.

Pricing:

Starts from $3.6/GB; monthly plans from $90 (25GB)

4. Bright Data

Bright Data

Bright Data remains a feature juggernaut in 2025’s affordable residential proxy space, despite its premium roots, thanks to aggressive pay-as-you-go cuts. Boasting 150 million+ IPs, it caters to enterprise-level scraping with tools like Proxy Manager for seamless traffic routing. Ethical sourcing from peer-to-peer networks ensures compliance, vital for regulated industries like finance. 

While not the absolute cheapest, Bright Data’s value shines in high-success environments, with 99.99% uptime and integrations for tools like Scrapy. It’s the best cheap residential proxy for teams needing both affordability and sophistication.

Key Features:

IP Pool: 150M+ residential IPs globally.

Locations: 195+ countries, continent to ZIP targeting.

Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5; unlimited sessions.

Rotation: Rotating or sticky with custom durations.

Uptime: 99.99% enterprise-grade.

Extras: Web scraping APIs and third-party integrations.

Pros:

Vast pool for global coverage.

Advanced tools reduce setup time.

High ethical standards.

Scalable for any volume.

Cons:

Starts higher at $4/GB.

Steep learning curve for newbies.

Short 3-day trial.

Pricing:

Pay-as-you-go $4/GB; monthly from $499 (141GB)

5. Oxylabs

Oxylabs

Oxylabs leverages its residential network of 175 million IPs that is optimized for web scraping. Its intelligent parser tech auto-bypasses blocks, saving hours on data pipelines. 

Suited for e-commerce and research firms, Oxylabs offers granular targeting to ZIP codes, ensuring precise market insights. With unlimited sessions and 24/7 support, it’s a workhorse for automated bots. Benchmarks confirm sub-600ms response times, making it ideal for time-sensitive tasks.

Key Features:

IP Pool: 175M+ ethically sourced IPs.

Locations: 195 countries, city/state/ZIP targeting.

Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5.

Rotation: Flexible rotating/sticky options.

Uptime: 99.95%.

Extras: Scraping APIs and dedicated managers.

Pros:

Superior scraping success (99%+).

Fast global speeds.

Easy integrations.

Volume discounts.

Reliable support.

Cons:

Pay-as-you-go at $4/GB.

Enterprise-focused dashboard.

Pricing:

$4/GB pay-as-you-go; plans from $50 (13GB) to $2,000 (1TB).

Best Cheap Residential Proxies: Summary Table

ProviderPoolFree TrialPay-as-you-go PlanEntry Price
Thordata60M+$0.9/GB
IPRoyal34M+×$1.75/GB
SOAX155M+××$2.00/GB
Bright Data150M+$2.50/GB
Oxylabs175M+$3.87/GB

How to Choose the Best Residential Proxy

Price is only one dimension. For sustained success, the following technical factors are crucial, regardless of cost:

IP pool size and diversity. Larger pools reduce the risk of reuse and blocking; providers typically disclose pool size.

Rotation and session stickiness options. For tasks where session continuity is critical, choosing between session rotation and session stickiness is crucial.

Geolocation granularity (country/city/ASN). Some tasks require city-level precision; ensure the provider supports the required granularity.

Transparent billing and sampling. Low-cost providers should also provide clear logs or sample IPs to assist with blocking troubleshooting.

Ethical sourcing and compliance. Providers that promote ethical sourcing and transparent consent models can mitigate legal and reputational risks.

Short buying checklist (practical, decision-focused)

When comparing cheap residential proxies in 2025, teams should run a quick checklist:

  1. Price clarity: Is pricing per GB or per port? Are there minimums or hidden fees?
  2. Trial or refund: Is it possible to test with a small free trial or money-back window?
  3. IP pool claims: Does the vendor disclose pool size and regional coverage?
  4. Session control: Are sticky and rotating sessions supported?
  5. Sample success rate: Can the vendor provide targeted test results for the sites or regions of interest?
  6. Support level: Is support email-only, or are there enterprise support SLAs?
  7. Sourcing and compliance statements: Is the IP sourcing model documented?

Closing thoughts

When cost is the primary constraint, P2P-style vendors and smaller price-ranked providers offer the lowest entry points. For reliable, repeatable results—especially in commercial settings—mid-tier providers such as Thordata, Decodo, and SOAX often deliver the best ROI by combining competitive pricing with useful tooling, ethical sourcing claims, and commercial support. Teams should prioritize a short proof-of-concept test against their target sites before committing to large purchases and choose the provider that aligns with their tolerance for risk, required geotargeting, and expected scale.

Frequently asked questions

Q. What is a residential proxy?

A. A residential proxy is an intermediary server that routes your internet traffic through a real IP address assigned by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to a homeowner’s device, making your online activity appear as if it’s coming from a genuine residential location.

Q. Which residential proxy is the fastest?

A. Based on 2025 benchmarks, Thordata is the fastest residential proxy provider, with an average response time of 0.5 seconds in tests involving millions of connections.

Q. What is the difference between an ISP proxy and a residential proxy?

IA. SP proxies use IP addresses assigned by ISPs but are hosted in datacenters for faster, more stable connections and static use, while residential proxies come from real residential devices for higher anonymity but can be slower and more prone to rotation or disconnection.

Q. Are residential proxies legal?

A. Yes, residential proxies are legal to use in most countries, but they become illegal if employed for prohibited activities like hacking, unauthorized data scraping, or fraud.

Q. Are residential proxies undetectable?

A. No, residential proxies are not completely undetectable, as websites can spot them through IP reputation checks, traffic behavior analysis, or fingerprinting, but they are much harder to detect than datacenter proxies due to their real-user origins.

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