Smartproxy Review: Features, Pros, Cons and Pricing

What is Smartproxy?

Smartproxy has operated since 2018 as a proxy and web-data gathering solutions provider. Initially, it started as a self-service-based proxy infrastructure. Later, it expanded its business to cover a wide range of data-gathering needs, with over 65 million proxies and various web scraping solutions.

The service offers a range of proxy types, including residential, ISP, mobile, datacenter, and dedicated datacenter IPs from various locations worldwide.

Smartproxy also functions as a complete data-as-a-service (DaaS) ecosystem. One of Smartproxy’s standout features is that it offers customers Global and Rotating Proxy services.

• Global Proxies: Backconnect node for targeting IPs in any worldwide location, including state or city-level targeting.
• Rotating Proxies: Advanced rotating network that changes proxies for each request or maintains the same IP for defined intervals.

Like the Tor network, Rotating proxies involve frequently changing IP addresses. This dynamic IP rotation helps prevent websites from tracking your online activities based on a consistent IP address.

Smartproxy provides various proxy solutions and scraping tools to fulfill different needs and use cases.

Smartproxy Proxies

Smartproxy offers 6 types of premium proxy for bypassing geo-restrictions and IP blocks. These proxies provide ethically sourced IPs with large pools and flexible pricing options, as shown below.

Residential Proxies

Residential proxies provide IP addresses obtained from real devices like home computers and mobile phones. They make your requests appear more like those of regular users, allowing easy access to content and making it more difficult for your browsing activities to be tracked.

IP Pool: 55M real IPs and HTTP(s) SOCKS5

Locations: 195 locations worldwide

Pricing: Starts from $7/GB for the pay-as-you-go model. The price per GB decreases with higher bandwidth bundles. For example, the 100 GB bandwidth plan reduces the cost to $4.5/GB.

Static (ISP) Residential Proxies

Static ISP Residential Proxies offers consistent and reliable performance. These proxies maintain the same IP address for longer durations, which can be helpful for specific tasks that require a more consistent identity, such as social media account handling.

Pricing: Starts from $11/GB and $0.42/IP. The price per GB and per IP increases with a decrease in the total bandwidth and number of IPs.

Mobile Proxies

Mobile Proxies use IP addresses from mobile devices to provide a mobile-like browsing experience. They are suitable for tasks where you need to emulate mobile users or access data from different mobile network locations.

IP Pool: 10M ethically sourced mobile IPs

Locations: 160 locations and 700 ASNs

Pricing: Price starts from $8/GB for the Pay-As-You-Go model. Subscription model starts from $6/GB.

Datacenter Proxies

Datacenter Proxies are IP addresses from data centers. They offer stability and speed, making them ideal for tasks requiring high-speed connections and high-volume requests.

IP Pool: 100K data center IPs

Locations: Worldwide

Pricing: The price starts from $0.6/GB or $0.1/IP.

Dedicated Datacenter Proxies

Dedicated Datacenter Proxies provide exclusive access to private IPs from data centers. This allows you to have increased control over your proxy usage and can benefit specific projects, especially for eCommerce and brand security.

Ownership: Full control and ownership of private data center IPs from the US.

Pricing: The pricing starts at $2.5/IP.

Site Unblocker

The Site Unblocker feature helps you bypass restrictions in websites with advanced anti-scraping mechanisms. It allows you to access and scrape data from websites that are otherwise difficult to retrieve information from.

Functionality: Increase web scraping capabilities by accessing real-time data from challenging websites.

Here’s how the unblocking mechanism works.

Pricing: The price starts at $10/GB. Moreover, you can opt into the pay-per-request plan and start paying at $1.6/1K requests.

The table below shows all the proxy services offered by Smartproxy and compares them based on their use case, target audience, IP pool, and location coverage.

Smartproxy Scraping API

Smartproxy also offers a variety of scraping tools and APIs that are designed for data extraction needs. These tools are discussed below.

The Social Media Scraping API extracts structured real-time data from popular social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Reddit. It allows the user to gather data from social media platforms for analysis and monitoring purposes.

• Output Formats: HTML, JSON
• Request Modes: Synchronous, Asynchronous
• Anti-Bot Protection: Advanced, available through browser fingerprint integration
• Proxy Integration: Access to 65M proxies

SERP Scraping API

The SERP Scraping API is a comprehensive scraping solution for search engine results pages (SERPs), including Google and Bing. It’s useful for tracking search engine rankings and the overall performance of your pages.

