Residential Proxies
According to Proxyway’s 2023 survey, residential proxies remain the most popular product among all proxy providers. With the industry continuing its strong upward trajectory and new proxy providers joining the fray, users are finding it more and more difficult to choose the best service provider for their needs. Moreover, the intricacies involved in assessing their features, reliability, and performance can make the process even more complicated.
To simplify this process, we will compare and contrast two big names in the world of residential proxies: Bright Data and SOAX.
In this article, we’ll compare the features, offerings, pricing, ethical compliance, and developer experience, shedding light on the nuances that set them apart to help you choose the ideal provider for your needs.
Introduction to SOAX and Bright Data
SOAX
Established in 2019, SOAX is a fairly new player in the residential proxy scene. The company began as a mid-range proxy provider – being right in between the cheap providers and premium options
At present, SOAX has moved closer to the premium options in the market, offering a decent pool of residential and mobile proxies with flexible customization options. The company has also partnered with The World Ethical Forum and has become an advocate for the ethical collection of data.
Bright Data
Bright Data began as one of the pioneers of residential proxies when the rest of the industry was still pushing datacenter proxies. Currently, the company has become a behemoth in the proxy provider market, putting great emphasis on ethical sourcing and usage of residential proxies, resulting in a highly reliable and trustworthy service.
At present, 95% of Bright Data’s proxy usage is taken up by residential and datacenter proxies. While the company mainly caters to enterprise customers, including Fortune 500 companies, it provides multiple services such as a customizable proxy service, reliable web scrapers for major e-commerce platforms, customized datasets, etc. that a wide range of users can make use of.
Overall, both SOAX and Bright Data, present flexible proxy solutions tailored to a wide spectrum of use cases.
SOAX vs Bright Data: Points of Comparison
IP Count and Proxy Pool Size
Bright Data holds a significant advantage here. According to the numbers advertised on both websites, Bright Data has over 72 million (6.5 million daily) residential IPs and over 7 million mobile proxies spread over 195+ countries, whereas SOAX only has 5 million residential IPs and 3.5 million mobile proxies, spread over 195 countries.
Going beyond advertised numbers – per Proxyway’s research using 500,0001 requests for each country pool – Bright Data turned up a balanced proxy pool well-spread over several countries, notably having over 350,000 unique IPs from the US. From a random IP pool (without any location filters applied), for 1 million requests it returned a unique IP count of over 800,000.
In comparison, SOAX returned fewer unique IPs (~620,000) when requests were run without using any location filter. Using location filters, Bright Data returned more IPs from the US, UK, Germany, India, and Australia, whereas SOAX returned a higher unique IP count only from France.
For Bright Data especially, this translates to an extensive and diverse pool of IPs at the users’ disposal, ensuring robust and reliable proxy services even with precise location filters enabled for any location on the planet. In contrast, SOAX’s IP count is nowhere near as extensive and diverse as Bright Data’s.
| Criteria | SOAX | Bright Data |
| Total Residential IPs | 5 million | Over 72 million (6.5 million IPs daily) |
| Total Mobile IPs | 3.5 million | 7 million |
| Geographic Distribution | Not as extensive and Bright Data, spread over 195 countries, only 113,000 unique IPs from the US | Spread over 195+ countries; well-balanced pool over several countries, notably 350,000 unique IPs from the US |
| Random IP Pool (1M requests) | ~620,000 unique IPs | ~800,000 unique IPs |
| Country IP Pool (500K requests) | SOAX returned more unique IPs from France | Bright Data returned more unique IPs from the US, UK, Germany, India, and Australia |
[1] 140,000 from Australia
Response Time and Success Rate
Per Proxyway’s research, while targeting a global CDN, Bright Data ensured an average success rate of 99.17% and a response time averaging 1.02 seconds. SOAX, on the other hand, gave an average success rate of 99.03% and a response time of 1.05 seconds on average for several kilobytes of data.
| Criteria | SOAX | Bright Data |
| Average Response Time | 1.05 s | 1.02 s |
| Average Success Rate | 99.03% | 99.17% |
Although there’s not much difference between the two in terms of response time and success rate, Bright Data’s diverse IP pool can give you more coverage.
