# Best Residential Proxy Providers: Secure, Accurate & Developer-Friendly


multiple regions, you’ve probably hit a wall. Geo-restrictions, IP bans, and inconsistent results are common headaches. The solution? Residential proxies.

Unlike datacenter proxies, which use IPs from cloud infrastructure, residential proxies route your traffic through real devices connected to ISPs. That means your requests look like they’re coming from an ordinary home user, drastically reducing the chance of detection or throttling.

In 2025, residential proxies aren’t just a convenience — they’re a necessity for professionals who rely on clean, location-accurate data. In this guide, we’ve tested and ranked the best providers based on sourcing integrity, performance, and developer readiness.

## What is a Residential Proxy?

At its core, a residential proxy is an intermediary that assigns your connection an IP address from a real household. This type of IP is issued by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) and tied to a physical location. Because websites see it as genuine traffic, it bypasses many of the filters that block datacenter or VPN IPs.

**Why it matters for developers and analysts:**

* Stealth: Less likely to trigger bot detection or CAPTCHAs
* Geo-accuracy: Essential for location-based testing and SEO research
* Compliance: Legal sourcing reduces the risk of blacklisted IPs
* Scalability: Suitable for both small scripts and enterprise-grade pipelines

Whether you’re scraping public data, monitoring competitor pricing, or verifying how a service appears in different markets, residential proxies make sure you’re seeing what real users see.

We built this list with technical workflows in mind. Here’s what we prioritized:

* IP Sourcing Integrity: Providers must partner with ISPs or maintain verified agreements to ensure IPs are clean and legally obtained.
* Geo Accuracy: We validated IP location claims with multiple IP lookup tools to confirm accuracy down to the city level.
* Performance Under Load: Each service was tested with concurrent requests and automation scripts to evaluate uptime and latency.
* Session Control: Sticky IPs for account logins; rotating IPs for scraping at scale — both should be easy to configure.
* API & Integration Support: Full API documentation, SDKs, and easy integration with tools like Python scripts, Puppeteer, or Selenium.

## Top 5 Best Residential Proxy Providers

Our testing focused on accuracy, reliability, scalability, and developer support. These five providers consistently delivered — each excelling in different scenarios.

## 1. NetNut – Best for ISP-Verified IPs and Scalable Workflows

**[NetNut’s](https://netnut.io/)** architecture is built differently. Instead of relying on peer-to-peer networks, it sources all residential IPs directly from ISPs. This ensures higher quality connections, more consistent geo-accuracy, and minimal risk of IP contamination.

For developers, the integration process is refreshingly simple. The platform supports both sticky and rotating sessions with granular targeting down to the ASN level. Their API is well-documented, making automation and large-scale deployments straightforward.

**Key Features:**

* 52M+ ISP-sourced residential IPs
* Country, city, and ASN-level targeting
* Sticky and rotating IP modes
* Low latency under automation loads
* 24/7 technical support

Best For: Developers and data teams running high-frequency automation or geo-sensitive testing at scale.

**[Try NetNut Residential Proxies!](https://netnut.io/residential-proxies/)**

## 2. Bright Data – Best for Advanced Targeting and Filters

Bright Data (formerly Luminati) has one of the largest residential IP pools in the industry. Its biggest advantage is flexibility — you can filter by city, ISP, device type, and even connection type.

While its feature set is impressive, it comes with a steeper learning curve. You’ll get the most out of it if you have the technical skills to configure advanced requests.

**Key Features:**

* 72M+ residential IPs
* Detailed targeting (ISP, device, connection)
* In-depth analytics tools
* GDPR-compliant IP sourcing

**Best For:** Experienced developers and analysts who require fine-tuned proxy configurations.

## 3. Oxylabs – Best for Enterprise-Grade Data Gathering

Oxylabs is known for reliability under heavy workloads. It’s tailored for companies that scrape millions of pages, run large SEO projects, or perform market intelligence across multiple countries.

Its residential proxies handle concurrency well, and the network maintains high uptime even with aggressive scraping patterns.

**Key Features:**

* 100M+ residential IPs
* Optimized for high-volume data extraction
* Session persistence for complex tasks
* Dedicated account managers

**Best For:** Enterprise teams conducting massive data collection projects.

## 4. ScraperAPI – Best for Quick API Integrations

ScraperAPI stands out for its simplicity. Instead of managing IP rotation and targeting manually, you send requests to their API, and they handle everything — including retries, geo-targeting, and CAPTCHA bypass.

This is a great choice for developers who want to embed proxy functionality into applications without spending hours on configuration.

**Key Features:**

* Simple API endpoint integration
* Automatic proxy rotation and retries
* Built-in geo-targeting options
* Fast setup for small to medium projects

**Best For:** Developers building applications that need plug-and-play proxy integration.

## 5. SOAX – Best for City-Level Testing & Clean IPs

SOAX focuses on quality over quantity. Their residential IPs are vetted for cleanliness and reliability, making them ideal for compliance-heavy use cases. Targeting is highly precise, and billing is flexible.

**Key Features:**

* 8.5M+ curated residential IPs
* City, region, and ISP targeting
* Transparent usage reporting
* Pay-as-you-go plans

**Best For:** QA testers, compliance teams, and localized marketing research.

## Choosing A Proxy Network

For developers, researchers, and businesses that depend on accurate, location-based data, residential proxies are more than a convenience — they’re part of the core infrastructure.

In 2025, NetNut leads the market with its ISP-verified IPs, fast performance under automation, and developer-friendly integrations. Whether you’re running a single web test or orchestrating millions of requests per day, it delivers the stability and accuracy you need.

That said, the right choice depends on your workload. Bright Data and Oxylabs excel at scale, ScraperAPI is perfect for plug-and-play API use, and SOAX offers unmatched precision for compliance testing.

## The bottom line:

If your project needs clean, accurate, and scalable IP access, start with a provider that puts sourcing integrity and developer tools first — and NetNut is an excellent place to begin.

## Developer FAQ: Residential Proxies

**1. Are residential proxies legal to use for scraping?**

Yes — as long as the provider sources IPs ethically and you only collect publicly available data. Services like NetNut and SOAX work with ISPs directly, which helps maintain compliance. Brands like **[Glow Directory](https://glowdirectory.com/)** use residential proxies to scrape Google Maps data on a daily basis.

**2. How do I ensure IP geolocation accuracy?**

Choose a provider that offers verified ISP-sourced IPs and test them with multiple IP lookup tools. This ensures your chosen city or ASN matches the real-world location.

**3. Which is better for automation — rotating or sticky IPs?**

Rotating IPs are best for scraping large volumes of pages while avoiding detection.

Sticky IPs are better for maintaining logged-in sessions or simulating a real user over time.

**4. How do I avoid being blocked while scraping?**

Combine residential proxies with proper request throttling, random user agents, and retry logic. Avoid hitting the same domain too frequently with identical patterns.

**5. Is a smaller, cleaner IP pool better than a huge one?**

For geo-accuracy and compliance-heavy tasks, a smaller pool of vetted IPs can outperform a massive but less curated network. Quality matters as much as quantity.