• Output Formats: HTML, JSON, Table
• Request Modes: Synchronous, Asynchronous
• Anti-Bot Protection: Advanced, available through browser fingerprint integration
• Code Integration: GitHub, Postman, Quick Start Guide

eCommerce Scraping API

The eCommerce Scraping API extracts product data, pricing information, reviews, and other relevant data from online stores and e-commerce websites.

• Output Formats: HTML, JSON, Table
• Request Modes: Synchronous, Asynchronous
• Anti-Bot Protection: Advanced, available through browser fingerprint integration
• Code Integration: GitHub, Postman, Quick Start Guide

Web Scraping API

The Web Scraping API provides a general-purpose solution for web scraping tasks, allowing users to extract data from websites for research and data analysis purposes.

• Output Formats: HTML, Table
• Request Modes: Synchronous, Asynchronous
• Anti-Bot Protection: Advanced, available through browser fingerprint integration
• Code Integration: GitHub, Postman, Quick Start Guide

Smartproxy Features

Smartproxy offers feature-rich services that cater to both individuals and businesses. Here are a few of the most important features that Smartproxy provides:

• SOCKS5 Proxies: As an advanced proxy protocol, SOCKS5 proxies can handle many types of traffic, such as HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and SMTP. SOCKS5 also supports authentication through username and password to offer better security.
• Backconnect Proxies: Backconnect proxies are automatically rotating proxies that regularly change your proxy’s IP address. Smartproxy’s Backconnect proxies let users change the IP address with each action to minimize the chance of getting a particular IP blocked by certain websites. 
• IPv4 Proxies: Smartproxy offers IPv4 proxies which are versatile, reliable, and fast. These proxies are also the most widely used protocol on websites. Users can utilize them for various use cases, such as data scraping, social media management, and browsing.
• Large IP Pools: With 55M ethically sourced residential IPs and 10M mobile IPs, Smartproxy provides enough IPs to rotate proxies and utilize a new IP for every action you take online.
• Sticky Sessions: Smartproxy lets users keep the same IP for longer durations to take advantage of a stable connection. This is called Sticky Sessions and is crucial for some use cases, such as managing social media accounts or registering on certain websites. Smartproxy users can have Sticky Sessions for up to 30 minutes.
• Geo-targeting: Smartproxy’s IPs are from over 195 different countries, and the provider offers geo-targeting capabilities to target specific locations, at country and city levels.

• High Uptime: Smartproxy ensures 99.99% uptime for constant access to proxies, with minimal interruptions, glitches, and downtimes.
• Browser Fingerprinting Protection: Some websites try to track users through their browser’s characteristics, and this is called browser fingerprinting. Smartproxy offers tools that randomize the users’ browser fingerprints to maintain anonymity.
• IP Whitelisting: Users can take advantage of IP Whitelisting with Smartproxy services. IP Whitelisting is a security feature that lets users access the service based on their IP address. If you enable this feature, the service will trust your device and connection, allowing easy access.
• Knowledge Hub: On Smartproxy’s official website, you can access the Knowledge Hub. This provides information and guides about different proxy types, APIs, and tools, as well as how to set them up.

Smartproxy Pricing

SmartProxy’s pricing system is flexible, and users can opt for different plans as they see fit. Proxy services are primarily offered per GB or per IP. Moreover, residential and mobile proxies have “Pay as You Go” plans, so users don’t have to pay for their usage upfront.

The table below compares Smartproxy’s minimum pricing plans for all its proxy services.

The pricing structure for Scraping APIs differs from that of proxy services and is available through packages of requests. Packages with more requests offer better prices per request overall.

As a result, the price will be much more affordable for users who want to use APIs for larger projects. Using the table below, you can compare the prices of different Smartproxy Scraping APIs.

Performance and Speed

Thanks to the vast IP Pool of over 55 million residential proxies, Smartproxy’s rotating proxies perform decently. Moreover, over 10 million Mobile 3G, 4G LTE, and 5G IPs from 700 mobile carriers are available for Mobile Proxy users.

There is no shortage of ethically sourced IPs in SmartProxy services, which speeds up data scraping and website access without much hindrance.

