NetNut Shut Down by FBI - 7 Safe Alternatives That Work in 2026

By Elena Park · 2026-07-29 · 9 min read · News

If you're searching for a NetNut alternative after the FBI seizure, here are 7 real options ranked by price, pool size and trust - plus what to check before you commit.

Why you need a NetNut alternative right now

NetNut's domains were seized by the FBI in July 2026 after Google's Threat Intelligence Group tied its residential proxy network to a botnet built from millions of hijacked consumer devices. If you're reading this because your NetNut integration just stopped working, you're not alone - and switching now, rather than waiting for updates, is the right call. For the full timeline and official statements, see our complete writeup on the NetNut FBI seizure.

The good news: every provider below is a real, currently operating company with a transparent sourcing process, and switching your proxy endpoint is typically a five-minute change in your code, not a rebuild.

Why NetNut failed - the Popa botnet, explained

Google's Threat Intelligence Group ties NetNut's residential exit-node pool to a botnet the company internally calls 'Popa' - infrastructure built from more than two million hijacked consumer devices, including Android phones, smart TVs and streaming boxes, enrolled into the proxy network without their owners' knowledge or consent. This directly contradicts NetNut's own prior marketing, which emphasized sourcing IPs through direct ISP partnerships rather than a peer-to-peer model.

The FBI, DOJ and IRS Criminal Investigation jointly seized NetNut's domains on July 2, 2026, with Google, Lumen's Black Lotus Labs and the Shadowserver Foundation credited on the seizure notice for disrupting related infrastructure. NetNut's parent company, Alarum Technologies, disputes the allegations and states it is investigating internally - but the domains remain seized, and the practical reality for anyone with an active subscription is the same regardless of how the legal dispute resolves.

What to do if you lost access to NetNut

Stop sending any new payments to NetNut immediately. If you're on a recurring subscription, check your payment method for pending or upcoming charges and cancel auto-renewal - do this even if the service is technically still billing you, since you should not pay for a service currently subject to a federal seizure.

If you've already been charged and cannot reach NetNut through normal support channels, contact your card issuer or payment provider directly and request a chargeback, citing that the service is non-operational due to a law enforcement seizure. Document your account status and any billing history before you start the chargeback process, since you'll likely need it as evidence.

Migrate active workloads now rather than waiting for a resolution. Every provider listed below can be integrated in the time it takes to update one environment variable or config file - there is no technical reason to keep running production traffic through infrastructure currently under federal investigation.

1. Decodo - best overall replacement

115M+ residential IPs at $2/GB, with a Site Unblocker that automatically handles Cloudflare and DataDome for you. Decodo has won Proxyway's Best Value Provider award three years running, publishes clear sourcing documentation, and is the closest match to NetNut's speed positioning without the compliance red flags.

2. Bright Data - best for enterprise and compliance

400M+ IPs across 195 countries, SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified, with a strict KYC compliance program. If your team needs procurement-grade documentation to justify a vendor switch, Bright Data's compliance posture is the strongest in the market.

3. Oxylabs - best for large-scale scraper APIs

175M+ IPs, ranked near the top for performance in the independent Proxyway 2025 Proxy Market Research report. Strong pick if your workload leans on managed scraper APIs rather than raw proxy endpoints.

4. IPRoyal - best budget replacement

Pay-as-you-go from $1.75/GB with no expiry on bandwidth, ethically sourced through a consenting peer network. The right call if NetNut was mainly serving lighter, cost-sensitive workloads for you.

5. Webshare - best free tier to test before committing

A permanent free tier (10 datacenter IPs, 1GB residential bandwidth monthly) with no credit card required. Useful for validating a new provider risk-free while you plan a fuller migration.

6. SOAX - best for mobile-specific replacement

If NetNut's mobile or high-trust IP tier was what you relied on, SOAX's carrier-level mobile proxies (T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T targeting) are the closest match for the hardest anti-bot targets.

7. Proxy-Cheap - best for tight-budget migrations

A lower-cost option for teams that need to move fast without a big new line-item. Smaller pool than the others on this list, but a legitimate, operating company with no compliance red flags.

What to check before you commit to any replacement

Four things worth verifying on any provider before you migrate, given exactly what just happened with NetNut: a real KYC process (can you sign up with zero identity verification? that's a red flag), transparent IP sourcing (can the provider explain, specifically, how residential IPs are sourced and what device owners are told), named corporate leadership and a real headquarters, and independent third-party evaluation rather than only the provider's own marketing claims. All seven providers above pass these checks - see our full Trust Score methodology for how we evaluate every provider on this site.

Frequently Asked Questions