TL;DR

Residential proxies remain essential for reliable web data collection, ad-verification, market research, and automation workflows — especially in industries where accuracy, geo-targeting, and undetectable requests matter.

We tested dozens of providers and selected the 5 best residential proxy sites based on IP quality, performance, transparency, and pricing.

GonzoProxy stands out as the most balanced solution for speed, flexibility, and high success rates, making it ideal for businesses managing data-driven operations at scale.

Evaluation Criteria

To ensure this ranking reflects real B2B use-cases, we evaluated each residential proxy provider using criteria that matter specifically for supply-chain analytics, enterprise automation, competitive intelligence, and compliance-centric data operations:

1. Source and Authenticity of IPs

We prioritized providers offering genuine residential IPs sourced ethically from real user devices — not recycled datacenter nodes disguised as “residential.” Authenticity directly affects detection rates on tightly secured websites.

2. Geo-Targeting Precision

Global supply-chain research and market monitoring often require specific country, city, or even ASN-level targeting.
Providers with robust geographic coverage ranked higher.

3. Success Rate on High-Security Targets

Enterprise data teams frequently scrape platforms with strong anti-bot systems (e-commerce, marketplaces, logistics portals).
We assessed connection stability, CAPTCHA frequency, and ban likelihood.

4. Speed and Latency Under Load

Residential proxies must maintain performance during large batch requests.
Metrics included:

• request latency 
• bandwidth consistency 
• session stability over prolonged workloads
  

5. Pricing Transparency & Scalability

We evaluated:

• whether costs scale predictably 
• availability of pay-as-you-go models 
• hidden limits or throttling 
• suitability for both small teams and enterprise workloads
  

6. Protocol Support (HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS5)

Socks5 support is especially important for automation tools, headless browsers, and custom data-collection pipelines.
Providers lacking full protocol support ranked lower.

7. Dashboard UX and Monitoring Tools

Teams need visibility into traffic usage, session lifetime, error rates, and proxy rotation settings.
A clear and reliable dashboard contributes directly to operational efficiency.

1. GonzoProxy

Overview
GonzoProxy is a residential proxy platform designed for data-driven tasks such as web scraping, multi-location SEO monitoring, automation, and ad verification. The service provides access to a network of 20M+ real residential IPs, offering full HTTP/HTTPS and SOCKS5 protocol support. A key differentiator is its no-KYC onboarding, allowing teams to start working with proxies almost instantly. Geo-targeting is available at the country, city, and ISP level, which is particularly useful for businesses operating across multiple regions.

Strengths

• Large pool of real residential IPs (20M+)
  
   
• No KYC — fast onboarding and immediate access
  
   
• Flexible geo-targeting (country, city, ISP)
  
   
• Pay-as-you-go model based on traffic usage
  
   
• SOCKS5 support for automation and headless browser workflows
  
   
• Positive user feedback regarding stability and speed

Evaluation Criteria — Q&A Format

Q: Are the IPs genuinely residential?
A: Yes. The platform provides real residential IPs sourced from actual user devices, which helps reduce blocks and detection.

Q: Does it offer precise geo-targeting?
A: Yes. Users can target by country, city and ISP, useful for location-sensitive research and ad verification.

Q: How does performance hold up under load?
A: According to user reviews and independent commentary, the service provides stable connections and consistent speed during continuous scraping tasks.

Q: What does the pricing model look like?
A: The model is traffic-based (pay-as-you-go), making it easy to scale usage without committing to large monthly plans.

Q: Is SOCKS5 supported?
A: Yes. Full SOCKS5 support is available, which is important for automation frameworks, custom scripts, and scraping tools.

Q: How user-friendly is the platform?
A: Feedback highlights a straightforward dashboard with real-time traffic visibility, session controls, and rotation settings.

 

2. Proxy-Seller

Overview
Proxy-Seller is a residential (and datacenter) proxy provider that caters to a broad set of users — from small automation projects to multi-account management. Users report it offers both HTTP/HTTPS and SOCKS5 support, flexible payment options, and a modest location coverage. 

Strengths

• Flexibility: multiple payment methods and proxy types (residential + datacenter) reported.
  
   
• Decent performance: one review reported ~98% success rate across ~780,000 requests over 7 days.
   
• Good user feedback on customer support responsiveness for proxy replacements.

Considerations

• The location/geo-targeting spread appears less extensive than premium providers; some users highlight limitations in coverage.
   