The variety of IP locations enhances the overall performance. SmartProxy’s IPs are sourced from over 195 countries and 50 US states. Furthermore, you can target certain cities in various countries and use that city’s proxy. The features are very helpful in efficiently monitoring content based on location. Use cases dependent on localization include ad verification, price monitoring, and localized SEO.

With guaranteed 99.99% uptime and less than 0.3s response time (around 0.5s for residential proxies), Smartproxy is a reliable and fast option among proxy providers. Of course, the performance depends on the use case and the target websites, but based on a test from Proxyway, the overall success rate is approximately 98% for residential and mobile proxies.

For example, in a test conducted in March 2024, 1.2M requests in 21 days resulted in more than 832,000 unique IPs, a 99.68% average success rate, and 0.54s average response time. The Mobile proxies also performed well. For instance, the test showed a 97.53% average success rate for UK proxies and 1.11s average response time.

Due to the nature of datacenter proxies and their vulnerability to IP blocks, the success rate can drop slightly, but it is still more than 90%. Based on the same test, Smartproxy APIs’ performance is also satisfying, and the test shows a near 100% success rate in web scraping popular websites such as Google and Amazon.

Customer Support

You can email Smartproxy’s support team. They provide an official support email address ([email protected]) where you can send your inquiries, issues, or requests for assistance.

Smartproxy offers live chat support on its website to interact with support representatives in real-time and receive immediate help.

Its website also provides an advanced documentation section (Knowledge Hub). This includes FAQs and guides that address common questions and help users understand the tools’ functionality.

Use Cases

There are 6 primary use cases for Smartproxy’s proxy services, as shown below.

• Multi-accounting: Managing multiple accounts often requires multiple unique IP addresses to avoid IP blocks and rate limiting. If you log into multiple accounts with the same IP address, some websites flag the IP. Using Smartproxy’s residential and mobile proxies, social media managers and e-commerce sellers can have an easier time with multi-accounting, thanks to enhanced privacy and anonymity.
• Web Scraping: As one of the most popular use cases of proxies, SmartProxy focuses on Web Scraping with various scraping tools and APIs. Geo-targeting capabilities let users web scrape geo-restricted websites. Smartproxy’s residential proxies are ideal for web scraping protected websites, and datacenter proxies are suitable for bulk web scraping from regular websites.
• Price Aggregation: Collecting pricing data from various websites and analyzing them based on different factors, such as location, is relatively easy with Smartproxy’s residential IPs, which are equipped with geo-targeting capabilities. It’s especially beneficial for travel aggregators and business owners. A small business owner’s review of Smartproxy stated that the API is convenient and reliable, with multiple regions and configurations.
• AdTech: Many advertising platforms utilize proxies to verify ad delivery and placement in various locations and regions. Smartproxy’s geo-targeting capabilities make ad verification easier for these platforms. A verified user in marketing and advertising described using Smartproxy services as having a decent onboarding experience and a sleek payment process.
• SEO: Search Engine Optimization and improving a website’s ranking in SERPs require access to different IP locations for region-specific keyword research. Smartproxy’s Rotating residential proxy service is suitable for this task. An SEO app developer appreciated Smartproxy proxies in a 5-star review, praising SmartProxy’s SERP API.
• AI Data Collection: AI developers and cybersecurity companies use proxies to access large datasets for machine learning and training AI systems. ISP and datacenter proxies are suitable for massive data collection from websites or APIs.

Smartproxy Integration

Smartproxy services are flexible and can be integrated with many third-party tools and applications.

As a result, users can leverage Smartproxy services in their preferred work environments for various use cases, such as web scraping, SEO, and multi-accounting. Smartproxy supports many bots, software, and scripts, including:

• Sneaker Bots include NikeSlayer, SupremeBot, Nike Shoe Bot, Another Nike Bot, and Better Nike Bot.
• Social Media Tools.
• Scrapers such as ScrapeBox, Apify, Octoparse, and Axios.
• SEO tools like SENukeTNG, ZennoPoster, and Screaming Frog.
• Proxy managers like VMlogin, AdsPower, MuLogin, Proxifier, Lalicat, Kameleo, and MarketerBrowser.

How Smartproxy Sources IPs?

To ensure you’re using proxies legally, you have to check if the provider offers ethically sourced IPs and that the IP owners are aware their IPs are being used as proxies.

Otherwise, this will lead to legal trouble or privacy issues. Smartproxy is a member of the Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative (EWDCI) and emphasizes that all IPs are offered with the consent of their owners.

