What are Residential Proxies?

Residential proxies act as an intermediary between your device and the internet. Set to offer a unique advantage - they use IP addresses assigned to real residential devices by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) instead of those from datacenters. This means that when you route your web traffic through a residential proxy, your identity is hidden behind genuine, ISP-backed IP addresses that appear to come from a typical home network. As a result, your traffic doesn’t look suspicious to the websites and apps you visit. Being less likely to be flagged as suspicious by websites, apps, or anti-bot solutions.

That being said

Like any proxy server, it functions as a middleman between your device and the internet. However, what sets residential proxies apart is their ability to deliver geo-targeted IP addresses. This process allows you to choose the exact location—whether by country, region, city, or even ZIP code—from which you want your web traffic to appear. By doing so, you can bypass geo-restrictions, access localized content, and enjoy a more authentic browsing experience.

Benefits Overwhelm

It’s important to note that residential proxies require cooperation between proxy providers and everyday internet users, which raises some questions regarding the ethics of their sourcing and use. Despite these concerns, the benefits are significant and include: enhanced anonymity, improved access to geo-restricted content, and a lower likelihood of detection by sophisticated anti-scraping systems.

For more detailed insights into how proxy servers work and the advantages they offer, check out our comprehensive proxy server guide. Whether you’re seeking to boost web-scraping success rates, bypass location-based restrictions, or simply understand the technology behind these services, residential proxies provide a reliable and effective solution for programmatically interacting with the internet at scale.

How are residential proxies different?

Residential proxies route traffic through the real end-user devices in households with broadband connections - think TVs, smartphones and laptops. By using residential proxies, you can appear as if you’re located in a different area.

Since residential proxies are sourced from real end-user devices, and not easily identifiable datacenters, websites have a very hard time spotting that your traffic is coming from a proxy. And since some websites like Facebook, Amazon, Reddit and others tend to ban IPs that can easily be linked to proxies, using a residential proxy is often a great best way to avoid blocks when web-scraping or conducting other online automation.

Residential proxies are typically more expensive than datacenter proxies, but they’re also arguably the most effective for many proxy use cases. So while they may not be the cheapest, they’re often the smart investment to make.

Proxyways’ 2023 market research has proven this further by proving that residential proxies are the most popular proxy type with most proxy providers. This shows that users are willing to pay extra for the best experience.

Benefits of Residential Proxies

• Enhanced Anonymity: Residential proxies use genuine ISP-assigned IP addresses, making your online activity appear more natural and less suspicious to websites and anti-bot systems.
• Geo-Targeting Capabilities: Choose specific locations—including country, region, city, or even ZIP code—allowing you to bypass geo-restrictions and access localized content.
• Reduced Risk of Blocking: Since your traffic originates from real residential devices, websites are less likely to flag or block your IP compared to datacenter proxies.
• Improved Access: Gain access to content and services that may be restricted based on your geographic location.
• Versatile Use-Cases: Ideal for tasks such as web scraping, ad verification, and managing multiple social media accounts, where maintaining a low profile is essential.

Types of Residential Proxies

Residential proxy servers include a range of types such as free, premium, HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5, dedicated, shared, static, rotating, and others. The term "residential proxies" typically denotes shared rotating residential proxies, irrespective of the protocols supported and the pricing structure involved.

Among the various types of proxies, two stand out: rotating residential proxies and static residential proxies.

Use-cases for Residential Proxies

In theory, you can do pretty much everything you might want to do online with a proxy as long as it’s legal. But certain uses are far more popular than others. Here are some of the main ones.

• Web scraping: Using a web scraper together with a good residential proxy service allows you to collect large amounts of data in a short amount of time for yourself or your business. You can then use this data for conducting market research, price monitoring, competitor analysis, and making decisions based on data, not intuition.
• Accessing geo-restricted content: Some websites or services can only be accessed from certain parts of the world. Our residential proxy service has a pool of 35+ million IP addresses worldwide. This allows you to change your virtual location by connecting to a residential proxy in the country you need.
• With a few clicks of a button, you can enjoy new streaming service libraries, watch your favourite sports team, or simply get the news from sources that you couldn’t access otherwise.
• Ad verification: Whether you’re running ads on your website or advertising yourself somewhere else, you might want to check how, where, and what kind of ads are being shown. By using a proxy, you can check how your ads look in different countries worldwide and ensure that everything looks as it’s supposed to.
• Managing social media accounts: Many social media managers use proxies to do their work. Social media platforms don’t like it when a large number of accounts are linked to a single location. And it’s always better to run the account from an IP in the target country, even if it’s not where you are at the time. Residential proxies allow you to manage social media accounts more effectively without having to explain yourself to anyone.
• Accessing sneaker websites: Buying sneakers online isn’t as simple as some may think, especially when it comes to limited edition drops. Access to such sneakers may be geo-restricted, and you may not be able to buy more than one pair on a single IP address. By rotating IPs with a residential proxy, you can stock up on your favourite sneakers regardless of where you are or how many you need, as long as stocks last.
• Enhancing online privacy: Proxies won’t provide the same level of privacy that a reliable no-logs VPN service does. So buying a proxy just for that might not be the best choice. But if you use a proxy for the other benefits it offers, it’s worth keeping in mind that it also hides your real IP address and location, which enhances your online privacy and makes your activity harder to track.

