What Are Residential Proxies? The Complete 2024 Guide

Here is a 2000+ word guide on residential proxies:

Residential proxies allow you to access the internet through the IP addresses of real consumer devices like desktops, laptops, and mobile phones. In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll cover everything you need to know about these anonymous proxies.

What is a Proxy Server?

Let‘s start with a quick refresher on proxies. A proxy server acts as an intermediary between your computer and a website you‘re trying to access. When you connect through a proxy, the website sees the proxy‘s IP address instead of your own.

There are two main types of proxy servers:

Transparent – Your real IP is visible to the website
Anonymous – Your IP is hidden and replaced by the proxy‘s

For privacy and anonymity, anonymous proxies are preferred. These obscure your identity and allow you to bypass regional restrictions on websites.

What Are Residential Proxies?

Residential proxies are a type of anonymous proxy where the intermediary IP addresses come from real consumer devices like home computers, laptops, smartphones, etc.

The key thing is the IP address is assigned by a residential internet service provider (ISP) like Comcast, not a hosting company like Amazon AWS. This makes residential IPs hard to distinguish from regular home users.

Compare this to datacenter proxies, where the IPs come from servers hosted in datacenters. Websites can easily identify those as proxies and block them.

What‘s Considered a Residential IP Address?

For an IP address to be residential, it must be registered to an ISP that offers internet services directly to consumers. You can check this on IP lookup sites – see if the ISP field says something like "Comcast" instead of a hosting provider.

The left IP above is residential because Charter provides home internet. The right one is from a cloud hosting company, so it would be a datacenter IP.

Why Use Residential Proxy Services?

There are two major reasons people use residential proxies:

1. Anonymity & Anti-blocking

Websites are getting better at detecting and blocking datacenter proxies and VPNs. But residential IPs are nearly impossible to distinguish from regular user traffic.

So if you need to securely scrape Google, use sneaker bots, or access restricted content – residential proxies can help you avoid blocks.

2. Location Targeting

Many websites restrict content based on location. For example, BBC iPlayer only works in the UK. Residential proxies give you addresses from specific cities and regions around the world.

This allows companies to access localized information and run geo-targeted campaigns. Datacenter IPs are limited to a few locations.

How Do Residential Proxies Work?

Most residential proxy services use the backconnect method rather than providing a static IP list. This is how it works:

You connect to a backconnect residential proxy server run by the provider.
The server assigns you a rotating IP address from its large pool of residential IPs.
You browse the web through that residential IP and appear as a normal user to websites.

The backconnect server handles IP rotation automatically. Each request gets a new IP, or you can enable "sticky sessions" to keep one IP for a defined time period (usually 10-30 mins).

This prevents the two headaches of proxy IP lists – running out of IPs and having to rotate them yourself.

Residential Proxy Connection Diagram

Main Use Cases of Residential Proxies

Based on our experience, here are some of the most popular uses of residential proxies:

Web scraping – Scrape search engines, ecommerce sites, travel portals. Avoid blocks.
Ad verification – Check ad placements and content across regions.
Price monitoring – Track price changes, competitors on Amazon, eBay, etc.
Brand protection – Find unauthorized sellers, fake review rings, etc.
SEO – Analyze ranking changes, backlinks of competitors.
Account management – Securely control multiple social media or seller accounts.
Sneaker bots – Cop limited release shoes before they sell out.

Basically any task that requires anonymity, avoiding blocks, or targeting local content.

Where Do Residential Proxy Providers Get Their IP Addresses?

Residential proxy providers primarily use two methods to build their IP pools:

1. SDKs and Direct User Traffic

Many providers distribute software development kits (SDKs) that get embedded in free smartphone apps, browser extensions, etc. This allows routing traffic through those devices in exchange for free app usage.

Another method is paying users directly for their bandwidth.

2. ISP Partnerships

Here, proxy providers strike business deals with internet service providers. The ISP assigns them a pool of IP addresses from their residential ranges.

These IPs function just like residential ones, except they come directly from the ISP instead of customer devices.

The first method results in a larger, global IP pool. But the second offers higher reliability. Many providers use a combination of both.

Botnets Are Unethical

Some disreputable proxy sellers infect devices with malware to create botnet proxies. This is illegal and unethical. Always vet a provider carefully before purchasing.

What‘s the Real Size of Residential IP Pools?

