๐ฏ Quick Decision Guide
๐ฑ Choose Mobile Proxies For:
- โ Social media automation
- โ Account creation & management
- โ Bypassing tough anti-bot systems
- โ When you need highest trust scores
- โ Operations requiring CGNAT protection
๐ Choose Residential Proxies For:
- โ Large-scale web scraping
- โ Geo-targeted data collection
- โ Price monitoring at scale
- โ When you need lower cost per GB
- โ Tasks where moderate trust is sufficient
Key Differences
| Aspect | ๐ฑ Mobile | ๐ Residential |
|---|---|---|
| IP Source | 4G/5G cellular networks | Home ISP connections |
| Trust Level | Highest | High |
| IP Sharing | CGNAT (1000s per IP) | 1 user per IP |
| Cost per GB | $4-8/GB | $1-5/GB |
| Speed | 10-100 Mbps | 10-100 Mbps |
| Pool Size | 10-50M IPs | 10-100M IPs |
| Best For | Account management | Web scraping |
Trust Levels Explained
Anti-bot systems assign trust levels to IP addresses based on multiple signals. Higher trust means fewer CAPTCHAs, blocks, and verification challenges.
๐ฑ Why Mobile Proxies Have Highest Trust
- โCGNAT protection: Thousands of legitimate users share each IP, making behavior analysis unreliable
- โCan't block: Blocking mobile IPs affects millions of real users
- โNatural traffic: Real device fingerprints and traffic patterns
- โMobile ASN: Identified as genuine mobile carrier
๐ Why Residential Has High (But Lower) Trust
- โReal IPs: Come from actual ISP customers
- ~Single user: Each IP has one user, easier to fingerprint
- ~Pattern detection: Unusual traffic can be flagged
- ~Known ranges: Proxy providers' IP ranges can be fingerprinted
Use Case Analysis
Social Media Automation
Mobile WinsInstagram, TikTok, Twitter, and other social platforms have sophisticated detection. They expect users to come from mobile devices. Mobile proxies provide the authentic mobile fingerprint these platforms expect.
Large-Scale Web Scraping
Residential WinsFor collecting millions of pages, cost efficiency matters. Residential proxies offer lower per-GB costs and larger IP pools. The moderate trust level is sufficient for most scraping targets.
E-commerce Account Management
Mobile WinsAmazon, eBay, and other marketplaces heavily monitor for multi-account operations. Mobile proxies' CGNAT protection makes it impossible to link accounts by IP.
Price Monitoring
Either WorksFor checking prices across e-commerce sites, both work well. Choose based on budget and scale. Use mobile for heavily protected sites, residential for general monitoring.
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
Total Cost Comparison (Monthly)
| Data Usage | Mobile @ $6/GB | Residential @ $2/GB | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 GB | $60 | $20 | 3x more |
| 50 GB | $300 | $100 | 3x more |
| 100 GB | $600 | $200 | 3x more |
| 500 GB | $2,500 | $750 | 3.3x more |
๐ก But consider success rates: If mobile proxies have 95% success vs 75% for residential on a protected site, you may actually save money with mobile by avoiding retries and blocks.
Decision Matrix
Bottom Line
Mobile proxies are worth the premium when you need maximum trust scoresโ social media, account management, and heavily protected sites.
Residential proxies offer better value for high-volume data collection where moderate trust is sufficient.
Many businesses use both: mobile for sensitive operations and residential for bulk scraping. The right choice depends on your specific use case, budget, and risk tolerance.