When should you choose a residential proxy?

Everything mentioned above can also be done with any other type of proxy. So why would you choose a residential proxy, which is often the most expensive option? Turns out, there are a few reasons why:

• Unrestricted access — websites that prioritize security may ban Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs) or IP addresses linked to datacenters. Residential proxies are linked to devices in residential areas, so they don’t cause any suspicion and allow you to access websites freely;
• Ability to target specific locations — residential proxy providers tend to have a big pool of IP addresses available. So, you can choose the city or even the neighbourhood you want to connect from. In some cases, you even choose the ASN or which ISP provides the IP address;
• Ability to rotate IP addresses — with a residential proxy, you can change your IP and virtual location within seconds, while other proxy types may only offer static IP options. So if you need to change your IP frequently, this may be the best choice for you.

It’s worth noting that if you only visit websites that don’t tend to block ASNs, datacenter proxies might still be the best option for you. Alternatively, you can look into static ISP proxies. They are blocked less frequently and offer more budget-friendly options, especially when you need a lot of bandwidth when scrapping the web.

Static Residential ISPs proxies are also preferable for use cases where you need to access the same IP every time. That’s usually the case for social media management or remote work.

What Is the Difference Between Static Residential (ISP) and Rotating Residential Proxies?

Static Residential Proxies (Also known as ISP proxies) are on residential networks like AT&T, Comcast and so on but are hosted in datacenters for great performance.

• Cons: Can’t rotate, less subnet diversity, slightly easier to detect than residential proxies due to less diversity
• Pros: Unlimited Bandwidth, Peristsent IP, More reliable offending different billing models

Static Residential Proxies—often referred to as ISP proxies—are associated with residential networks like AT&T, Comcast, and others but are hosted in data centers to deliver enhanced performance. These proxies offer a persistent IP address, which brings several benefits but also some limitations when compared to rotating residential proxies. Rotating Residential Proxies, on the other hand, automatically change the IP address with each request or at set intervals, offering greater diversity and making detection more challenging.

Below is a table that summarizes the key differences:

Additional Considerations on Billing Models

• Static Residential Proxies (ISP): These are often priced on a monthly subscription basis, with many providers offering unlimited bandwidth. This makes them ideal for tasks that require persistent connections, such as long-running web scraping sessions or continuous online automation.

• Rotating Residential Proxies: These proxies are typically offered with more flexible billing options, including hourly or pay-per-usage plans. This flexibility can be advantageous for short-term projects or when you need to frequently change IP addresses to avoid detection.

In summary, the choice between static and rotating residential proxies depends on your specific needs—whether you prioritize a persistent, high-performance connection with unlimited bandwidth, or require the anonymity and diverse IP pool provided by rotating proxies for tasks like web scraping, ad verification, or other business operations.

Alternatively, you can look into static proxies. They are blocked less frequently and offer more budget-friendly options, especially when you need a lot of bandwidth when scrapping the web.

Static Residential ISPs proxies are also preferable for use cases where you need to access the same IP every time. That’s usually the case for social media management or remote work.

Pros and Cons of Residential Proxies

Pros

• Clean Residential IP addresses: Residential proxies provide genuine residential IP addresses that aren’t easily flagged by websites, ensuring smoother access to restricted content.
• Location Targeting: With a large pool of IP addresses, you can choose specific cities or even neighborhoods, allowing for precise geo-targeting.
• Dynamic IP Rotation: Residential proxies often allow for rapid IP changes, which is beneficial for tasks requiring frequent rotation.
• Enhanced Anonymity: By using real residential IPs, your traffic appears more natural and less suspicious to target websites.

Cons

• Higher Cost: Residential proxies are generally more expensive compared to datacenter proxies due to their complexity and reliability.
• Ethical Considerations: It’s crucial to ensure that the proxies are ethically sourced, which may limit the number of providers.
• Not Always Necessary: For websites that don’t impose strict geo-restrictions or proxy bans, cheaper alternatives like datacenter proxies might suffice.