• While performance is acceptable, there are reports of connection errors and it may not match the top-tier quality of the largest residential networks.
   
• Mixed reviews: While many users are satisfied, some mention inconsistent quality across different proxies.

Evaluation Criteria — Q&A Format
Q: Are the IPs genuinely residential and ethically sourced?
A: According to a review, Proxy-Seller claims to provide residential proxies sourced from real users, which improves anonymity and geo-targeting.

 Q: Does it allow precise geo-targeting (country/city/ISP)?
A: The service offers multiple payment and regional options, but publicly available data suggests the targeting granularity is less advanced than some leading providers.

Q: How does performance hold under load?
A: In testing (~780,000 requests over 7 days), average success rate hovered around 98% — solid but not exceptional when compared to top-tier networks.

 Q: What about pricing transparency and scalability?
A: Users note flexible payment methods and relatively accessible entry pricing. However, scalability to very high volumes may bring cost or quality trade-offs.

Q: Does it support SOCKS5 and automation protocols?
A: Yes — the provider supports both HTTP/HTTPS and SOCKS5 proxies as reported in reviews.

 Q: Is the dashboard and user experience strong?
A: User feedback mentions good support for replacements and manageable UX, but the interface may not offer the same volume of analytics and session management tools as enterprise-grade platforms.

3. The Social Proxy

Overview
The Social Proxy is a provider that emphasises mobile and residential proxy services, particularly for social-media automation and tasks that mimic real-user behaviour. It offers both mobile (4G/5G) and residential proxies, with support for rotating and sticky sessions.

Strengths

• Strong mobile-proxy offering: real mobile IPs (4G/5G) with high speeds reported (40–400 Mbps) in reviews.
   
• Good user reviews: Trustpilot and other platforms note reasonable pricing and proxy speed.

Considerations

• Geo-coverage appears somewhat limited in documented reviews (key locations: Austria, UK, Germany, US, Israel) though expansion is planned.
   
• The size of the residential IP pool is not fully disclosed publicly in detailed reviews.
   
• The platform may be best suited for social-media automation and mobile-centric tasks rather than high-volume enterprise scraping across many geos.
   

Evaluation Criteria — Q&A Format

Q: Are the IPs residential and mobile, and ethically sourced?
A: Reviewers highlight that The Social Proxy uses real mobile IPs and genuine residential proxies, which aids in avoiding detection on social platforms.

Q: How precise is the geo-targeting?
A: It supports a number of countries (including US, UK, Germany, Austria, Israel) but may have fewer options for city/ISP-level targeting than major providers

 Q: How does performance hold under load?
A: Mobile proxy speeds reported between 40–400 Mbps; success rates on some sites for residential proxies reported ~87–90% in tests.

 Q: Pricing transparency and scalability — how is it?
A: Pricing is competitive for mobile/residential packages (e.g., €90/month for certain plans) but may escalate when broad geographic coverage or high volume is required.

 Q: Does it support SOCKS5 and automation frameworks?
A: Yes — rotating and sticky sessions are supported; the provider is often used for automation and social-media tasks.

 Q: Dashboard and user experience?
A: Reviews note a good level of support and performance; some mention the user interface may be more complex due to the breadth of options. 

4. Spider Proxies

Overview
Spider Proxies is a residential-proxy provider that markets rotating residential IPs with both short and sticky session options. The pool size is inconsistent in public information (mentions range from 5 M to over 70 M IPs).

Strengths

• Price-competitive in some reviews: e.g., ~$8.50/GB in a 100 GB plan/
   
• Offers both rotating and sticky sessions.
  

 Considerations

• Pool size and actual residential sourcing are unclear; conflicting numbers reported.
   
• Protocol support (SOCKS5/HTTP) is not clearly disclosed.
   
• Some user reviews indicate slower support and invite‐only registration
  

 Evaluation Criteria — Q&A Format
Q: Are the IPs genuinely residential and ethically sourced?
A: The provider claims residential sourcing, but public data and reviews show inconsistent pool-size disclosure, which introduces uncertainty.

 Q: Does it allow precise geo-targeting?
A: The website lists country/region targeting; however city/ISP level targeting is not clearly documented.

 Q: How does performance hold under load?
A: Specific latency or block-rate statistics are largely missing; user feedback indicates variability.

