Although Residential and Datacenter Proxies serve the same core functionality – hiding your IP address – they have quite a few differences. In this post, let’s dive deep into each of these proxy types to understand which one is better for your business.  

What are Datacenter Proxies?

Datacenter Proxies are proxies that are not affiliated with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). They come from a secondary corporation and provide you with completely private IP authentication and anonymity.

However, datacenter proxies usually come from data centers and cloud hosting services and are used by many at the same time. Since they are not listed as ISP providers, these IPs can already be flagged by some targets, and certain precautionary measures might be taken.

How Oxylabs Datacenter proxies work

To learn more about datacenter proxies, see Oxylabs’ Product Owner Nedas explain them in detail:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LhUA5nChZk&t=12s

What are Residential Proxies?

On the other hand, Residential Proxies use real IP addresses supplied by Internet Service Providers to homeowners. Since these IP addresses are attached to real, physical devices, using them makes it easy to replicate organic human behavior.

One of the most important aspects of residential proxies is ethicality. It’s essential that residential proxies are acquired in an ethical manner whereby homeowners give consent and are rewarded for participating in the proxy network. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case with businesses: oftentimes, homeowners consent to misleading or confusing terms of service and end up being unaware their device is used in a proxy network.

Using unethically-sourced residential proxies comes with various risks, including disrupted business operations, damaged reputation, and even potential legal battles. At Oxylabs, we aim to produce proxies in an ethical manner, allowing customers to avoid said risks.  

How Residential Proxies work

If you want to read more on the topic, check this article on our blog, where we explain sourcing risks in detail. And, if you’re curious to learn more about Residential Proxies in general, see this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_qhsgXkjng

Residential vs. Datacenter Proxies

As you may have already picked up, the main difference between datacenter and residential proxies lies in the source of the IP. Let’s have a closer look at the rest of the differences to fully understand how these proxies operate.  

Residential Proxies:

• Legitimate – because residential proxy IPs are provided by a real ISP, it makes them look real and legitimate. Whereas datacenter proxies, as mentioned earlier, are created in bulk and come from data centers and cloud server providers, so they can be easily detected and blacklisted if buying from an untrusted provider. Additionally, residential proxies can maintain the same IP if needed.
• Lower risk of getting blacklisted – due to the same reasons listed above, residential proxies are harder to blacklist, ensuring a smooth scraping process.
• More expensive – Residential proxies are higher to acquire and maintain, hence, they cost more.

Datacenter Proxies:

• Non-physical – Datacenter proxies are artificial, so websites can tell whether you’re connected to one. Nonetheless, these proxies still hide your true IP address and provide anonymity if purchased from a reputable provider. And, if you use a private datacenter proxy, getting banned or blacklisted shouldn’t come as an issue. One of the most popular use cases for these proxies is market research.
• Fast-paced – Datacenter proxies are known for their speed and high performance, making them a great option for when you need to complete a project in a short period of time. To ensure top-tier performance, it’s essential that you purchase them from a reputable proxy provider and get the technical know-how to use them.
• Cost-friendly – When you’re buying in bulk or looking for a budget-friendly solution, datacenter proxies are the way to go. Compared to residential proxies, they’re much cheaper while still delivering security and fast speed if, of course, purchased from the right provider.

Which proxies should you choose?

Now that you know the differences between residential and datacenter proxies, it’s time to narrow it down to which one’s better for your scraping needs.

When comparing residential proxies against datacenter ones, it all comes down to whether you need high security, or your top priority is a high speed, and you simply need to shield your IP address.

Residential proxies don’t leave a footprint and won’t trigger any security alarms, so they’re great for collecting identity-sensitive public data or large amounts of data in general. Many businesses use Residential Proxies for review monitoring or ad verification.

In most cases, compared to datacenter proxies, residential ones cover more geo-locations. However, if you’re looking to scrape public data in a precise location, you should find out whether a provider offers proxies that reside in that region.

On the other hand, datacenter proxies work very well if you have know-how about the proxy technology itself, and choose private datacenter proxies – this way, you’ll be able to cover your footprint properly.

Conclusion

Both residential and datacenter proxies shield your IP address; nevertheless, residential proxies are more secure, as the websites you visit have a harder time detecting them. But that doesn’t mean that datacenter proxies are not worth looking into – from the right supplier, they’ll provide enough security, work faster and make a cost-friendly solution.

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People also ask

What are the other types of proxies?

Categorization of proxies can be based on protocol (HTTP(S) and SOCKS5), access (private and shared), and many other aspects.

Are proxy locations important?

Yes, the area where a proxy server is located matters. Some online content is geo-restricted, meaning that it might be displayed only to, for example, USA proxies and not to any other region-based server.

How are datacenter IP blocks different?

Datacenter IPs come from the same subnet, getting one address blocked will often mean that many others get blocked as well.