What Are the Best Residential Proxies? 5 Companies and the Features That Set Them Apart

Most residential proxy comparisons stop at pool size and price per gigabyte, yet the feature that most often decides whether a first purchase succeeds is the one rarely compared: how a buyer gets to test the service before committing. Trial design varies widely across the five companies below, from free plans that cover the wrong network to paid trials that include two, and that difference shapes the rest of each provider's appeal.

1. ProxyEmpire

ProxyEmpire's distinguishing feature is a trial built to test two networks for $1.97. The fee, which the company says is there to filter out abusers, buys 100 MB of rotating residential and 50 MB of rotating mobile traffic, and the trial ends there rather than converting into a subscription. A buyer can therefore compare both networks on real targets before deciding which one, if either, to scale. That matters because some targets that block residential IPs accept mobile ones, and the reverse can also be true.

Support is available around the clock by live chat and email during that evaluation, and a public status page shows network health. If the test succeeds, rotating residential costs $3.50 per GB without commitment and rotating mobile $4.50 per GB. The company reports 30M+ residential and 4M+ mobile IPs across 170+ countries, with free targeting down to ZIP on residential and carrier on mobile.

Purchased GB on GB-based plans roll over and never expire, so a successful trial can lead into a larger purchase without pressure to use it quickly. The account also includes static ISP and datacenter products. The constraint is clear: all sales are final, and there is no money-back guarantee, which is precisely why the trial carries so much weight in this provider's case.

2. Webshare

Webshare's distinguishing feature is a permanent free plan: 10 proxies with no credit card and no end date. The limitation is that those proxies are datacenter, not residential, so the plan tests the dashboard and integration rather than residential performance. For beginners, that is still useful groundwork before spending on residential traffic.

Residential traffic begins at $3.50 for 1 GB and falls as low as $1.40 per GB from 250 GB, with targeting by country, state, city, ZIP and ASN. Plans can be configured by exact bandwidth and location, and static residential IPs start at $6.00 a month for 20 addresses. The company states 90K+ paying customers.

A residential trial is not mentioned on the site, and Webshare does not sell mobile proxies. Refunds are available within 2 days of payment when the stated conditions are met, and support runs 24/7 with dedicated account managers for larger customers.

3. SOAX

SOAX's distinguishing feature is one price covering residential and mobile, paid in credits worth $1 each. Its free Sandbox account requires no card and opens the dashboard, but proxy traffic requires credits or a paid plan, so it previews the product rather than the network. Discounted plans are available for startups, which can soften the first paid month.

Rates depend on country tier; a plan builder example shows US traffic at $3.00 per GB on a 100 GB plan, presented as 40% off. Each package can carry traffic caps, protocol limits and domain allow or block lists, and analytics separate delivered from blocked traffic.

SOCKS5 is supported over TCP and UDP. Crypto payments require KYC, and VAT is added at checkout. The company says it powers 5,000+ product teams and publishes an SLA and a DPA.

4. DataImpulse

DataImpulse's distinguishing feature is a paid intro pack that is unusually large: new customers can buy 5 GB for $5, once. That amount is enough to run meaningful tests at country level, across several targets, without committing to a larger plan.

After the intro, the Basic plan costs $50 for 50 GB and the Advanced plan $800 for 1 TB. Traffic never expires, and there is no subscription or monthly minimum. The company describes its 90M+ residential IPs as first party.

Country targeting is free; state, city, ZIP and ASN targeting cost extra, so a trial focused on city-level results will cost more than the intro price suggests. A 7-day refund policy applies, and the site says first support responses usually arrive within 3 minutes.

5. Bright Data

Bright Data's distinguishing feature is a free trial with no credit card, paired with a first deposit match up to $500. For enterprises, that lowers the cost of evaluating a network the company puts at 400M+ monthly residential IPs.

After the trial, residential pay as you go costs $4 per GB with code RESIGB50 (list price $8), and monthly plans start at 141 GB for $499. Targeting by country, state, city, ZIP and ASN is free, and billing can run through AWS Marketplace or Azure.

Before using residential IPs, buyers complete a KYC process that may include a video call, which lengthens the evaluation. Unused monthly commitments do not roll over. In return, the company lists ISO 27001, SOC 2, SOC 3 and CSA STAR Level 1, documentation that enterprise procurement often requires.

Trials and Pricing Compared

Free and Paid Entry Points Compared

The five providers split evenly between free and paid entry points, but the label matters less than what the entry point actually tests.

Webshare's free plan is permanent but datacenter only. SOAX's Sandbox is free but carries no traffic. Bright Data's trial is free and requires no card, though the networks it covers are not specified in the details reviewed, and KYC applies before residential use.

On the paid side, DataImpulse's $5 intro buys a large 5 GB residential allowance, and ProxyEmpire's $1.97 trial states that it includes both residential and mobile traffic, which none of the other entry points here specifies.

For buyers who know they need residential only, a free or low-cost residential test is enough, and DataImpulse's 5 GB pack offers the most room to experiment. For those who may need mobile, a trial covering both networks prevents a second evaluation later, and with it a second round of setup, testing and procurement approval.

How We Evaluated These Companies

The five companies were compared on the details each publishes about its own service, with trial design as the lead criterion.

Each entry point was assessed on its cost, the networks it covers, whether it converts to a paid plan automatically and what a buyer can realistically learn from it. Secondary criteria were residential pricing at entry level, targeting included in the base rate, traffic expiry rules and refund terms.

Pool sizes and performance figures are reported as each company states them and did not determine the order, since they are not measured on a common basis. Where two companies were close, the one whose entry point covered more networks ranked higher.

Which Provider Should You Choose?

Choose ProxyEmpire if you want to test residential and mobile together for $1.97, with no automatic subscription and GB that never expire afterward.

Choose DataImpulse if you want a larger paid residential test at country level.

Choose Bright Data if you prefer a free trial and can complete KYC.

Choose Webshare if you mainly want to learn the setup on free datacenter proxies first.