 Q: What about pricing transparency and scalability?
A: Pricing is relatively accessible in published plans (~$8.50/GB), but detailed cost-scaling for large volumes is not fully clear

 Q: Does it support SOCKS5 and automation protocols?
A: Protocol support is not clearly documented in reviews

.Q: Is the dashboard and user experience strong?
A: Reviews mention slower support and invite-only access for new customers, which may affect UX.

5. ProxyEmpire

Overview
ProxyEmpire offers residential, static residential (ISP), mobile and datacenter proxies. Published pool size for residential IPs is ~9.3 million across 170+ countries.The service emphasises unlimited concurrent sessions, city/country/ISP targeting, and a management dashboard.

 Strengths

• Reviewed success rates: user tests report ~99% residential IP rate in some geos.
   
• Broad geographic coverage and targeting flexibility.
   

Considerations

• Relatively higher pricing compared to budget providers.
   
• Documentation and interface complexity noted in reviews as a downside for beginners/

 Evaluation Criteria — Q&A Format
Q: Are the IPs genuinely residential and ethically sourced?
A: ProxyEmpire declares ethically-sourced residential IPs, but independent verification is limited; pool size (~9.3 M) is smaller than many competitors.

Q: Does it allow precise geo-targeting?
A: Yes — supports country, city, state and ISP/ASN filtering.

Q: How does performance hold under load?
A: Review metrics show high residential-rate percentages (97-99%) in test batches; performance matches enterprise tasks in reviews.

Q: What about pricing transparency and scalability?
A: Pricing is less competitive for some use-cases; users cite higher cost for static residential IPs and minimum traffic thresholds

Q: Does it support SOCKS5 and automation protocols?
A: Yes — supports both rotating and sticky sessions, browser/tools integration in reviews.

Q: Is the dashboard and user experience strong?
A: Interface is robust and feature-rich but may be complex for users without proxy experience. 

Comparative Summary Table — Best Residential Proxy Sites

 

Provider	Residential IP Authenticity	Geo-Targeting (Country / City / ISP)	Performance Under Load	Pricing Model	Protocol Support	Dashboard / UX	Best Use-Case
GonzoProxy	Real residential IPs from user devices	Country, City, ISP	Stable performance, positive user feedback	Pay-as-you-go (traffic-based)	HTTP/HTTPS + SOCKS5	Clear, real-time metrics	Scalable scraping, automation, SEO monitoring
Proxy-Seller	Residential IPs (mixed reviews)	Basic country-level; city/ISP options limited	Good success rate in tests (~98%); may vary	Flexible payments; budget-friendly	HTTP/HTTPS + SOCKS5	Functional, basic analytics	Small–medium scraping tasks, multi-accounting
The Social Proxy	Real mobile + residential IPs	Limited but expanding (US, UK, DE, AT, IL)	High mobile speeds (40–400 Mbps); resi success ~87–90%	Monthly plans; cost rises with geo needs	HTTP/HTTPS + SOCKS5	Moderate complexity	Social-media automation, mobile-centric tasks
Spider Proxies	Claims residential; pool size unclear	Country-level; fine targeting not documented	Mixed performance; limited published stats	~$8.50/GB; unclear scaling	Not clearly documented	Mixed user feedback	Low-cost rotating proxy needs
ProxyEmpire	Ethically sourced residential IPs (~9.3M)	Country, City, State, ISP/ASN	Strong performance in reviews (97–99% resi-rate)	Higher pricing; enterprise-leaning	HTTP/HTTPS + SOCKS5	Feature-rich, more complex	Enterprise scraping, compliance, geo-testing

Final Words

Residential proxies have become an essential component of modern data operations — from market intelligence and supply-chain analytics to SEO monitoring, compliance testing, and automation. The providers reviewed here demonstrate how diverse the market has become: some prioritize broad geo-targeting and large IP pools, while others focus on mobile behavior, affordability, or enterprise-grade performance.

For teams evaluating the best residential proxy sites, the choice ultimately depends on operational goals. GonzoProxy stands out for flexible traffic-based pricing, SOCKS5 support, and strong user feedback on stability — making it suitable for scalable, distributed workflows. Proxy-Seller and The Social Proxy balance accessibility with practical performance, while Spider Proxies and ProxyEmpire offer more specialized benefits depending on the scale and geographic sensitivity of your projects.

Each provider approaches reliability, pricing, and infrastructure differently, and this diversity is what allows businesses to find the right match for their technical requirements. As data volumes grow and detection systems evolve, selecting a proxy platform that aligns with both your risk profile and long-term automation strategy becomes increasingly important.