Also, it’s worth bearing in mind that, while the success rates are comparable for a small amount of data, when it comes to enterprise-grade data collection involving several gigabytes of data, Bright Data’s extensive proxy network and dedicated IPs can prove to be a big advantage.
Features
ASN/ZIP Targeting
The first point of comparison when it comes to features is IP Targeting. Both offer city, country, region, and ASN/ZIP targeting, however, since Bright Data’s network is more extensive, it can access regions that SOAX can’t.
What exactly is ASN/ZIP targeting and why would you need it?
ASN and ZIP code targeting go beyond typical geo-targeting to provide an even more detailed level of control and customization for internet traffic, allowing users to interact with online content or services as if they were accessing them from specific ZIP codes or network providers.
Here’s why this level of granularity is needed:
- Load Balancing: Distributing traffic across different ASNs or ZIP codes can help balance the load on servers, ensuring optimal performance and reliability.
- Extracting Region-Specific Content: For applications like web scraping or crawling, ASN or ZIP code targeting allows users to scrape localized data from specific regions or from servers associated with certain ASNs. Beyond precision, ASN/ZIP targeting enhances operational efficiency by eliminating irrelevant data, particularly crucial when dealing with vast datasets.
- Ad Verification: Some websites may use ASN or ZIP code targeting to verify the display of ads in specific geographic regions or on networks associated with certain ASNs. Matching ASN here acts as an anti-geoblock.
- Security and Privacy: Organizations often implement security measures and filters at the network level. ASN/ZIP targeting enables the selection of proxies that align with the target website’s accessibility requirements, reducing the likelihood of detection or blocks.
This approach transcends one-size-fits-all methodologies, enabling users to better plan scraping strategies, select appropriate IPs or proxies, and mitigate risks. For users engaged in web scraping or data mining, this means not only accuracy but relevance in the extracted data, a critical aspect in the age of information overload.
| Criteria | SOAX | Bright Data |
| IP Targeting Features | Country, city, and ASN-based targeting | City and country-based targeting, with additional fine-grained ASN/ZIP targeting |
| ASN/ZIP Targeting | ASN targeting is available | Available, providing detailed control and customization for internet traffic |
| Coverage | Can’t access certain regions because of its less diverse IP pool | Can access almost any location on the planet since its network consists of IPs from almost every region |
Hence when it comes to IP targeting, both companies offer a comparable level of granularity, but Bright Data edges past SOAX because of its wider coverage.
Scalability
Let’s talk about scalability. Bright Data gives you a level of flexibility that’s hard to match, especially If you have a large number of employees and departments. By not limiting the number of sub-users on your Bright Data subscription, it allows you to smoothly integrate the proxy service across your various departments or teams without worrying about extra charges, even as your organization grows and evolves. Bright Data doesn’t impose any limitations on the number of concurrent sessions as long as there is enough balance in your account.
In contrast, SOAX’s proxy solution is somewhat limited as you only get 300 ports with the base plan with a limitation of only 30 concurrent sessions. In addition, you only get 2 IP slots for free, with higher tiers giving you access to more ports and IP slots for whitelisting. Moreover, SOAX charges monthly based on traffic, if traffic is used up, the service stops, unless you manually increase the limitation or opt for a higher plan. This can prove to be a hindrance if you’re embarking on a project involving huge amounts of data/traffic.
The other benefit to Bright Data’s approach is that it allows for tighter, individualized settings for each access point (better security), and the possibility of each department or team having their dedicated IP access, reducing conflicts over shared proxy resources (better resource management).
