Proxy Type Cheatsheet - Residential vs Datacenter vs ISP vs Mobile

Four proxy types, four different jobs. Here is the fast version - which type to reach for, and why.

Residential proxies

Best for: general-purpose scraping, sites that block datacenter ranges, localized content access. Typical cost: $2-10/GB. Trust level: high - looks like a real consumer device. Trade-off: more expensive per GB than datacenter, and rotating IPs can break logged-in sessions.

Datacenter proxies

Best for: high-volume requests against unprotected or lightly-protected targets, speed-sensitive automation. Typical cost: $0.50-2/IP. Trust level: low - IP ranges are well known and frequently blocked by anti-bot systems. Trade-off: cheapest and fastest option, but fails fast against any real protection.

ISP (static residential) proxies

Best for: account management, social media automation, anything requiring a consistent identity over time. Typical cost: $0.75-1.50/IP. Trust level: high, with the stability of a fixed IP. Trade-off: costs more than datacenter, and a smaller pool than rotating residential.

Mobile proxies

Best for: the hardest anti-bot targets - social media platforms, ad verification, sneaker sites. Typical cost: $2-20/GB, the most expensive tier. Trust level: highest available - carrier-grade NAT makes mobile IPs nearly impossible to block without collateral damage. Trade-off: highest cost, reserve it for targets that actually need it.

The 10-second decision

Unprotected target, need volume and speed: datacenter. General scraping on a protected site: residential. Managing accounts or long sessions: ISP. Hardest possible target (social media, ad verification): mobile.