Residential Proxies vs Shared Proxies
Residential Proxies vs Shared Proxies — the two get confused often. Here's the practical difference, with pricing and best-fit tasks.
| Attribute | residential | shared |
|---|---|---|
| Price/GB | $0.45–$8.40 | $0.10–$1 |
| Anonymity | Very high | Medium |
| Speed | Medium | Fast |
| Pool | Largest | Large |
| Best for | web scraping, sneakers | budget tasks, light scraping |
Residential Proxies
Residential proxies route through real home IP addresses assigned by ISPs, so target sites see them as genuine users — the hardest type to detect and block.
Pros
- hardest to detect
- huge geo coverage
- great for strict targets
Cons
- pricier per-GB
- variable speed
Shared Proxies
Shared proxies split each IP across several users to cut cost dramatically — the most affordable option for light, non-sensitive tasks where occasional IP reputation issues are acceptable.
Pros
- cheapest option
- fast
- easy to buy
Cons
- bad-neighbor risk
- shared rate limits
Which should you choose?
Choose residential for web scraping, sneakers, social media, ad verification. Choose shared for budget tasks, light scraping. Many providers — including our value pick Cheapest Proxies — sell both.
Cheapest Proxies — from $0.45/GB
Get residential or shared proxies at the lowest verified price on the market.
Visit Cheapest Proxies →residential vs shared — FAQ
What's the difference between residential and shared proxies?
Residential proxies route through real home IP addresses assigned by ISPs, so target sites see them as genuine users — the hardest type to detect and block. By contrast, shared proxies split each IP across several users to cut cost dramatically — the most affordable option for light, non-sensitive tasks where occasional IP reputation issues are acceptable.
Which is cheaper, residential or shared?
residential proxies run $0.45–$8.40/GB; shared run $0.10–$1/GB. shared is generally cheaper.
Which should I choose?
Pick residential for web scraping; pick shared for budget tasks. Cheapest Proxies offers both from $0.45/GB.