There are lots of proxy types available worldwide but probably the most popular of them surely are residential and data center proxies. For some inexperienced or new users this could raise question on what they are, what are the differences and will they work for you. The choice might be complicated but this article may help you make a decision easier.

Both proxies work with the same principle in general – they both hide your real IP address while being online. Proxies are helpful not only to ensure a more safe browsing experience but also allows you to bypass geo-restricted content (such as YouTube, Netflix, etc.,), blocked websites, help you search possible cheaper flight tickets and other use cases. 

So how is it working if they work with the same principle? To put this in shorter way – every IP address is like digital fingerprint of yours that is used to track you. Residential proxies are hiding your IP behind another IP address that is traced to real residential location (which is obviously not yours). Data center proxies IP addresses are traced back to the datacenter server location. 

You still may raise question what is the better choice for you? Well. Let’s dig a little deeper.

 

What are Datacenter proxies and why should I choose them?

Datacenter proxies are probably the most common proxies out there. This is probably the simplest and cheaper solution. When it comes to hiding the IP address – this type of proxies is not affiliated with your internet connection or ISP. You may notice that websites commonly use cookies for various reasons and they are helpful for websites that get placed into your browser to identify the IP addresses who are visiting website. The IP address is probably the most important thing that can be used to trace exact location. This is used for search engines to show you more local results or geo-restrict the content on certain pages based on your location. 

You may use datacenter proxies for online anonymity or unblocking the geo-restrictions, surely. The thing that is causing some troubles is that websites are getting more aware of users using datacenter proxies and most likely will block them as datacenter proxies are probably the easiest to identify as proxies. If this issue persists – do not worry, there is an excellent and effective solution – residential proxies.

What are residential proxies and should I choose them?

Residential proxies offer IP addresses that come from real residential locations this making them more legitimate and most likely impossible to block. This allows you to do same functions as datacenter proxies but also choose from various countries and choose the proxy type too – dynamic or static. Purchase proxies only from reliable and trustworthy providers and avoid free proxy/VPN services at any cost.

Here at proxy-cheap we offer both residential dynamic and static proxies. Dynamic proxies will allow to rotate and update IP address making the browsing/security experience improved. Dynamic residential proxies may have only HTTP connection option, whilst static residential proxy allows you to choose between SOCKS 5 and HTTP protocols. Residential dynamic proxies offer access to a 6M+ shared IP pool from over 120 countries allowing users to choose 2 rotation options – the Session (sticky) IP for ~30mins and Random IP option which rotates the IP address on every request or refresh. This way it is near to impossible for websites to track you. Unlike free proxies which can be unreliable and with security flaws, dynamic residential proxies offer unlimited number of connection threads, connections and allows to choose country at any time you want. Dynamic residential proxies come on traffic usage (prices starting at $4.99/GB) pricing model and static residential proxies come in monthly plan commitment. 

 

Are residential proxies better than datacenter proxies?

The simple answer – yes. There are some reasons why residential proxies are better than datacenter ones, them being:

1. Much bigger selection of countries possible. This is ideal for bypassing certain country geo-restrictions;

2. Residential proxies are more legitimate – Residential IPs are assigned to real residential locations which makes this type of proxies almost impossible to ban. Some websites can detect that proxy is being used for accessing websites and the proxy can get blocked. This is most likely to happen for datacenter proxies. Datacenter proxies may be easier to acquire and cheaper to that matter too but big percentage of datacenter proxy users will most likely hide their real IP addresses for malicious purposed. This is why there is a higher risk for datacenter proxies to get blocked. To sum this up – datacenter proxies are cheaper but they can get easily blocked. It is worth paying just a little more for much bigger benefits.

 

Which proxy type better for sneakers?

Without a doubt the answer is – residential proxies are better than datacenter proxies for hiding your sneaker bot. Datacenter proxies may have good speed and reliability if having 1-2 accounts but more proxies and accounts can lead to subnet bans making them impossible to use.

Sneaker bots in general do require fast and unique IP addresses for each account. The bots cannot act too fast as instant checkout can lead directly to IP getting blocked. Proxy speed is not the ultimate answer here. The main key is to set up your bots correctly – best option is to make some timeouts or lower rates of requests to make like it is real user is making natural actions. 

The main pros and cons of datacenter vs residential proxies for sneaker bots:

1. Speed! Although datacenter proxies may be faster than residential proxies – you have to limit your requests in order to not get blocked. Purchasing proxy near your target location can make the results better.

2. Bans! Residential proxies are more unique and are less likely to get banned whilst datacenter proxies can get their entire subnets banned even if 1 IP is detected and banned. 

3. Price! Shared residential dynamic proxies will come to a cheaper cost as you can use many more IPs at the same time. Static dedicated residential proxies have no guarantee that they will work perfectly with your use case and due to considerably low price you can get an already used IP. We recommend using dynamic residential proxies for best possible value; 

4. Residential proxies are more unique compared to Datacenter proxies;

5. Ability to use residential proxies from any country offered while datacenter proxies will work in the country of origin where the server is located.