According to the 2captcha service, who are undoubtedly experts in the field of residential proxies, in order to hide the IP address or bypass content blocking, people usually use a proxy. They come in different types. Today we will compare the two most popular types of proxies — server and residential proxies, we will talk about their pros, cons, and usage scenarios.
How server proxies work
Server (Datacenter) proxies are the most common type. When using them, IP addresses are issued by cloud service providers. These addresses are not connected in any way with home Internet service providers.
Server proxies are used to hide the real IP address or bypass geo-based content blocking, as well as to encrypt traffic. Often, certain web services restrict user access from certain countries, for example, Netflix does it. Users from such locations can use server proxies to get an IP address in the United States and bypass the blocking.
Pros and cons of server proxies
Server proxies are easy to use and are able to solve their main task — to mask the real IP address and open access to blocked content.
At the same time, it is important to understand that in the case of server proxies, IP addresses are issued not by the home Internet provider, but by hosting providers. Many modern web resources limit the connectivity from server IP addresses, as they are often used by all kinds of bots.
How residential proxies work
Whereas, a residential proxy is an IP address issued by a real Internet provider from a certain city, region, or state. Usually these addresses are given to homeowners, they are marked in databases of regional Internet registers (RIR). When used correctly, requests from such addresses cannot be distinguished from requests from a real user.
Pros and cons of residential proxies
Since in the case of residential proxies, IP addresses are issued by home Internet providers, the probability that they will be blacklisted and blocked is extremely low. In addition, these addresses can be issued dynamically and constantly change for each user.
Their usage makes it more likely to get access to the necessary content on the Internet: no one will block requests from IP addresses that are in the databases of home Internet providers, and not hosting companies. For the same reason, residential proxies are better suited for data collection and analysis tasks. Therefore, companies that need to collect data from various sources and bypass possible blockages use such proxies.
At the same time, server proxies usually outperform residential proxies in speed, and are also cheaper.
What to choose
When choosing a proxy, you should think about the tasks. If it is necessary to mask the IP address and at the same time carry out operations quickly and with minimal cost, and the probability of blocking is not particularly frightening, a server proxy will be the best option.
If you need a reliable tool for data collection, with a wide range of geolocations and minimal chances of being blacklisted or blocked, residential proxies are more convenient.