Online privacy was not a cause of concern years ago. Unfortunately, cybersecurity threats have been going up, and people have become more careful about their online activities.
In response, the proxy server market has grown rapidly, with several organizations adopting proxy usage to prevent unauthorized access.
Among the many types of privacy solutions out there are residential and datacenter proxies whose use is prevalent.
While they both serve the same purpose, they are different. So, let’s break down the differences to help you make an informed choice for your specific needs.
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Defining Residential and Datacenter Proxy Solutions
The first step towards deciphering datacenter proxies vs. residential proxies is knowing precisely what they are. A residential one acts as a go-between for websites and people.
It is associated with physical devices which use real IP addresses internet service providers assign to actual home internet users.
Residential proxies come in different forms, such as dedicated, rotating, and static, with each having its own advantages over the other.
On the other hand, datacenter proxies do not use real IP addresses associated with physical locations. Instead, they use artificial IP addresses from data centers.
Nonetheless, they still act as intermediaries through which your internet activity achieves enhanced privacy and anonymity.
What Makes Them Different?
From the definition, you can clearly tell a key contrast between the two. However, there are more variances that you need to learn. Read on to find out.
Speed
If the only factor you are considering when deciding between datacenter and residential proxies is speed, then you should go for the former.
Datacenter proxies are able to provide swift internet connections because they connect directly to remote cloud servers and powerful, professional hosting equipment on server houses.
Residential proxies instead go through actual IP addresses from real home devices. This slows them down more than their counterparts.
Anonymity
One ideal way to hide your online identity is through proxies. Although the datacenter kind offers a certain degree of anonymity, they are easily detectable.
Some website owners are wary that some visitors might use proxies with the intention of committing fraud.
Therefore, they might implement measures to detect if someone is hiding behind different IP addresses.
Since data centers are easily identifiable business entities, you might be detected and blocked from accessing the site when using their virtual IPs.
On the other end, it is hard to detect a residential proxy because you will be assigned a specific IP address associated with a real household.
Since these come from legit users with actual internet contracts from their ISPs, they can be quite difficult to detect.
Uses
Depending on what you plan to use them for, both proxy types have their own benefits. For instance, when it comes to web scraping, you will have much more success using datacenter proxies.
Web scraping requires lots of data from different sites. A server noticing many requests from a specific IP address will flag and block it.
Luckily, datacenter proxies can bypass this because they can change their IP address easily and cheaply to appear as if different people are visiting the site. As a result, you can collect as much data as you want.
Using residential proxies for web scraping is not a sound strategy because, although they are highly private, having to use a bunch of them to collect large amounts of data is not financially savvy.
However, you can use them for ad verification. If you are a campaign manager and want to ensure your ads display well in other regions, then residential proxies are your best bet.
Cost
You can only buy what you can afford, making price a paramount factor to consider. The datacenter variant is cheaper because they are mass-produced.
Since you are accessing remote cloud servers and potent data servers with easy-to-produce virtual IPs, their cost comes next to nothing.
Residential proxies, on the other end, will have you digging deeper into your pockets to afford them. Remember that you are accessing the internet courtesy of ISPs that assign you a real IP address from someone out there. Therefore, it will cost you slightly more for the extra mile they go to give you this service.
Conclusion
Proxies have varying capabilities and once you know the strengths of each, you can pick the right one for your preferred use.
Now that you know what differentiates datacenter and residential proxies, which one will you choose for your next online adventure? Will you opt for the blazing speeds of the former or the high stealth capabilities of the latter?