Leading residential proxy providers advertise extremely large IP pools – often tens of millions! But what‘s the real number of usable IPs you get?

The advertised pool size is a rough monthly estimate. On a daily basis, you‘ll only get 10-20% of that number.

Why the huge difference?

Because residential IPs come from regular user devices. Their internet activity is unpredictable. Phones switch from WiFi to mobile data, laptops disconnect and reconnect – causing IPs to constantly go offline.

To get a realistic estimate, divide the advertised pool size by 10x or 20x. Even the best providers return less than 100,000 unique IPs for 1-2 million requests.

Bigger is always better when it comes to residential IP pools. More IPs means more geolocation coverage and lower chances of blocks.

The Pros and Cons of Using Residential Proxies

Let‘s summarize the key advantages and limitations of residential proxy services:

Pros:

Extremely difficult to detect and block
Access local content by targeting cities and regions
Large IP pools for better scalability
Backconnect supports automatic IP rotation

Cons:

Expensive, usually priced per GB of usage
Connection quality less stable than datacenters
Some sources like botnets are unethical
Unpredictable uptime as devices go offline

How to Get Started With Residential Proxies

If you need residential proxy services, here are some tips for getting started:

1. Find a Reputable Provider

Don‘t sacrifice ethics for lower prices. Thoroughly research a company before handing them your money and traffic. Proxy service scams do exist.

Check for transparency reports, press mentions, social proof from real customers, and guarantees against malware/botnets.

2. Consider Your Budget

Residential proxies are more expensive than datacenter providers because of limited IP availability. Plans start around $50/month for occasional use like travel aggregation.

Heavy usage like web scraping can cost hundreds per month. Watch out for overage fees if you exceed your plan‘s bandwidth.

3. Check Location Coverage

Pricing plans often limit you to a set of locations/cities. If you need worldwide or specific country access, check that the provider can support it.

4. Look for Performance Stats

Connection time and uptime varies between residential proxy sources. Look for providers that publish third-party speed test results and uptime monitoring.

5. Try a Pay-As-You-Go Plan First

If you‘re new to residential proxies, start with a pay-as-you-go plan without monthly commitments. This lets you test speed, locations, and API integration before scaling up.

Once you finalize your use case, you can switch to a monthly subscription for better value.

Top 5 Residential Proxy Providers Compared

To conclude this guide, here is a quick comparison of the top residential proxy services on the market right now:

Provider	Pricing	Locations	Use Case
Bright Data	Pay-as-you-go	All countries	Web scraping at scale
Oxylabs	Monthly plans	All countries	Heavy usage like ecommerce
GeoSurf	Pay-as-you-go	Only US	Access US-only sites
NetNut	Monthly plans	All countries	Reliable IPs for automation
Luminati	Hourly pricing	All countries	Ad verification and analytics

This covers the key things you need to know about residential proxies. With an understanding of the technology and use cases, you can decide if it‘s the right solution for your anonymity and geo-targeting needs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to some common questions people have about residential proxy services:

What‘s the difference between residential and datacenter proxies?

Residential proxies use IP addresses assigned by ISPs to consumers. Datacenter proxies come from hosting companies like AWS and are easier to detect.

Are free residential proxies trustworthy?

No, free residential proxy offers usually involve questionable methods like malware networks. It‘s better to use a paid and reputable provider.

Can residential IPs be used for email marketing and ad serving?

Some providers may forbid it, but generally yes. Just don‘t abuse the IPs or they can get blacklisted.

Do residential proxies offer good uptime and speed?

It varies – residential IPs are less stable than datacenters. Check independent speed tests before purchasing.

Can websites still detect and block residential proxy IPs?

It‘s rare but possible. The best way is to rotate IPs frequently and use a provider with a large IP pool.

Are residential proxies legal to use?

Yes, purchasing residential proxy access is completely legal in most countries. Just avoid shady providers involved in illegal activities.

The Bottom Line

Residential proxies provide a high level of anonymity that‘s hard to achieve with regular datacenter IPs. The trade-off is higher cost and unpredictable connections.

If your use case calls for hidden scraping or accessing localized content, residential proxies are worth considering despite their limitations.

Just be sure to find an established provider with ethical practices, extensive geolocation coverage, and reliable network uptime. The results are well worth the extra investment for many businesses and individuals.