You will agree with me that proxies open a whole world of possibilities for both businesses and individuals. But then, choosing the perfect solution between datacenter vs. residential proxies is the biggest challenge. If you are not sure which is the best option, this article tells it all. Find out more about these two proxies, how they work, the pros and cons of each, their applications, how they compare, and more. To start this comparison review, here is an overview of proxies.
Proxy servers act as gateways between you and the internet. While in the past, proxy servers were for forwarding web requests for data security and performance, modern proxies go an extra mile. They can be used at both personal and enterprise levels
Now, there are different types of proxies, including datacenter proxies and residential proxies, two of the most popular proxy types. These two proxies have different capabilities and applications. So, it's essential to know the different features of each proxy and what they are best suited for. That's the next segment in this residential vs. datacenter proxies comparison review.
As the name suggests, datacenter proxies are proxies housed in expansive datacenters and used across connections worldwide. For the record, datacenter proxies are not in any way attached to your internet service provider (ISP) or internet connection. Datacenter IPs are owned and operated by large enterprises such as Azure Cloud, Digital Ocean, AWS (Amazon Web Services).
The market has both free and paid datacenter proxies. The difference between residential and datacenter proxies is self-explanatory. While the former is available at no cost, the latter requires users to buy a subscription. Free datacenter proxy providers don't guarantee reliability and are prone to blacklisting and bans. Worse enough, they don't control the usage of their services. That’s why they are not recommended.
Datacenters work in a pretty simple way. When you send a request to a particular website, the request is processed via the datacenter proxy server. After that, the server masks your IP address by assigning it a different IP address before sending the request. The feedback of the request is then sent back via the newly assigned IP address before forwarding the feedback back to you. This way, websites won't know the true origin of the request.
Datacenter proxies are deployed in datacenters located on cloud servers, dedicated servers, virtual private servers, etc. Below are some of the uses of datacenter proxies.
To create a datacenter proxy, you need to buy or rent multiple servers. The more IP addresses you want, the more servers you will need. In case you wish to offer multiple locations, you will need to invest in servers from different datacenters in different locations. After creating your datacenter proxy, you will need to have a clear maintenance plan to ensure that they are always on to guarantee reliability.
As the name suggests, residential proxies are proxy servers assigned with residential IPs. Unlike datacenter proxies that are not in any way related to your internet service provider (ISP), residential IPs are assigned by your internet service provider. That means they are most likely operated by your internet provider, talk of companies such as AT&T, Time Warner, CenturyLink, and Comcast, just to mention a few.
On the market, you will also find both free and paid residential proxies. As the name suggests, free proxies, otherwise known as public proxies, don't need you to pay for the subscription or any other fees. On the other hand, paid proxies, also known as private proxies, require users to buy a subscription. While free proxies sound like a deal, they are not recommended simply because they don't verify users. That means you don't know how reliable or how clean these proxies are.
Residential proxies work in the same way as datacenter servers in that they mask your real IP by routing your internet traffic and requests via an intermediary server with a different IP address . This way, the website resource you are on won't trace back your activity to your real IP address. For the record, there are two types of residential proxies; static and rotating residential proxies. As the name suggests, static residential proxies remain connected to the same IP not unless you decide to disconnect or switch to another server. On the other hand, rotating residential proxies change the IP address automatically based on set criteria, for example, after some minutes.
One thing about residential servers is that the servers are based on real residential addresses, unlike cloud-based datacenter servers. Residential servers have been tailored to suit a range of applications, as discussed below.
Residential proxies are based on real devices in real locations, so you need to access the server to reroute traffic. They are harder to create because you need to contact the server's owner; otherwise, you will be infringing on their rights. The best solution is buying a high-quality residential proxy from renowned providers. These providers take care of all the hassles and bustles.
Quite expensive - Unlike datacenter proxies, residential proxies are quite costly, so if you are on a budget, they are not ideal
Exposes your location - Based on the fact that the residential proxy servers are in real locations, it is easy for anyone to pinpoint your location.
In this section, we have put the two proxies in a face to face comparison based on the important factors considered when choosing the best proxy. Find out how datacenter proxies compare to residential proxies.
Datacenter proxies | Residential proxies | |
Availability and Pricing | Datacenter proxies are cheaper because they are created and managed in large volumes by datacenters. Because of their availability, datacenter proxies are available at more affordable prices. The fact that they are less reliable also makes them cheap. | Residential proxies are more expensive because they are attached to real residential addresses. Considering the legitimacy of residential proxies and, importantly, the fact that they are not readily available, residential proxies are more expensive. |
Reliability | Datacenter proxies are reliable but don't guarantee reliability as they can easily be identified and flagged down by secure websites. | Residential proxies guarantee reliability because they are based on real residential addresses, thus exuding more confidence amongst websites. |
Speeds | Datacenter proxies use the latest high-performance servers that guarantee fast speeds. | Residential proxies don't offer fast speeds, but the speeds are equally good when connected to the nearest servers. |
Applications | Datacenter proxies are versatile in that they can handle many applications that require fast speeds. | Residential proxies are more versatile because they guarantee reliability and security. |
Now, that's the end of this datacenter proxies vs. residential proxies comparison review. Now, the big question is, which is the best proxy between the two? Well, this is a tricky question to answer because each proxy has advantages and disadvantages. It boils down to your needs and what you want to use the proxy for. If you are looking for high security, legitimacy, and reliability, go for residential proxies. However, if the tasks you want to undertake require high speeds, then datacenter proxies are the best choice. When it comes to affordability, residential proxies are expensive, so budget users should go for datacenter proxies as they are cheaper and readily available.
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