This is especially important for residential proxies because the IPs are sourced from real users. These IP owners voluntarily share their IPs and participate in a peer-to-peer network, and SmartProxy offers them money for their IP usage.

The sourcing of Mobile IPs is similar, through real mobile network users. Moreover, Smartproxy utilizes robust security measures, such as data encryption and regular system audits, to keep residential IP addresses safe.

Smartproxy provides additional tools that enhance the proxy services’ user experience and functionality. All the tools are free to download and integrate with proxies.

Brief overviews of these tools are given below.

X Browser

X Browser enables you to juggle multiple accounts simultaneously while maintaining a risk-free environment. It is particularly useful for managing multiple social media, email, or other online accounts without triggering any security concerns.

Chrome Extension

The Smartproxy Chrome Extension brings essential proxy features directly into your web browser. With this extension, you can easily set up and manage proxies within the Chrome browser. It simplifies browsing while enhancing privacy and anonymity.

Firefox Add-on

The Smartproxy Firefox Add-on provides the same convenience as the Chrome Extension, which allows you to add proxy functionality to your Firefox browser. If you prefer using Firefox as your browser, this add-on allows you to integrate and manage proxies within that environment.

Proxy Checker

The Proxy Checker tool lets users test proxies on their computers. With this tool, users can filter out repetitive and blacklisted proxies from their list. Moreover, you can evaluate proxy speed and reliability to understand their capabilities and optimize them for your needs. Proxy Checker is available for download on Mac and Windows.

Smartproxy Pros and Cons

This section will discuss the benefits and disadvantages of Smartproxy’s proxy services.

Smartproxy Advantages

Smartproxy has 4 distinct benefits, as shown below.

• Great Performance and High Success Rate: With a success rate of more than 98%, 99.9% uptime, and less than 0.5s response time, Smartproxy delivers decent performance. As a result, users rarely experience usage interruption.
• Geo-targeting Capabilities: Users can geo-target countries and cities and use Smartproxy’s 55M IP pool. The IPs are sourced from over 195 countries around the world.
• Easy Integration with Third-party Tools: Smartproxy ensures that users can utilize the proxies on their preferred software, bots, and scripts. The Smartproxy website offers comprehensive guides that show users how to integrate different tools.
• Rotating and Sticky Sessions: Smartproxy’s Rotating proxies help users stay anonymous and use a different IP for every request. Users can also utilize Sticky Sessions to keep a specific IP for an extended period, which is beneficial for managing multiple accounts and long-term scraping.

Smartproxy Disadvantages

Limited bandwidth on subscription plans and complicated setup processes are the 2 disadvantages of Smartproxy, as discussed below.

• Limited Bandwidth: Some of the top providers offer unlimited bandwidth with their services, but SmartProxy offers most of its services with limited traffic. However, Static Residential Proxies or ISP proxies are provided with unlimited traffic.
• Complicated Setup for Beginners: Unlike some proxy providers offering automatic and one-step setups, setting up most Smartproxy services requires technical knowledge or following a step-by-step guide.

Smartproxy Alternatives

Before deciding to pick Smartproxy as your proxy provider, it’s advisable to review alternatives and see if they offer better and more affordable services.

Bright Data, Oxylabs, and IPRoyal are the 3 popular alternatives to Smartproxy, and they are discussed below.

• Bright Data: With more than 72M IPs, Bright Data offers a larger IP Pool than Smartproxy. The platform also provides multiple advanced customization options. However, its services are more expensive than those of Smartproxy.
• Oxylabs: Oxylabs has a massive 102M IP pool and offers many AI-driven and data-scraping features that Smartproxy lacks. It’s ideal for heavy data collection needs, but the price is not affordable for many individual users.
• IPRoyal: This provider offers cheaper services than SmartProxy. However, it lacks SmartProxy’s speed and performance. The features are mostly basic, and the tools are unsuitable for heavy web scraping.

Smartproxy Verdict

Smartproxy provides excellent speeds, reliable performance, a vast IP pool, and diverse features. Its services are well-rounded for handling web scraping, ad monitoring, social media handling, and collecting mid-sized volumes of data.

Smartproxy receives the Geekflare Innovation Award for its balanced mix of reliability, performance, and features—all available at flexible prices. While it lacks the advanced customization options and features of enterprise-level providers, Smartproxy is ideal for individuals’ and small to mid-sized businesses’ proxy requirements.