Ethical proxy sourcing matters

Staying on the topic of proxy legality — when choosing a proxy provider, it’s important to ensure that the proxies are ethically sourced. Some providers source their residential proxies in deceptive and illegal ways. By using such proxies, you’d risk losing your money and potentially even harming your reputation.

Many responsible and ethical proxy services partner up with SDK programs such as Pawns.App, Infatica, Honeygain, or EarnApp. These programs pay regular internet users to share their traffic and become a part of a proxy network.

This way, users are fairly compensated and are always well-informed about how their IP addresses might be used.

On top of that, Ping Proxies has a strict Acceptable Use Policy which helps ensure that the users don’t misuse the proxy. This protects everyone within the proxy network and minimizes the amount of shady or illegal activities.

Additional Insights

1. What Is a Backconnect Network and Why Does It Matter?

When using residential proxies, you aren’t connecting directly with end-user devices. Instead, your internet traffic is routed through a backconnect network—a system of services that intelligently directs your requests to end-user devices located in specific regions, cities, or even ZIP codes.

This backconnect network is a critical component of the connection. Its speed and reliability have a huge impact on overall residential proxy performance. For example, our recent upgrade led to a 72% reduction in latency for customers in Asia, highlighting how improvements in the backconnect network can significantly enhance performance.

2. Residential Proxies vs. Similar Tools

Understanding the differences between various anonymity tools can help you choose the right solution. Here’s a side-by-side look:

3. Best Practices and Considerations

To get the most out of residential proxies, consider the following guidelines:

• Choose Ethically Sourced Providers: It is essential to confirm that your proxy provider obtains IP addresses through authorized and legitimate sources. This action safeguards your reputation while ensuring adherence to legal standards. May we suggest looking for established, transparent proxy providers in regulated markets like the United Kingdom, EU and United States.
• Use the Right Proxy for the Job: Different tasks may require different proxy setups. Before committing to a significant investment, analyze your target website’s behavior and requirements. For instance, if you’re engaging in web scraping or ad verification, you might need a proxy with high rotation frequency and broad geographic diversity to mimic organic user behavior effectively. Conversely, for applications like social media management or session-based activities, a static residential (ISP) proxy might be more appropriate due to its persistent IP address and reliable performance. Understanding these nuances will help you choose a proxy solution that delivers the best balance of cost, performance, and reliability for your specific use case.
• Monitor Performance: Track latency, uptime, and rotation performance when using proxies to ensure they’re working reliably. Frequent testing finds problems before they compromise your business operations.
• Implement Security Measures: Proxies do a better job of hiding your online identity, but they can't take the place of solid cybersecurity measures. For an additional safeguard, use them in conjunction with encrypted web browsers, up-to-date antivirus programs, and virtual private networks (VPNs) when necessary.
• Plan IP Rotation Strategically: Find the rotation frequency that works best for your use case. While a static IP could be better for social media administration, too much rotation might slow down data collecting for things like web scraping.
• Stay Updated on Regulations: Online regulation and laws in the area of proxies and web-scraping are in a constant state of flux. Stay informed about local legislation and international regulations pertaining to data privacy and proxy utilization to guarantee that your practices remain in compliance.

4. Market Trends and Future Outlook

Current Trends

• Increased Demand for Residential Proxies for web-scraping: More companies and people are using residential proxies to scrape the internet at scale for valuable data. {Particular uptick in usage by AI companies looking for data to train LLM and AI models.}
• Shift Toward Ethical Sourcing: Reputable companies stressing openness and ethical sourcing are acquiring market share as knowledge of unethical methods increases.
• Technological Advancements: Residential proxies are becoming even more efficient and user-friendly as IP rotation technologies develop and more solid proxy administration solutions become available.

Future Outlook

• Regulatory Changes: Anticipate the implementation of more stringent regulations concerning data privacy and the utilization of proxies. Providers that swiftly adapt to ensure compliance are likely to dominate the market.
• Integration with AI and Agentic Automation: With the ongoing expansion of automation and a new wave of agentic automation enabled by LLMs residential proxies are expected to be essential in providing these systems with dependable, high-quality IP addresses which helps them interact with the internet at scale.

Conclusion

Residential proxies are a great tool for many uses. They face the least restrictions or bans of all proxy types and provide users with residential IP addresses that websites and services trust.

As a result, they’re very effective when you need to collect data, access restricted content, or even shop for items you wouldn’t be able to purchase otherwise.