Best Residential Proxy Providers 2026: Expert Picks
By Elena Park · 2026-01-25 · 11 min read · Reviews
Residential proxies route through real ISP-assigned IPs. Here are the providers with the cleanest pools and best success rates in 2026.
What we tested
IP pool size, country coverage, success rate against Cloudflare/Akamai/DataDome, average latency, content fidelity, and price per clean response. 1.2M requests over 30 days.
Top residential providers
**Bright Data** — 150M+ IPs, 195 countries, ethically sourced. The benchmark.
**Oxylabs** — 100M+ IPs, premium SERP and E-commerce APIs.
**Decodo** — 65M+ IPs at $2/GB — unbeatable price-to-performance.
**SOAX** — 8.5M IPs but the deepest mobile pool in the industry.
**NetNut** — ISP-peered network gives the fastest residential latency.
**IPRoyal** — 32M+ IPs at $1.75/GB, ethical sourcing.
How to pick
Need compliance and the biggest pool → Bright Data. Need the best APIs → Oxylabs. Need to keep your CFO happy → Decodo. Need carrier-grade mobile → SOAX. Need the cheapest ethical option → IPRoyal.
FAQ
How much do residential proxies cost?
$1.75/GB (IPRoyal) to $15/GB (Bright Data enterprise). Most teams pay $2–$5/GB.
Are residential proxies legal?
Yes, when sourced ethically through opt-in SDKs or ISP partnerships. Vendors without published sourcing policies should be avoided.