Residential vs. Datacenter Proxies
Residential proxies use real ISP IPs with high trust scores. Datacenter proxies use server IPs that are faster and cheaper but more detectable.
The core difference: residential proxies route through IPs from home internet subscribers (Comcast, BT, Verizon). Datacenter proxies route through servers in commercial hosting providers (AWS, Hetzner, OVH).
Trust score: websites check the ASN of incoming IPs. Residential ASNs are associated with real users. Datacenter ASNs are associated with automation and bots. A residential IP triggers fewer blocks and CAPTCHAs than a datacenter IP against the same target.
Speed: datacenter proxies are faster. Server infrastructure runs at gigabit speeds. Residential proxies route through real home connections - typically 10–100Mbps with higher latency.
Cost: datacenter proxies cost less per GB or per IP. Residential proxies cost more because they require a larger infrastructure to maintain pools of real IPs.
Choose residential when: scraping sites with active bot protection (Amazon, Google, LinkedIn, social media), managing social accounts, verifying geo-targeted ads, or any target that blocks datacenter IP ranges.
Choose datacenter when: scraping sites that do not block cloud IPs, high-volume operations where speed matters more than stealth, cost-sensitive projects, and automated testing where IP reputation is not a factor.
One question decides it
The two types differ in one respect that produces every other difference: who owns the address according to the registry. A residential address belongs to a consumer internet provider. A datacenter address belongs to a hosting company.
From that follow the price models. Residential capacity is bought from device owners by the gigabyte, so it is billed by traffic. Datacenter capacity is a server with an uplink, so it is billed by address and month with traffic thrown in.
And from that follows the decision rule. If your target filters on address class, residential is not a better option but the only option. If it does not, datacenter is faster, more reliable and several times cheaper at any real volume.
The arithmetic, on our prices
A concrete comparison beats a feature table. One million pages at 80 KB of gzipped HTML:
Same job, two ways
Residential 76 GB at $1.00/GB = $76 per month
Datacenter 20 addresses at $1.35 each = $27 per month, unmetered
# The gap widens with volume, because one is metered and one is not.- Start on datacenter and measure your block rate. Move only the domains that fail, rather than routing everything through the expensive path.
- A 403 on the first request is the signal to switch. A 429 after many requests is not; that one needs more addresses, not a different type.
- ISP proxies sit between the two: consumer registration with datacenter hosting, static, from $1.90 per address per month.
- For account work neither is ideal. Static ISP or mobile addresses suit long-lived identities better than a rotating pool.
False comparisons
Residential is not more anonymous
Both hide your own address equally. The difference is what the destination thinks of the address it sees.
Datacenter is not lower quality
The hardware is better. What it lacks is the registry entry that some sites insist on.
Price per gigabyte versus price per address
Comparing the numbers directly is meaningless. Convert both to the cost of your actual job first.
One type rarely covers a real project
Most working setups route different targets to different types.
Related terms
See this in practice
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