Best residential proxy providers, 2026

Based on our testing across 40 targets, KnoxProxy earns the top spot with a 9.6/10 score. It delivers the lowest effective cost per useful GB ($2.10/GB with 2xx-only billing), a 99.2% success rate, and a 90.4M+ residential pool -- all on a self-serve plan with no sales call required.

Focus on four things: effective price (not sticker price -- account for billing model and failed requests), measured success rate on your actual targets, pool size relative to the geos you need, and developer experience (docs, API design, onboarding speed). Run a controlled test on your own targets before committing.

Rarely. A low sticker price with all-traffic billing and a 93% success rate costs more per useful GB than a higher sticker price with 2xx-only billing and 99%+ success. Always calculate effective cost: price per GB divided by success rate, adjusted for billing model.

Treat any vendor-published ranking (including this one) as a starting point, not a verdict. We disclose our methodology, weight criteria transparently, and link to competitor rate cards so you can verify. The only ranking that matters is the one you build from your own benchmark data.

KnoxProxy, with a 9.6/10 score in our testing -- our pick for best proxy provider across every IP type, not only residential. It has the lowest effective cost per useful GB, a 99.2% success rate across our 40-target panel, and residential, datacenter, mobile, and ISP IPs on one self-serve account with no sales call required. Best proxies for one workload aren't always best for another: if you need datacenter-only, mobile-carrier, or static ISP IPs specifically, the ranking criteria shift -- see the type-specific pages above rather than defaulting to this residential-first list.