In a nutshell, Bright Data’s open-ended approach to sub-users, concurrent sessions, and whitelisted IPs gives you unmatched flexibility compared to SOAX’s traffic and port-based plans. It’s a total win for Bright Data here.
| Criteria | SOAX | Bright Data |
| Limitations | 300 ports and 30 concurrent sessions, 2 whitelist IP slots are given for free, additional slots need to be purchased separately. Traffic-based plans, if monthly traffic is hit, service stops, unless you increase the limit by paying more. | No limit on the number of sub-users or whitelists, allowing smooth integration across departments and teams. No limits on usage as long as the account has sufficient balance. |
| Flexibility in Sub-Users | Limited flexibility for large organizations with extra charges | Unmatched flexibility for large organizations, especially for multiple departments or teams |
| Individualized Settings | Limited individualized settings for each access point | Allows tighter, individualized settings for each access point, enhancing security |
| Dedicated IP Access | Shared proxy resources may lead to conflicts | Departments or teams can have dedicated IP access, improving resource management |
| Cost-Effective Approach | Traffic and Port-based plans with potential extra costs for a higher number of ports | Open-ended approach is a cost-effective alternative, offering unmatched flexibility |
Configuration
The biggest issue with SOAX’s proxy configuration is the complex flow – users first need to whitelist an IP address, then configure a proxy server. Even though it does provide the conventional username:password credential-based authorization, you’d still need to whitelist an IP address before using the Login flow, and then configure the proxy server with IP rotation frequency, specify location and/or ISP, and then map addresses to ports you have. Here, again, is a potential gotcha – the IP Whitelisting flow overrides the Login/Credential flow, and SOAX advises against using both at once.
This problem is exacerbated by SOAX only providing two free IP slots for authorization, as mentioned before, needing the user to purchase more if they frequently switch between multiple devices/IP addresses, or, say, are an organization with multiple users or teams. This barrier wards off proxy resellers, but could potentially restrict flexibility for many real-world use cases.
It’s some relief, then, that SOAX does allow users to export a proxy list – filtering by country, ISP, Port, choosing a template like {login}:{pass}@{domain}:{port}, and exporting to a TXT file that can be read programmatically, an obvious use-case for scraping infrastructure that uses scripts.
Bright Data, on the other hand, is free from these restrictions. It does not limit IP addresses or users on any plan, and offers far more advanced proxy management and customization via an open-source Proxy Manager app. The sheer number of advanced features and configurations made possible by the app makes it ideal for pretty much any use case. Via the app, you have access to:
- Fine-grained selection of countries and regions to target
- Determining user access to each proxy using white/blacklists.
- Fully customizable IP rotation – complete with automatic User-Agent header rotation.
- Robust, centralized metrics/logging on a per-request level for enhanced performance tracking of all IPs in use.
- Waterfall Rotations – Route requests through multiple proxy networks while setting custom rules to optimize costs.
- Efficient bandwidth management via regex-based and custom rules to selectively block data.
- Need more proxies? You can just add your own external proxies from any other vendor to the Proxy Manager – giving you centralized control over your entire fleet of proxies.
The Proxy Manager app can run on-prem as a Windows/Linux binary – meaning you retain full control over permissions, management, and monitoring – or, as a managed solution on Bright Data’s Cloud as a web app, giving you the privilege of live, 24×7 server status monitoring by Bright Data, guaranteeing uptime.
| Criteria | Smartproxy | Bright Data |
| Configuration Approach | Complex proxy configuration that requires users to whitelist an IP even if they use the credentials flow, and then set up a proxy server | Comparatively easier (and far more advanced) proxy management via open-source Proxy Manager app |
| Configuration Features | Choose IP rotation frequency, configure connection type as WiFi or ethernet, filter IPs based on country, region, and even specific ISP | Fine-grained country and region targeting, user access control, customizable IP rotation, robust metrics/logging, waterfall rotations, efficient bandwidth management |
| Deployment Options | Via managed proxy servers that need to be set up. Can also configure then export a proxy list to a TXT file for on-prem use, if your use case supports it | Proxy Manager app can run fully on-prem (Windows/Linux) or as a managed solution on Bright Data’s Cloud as a web app |
SOAX’s proxy configuration is overly complex, requiring you to whitelist IP addresses and establish a proxy server even before opting for the credentials approach, even if the sole purpose is exporting proxies to a TXT file. On the contrary, Bright Data lets you effortlessly provision a proxy and extract the credential-based string using various code examples such as cURL and Node.js. Additionally, it provides the open-source Proxy Manager app for fine-grained proxy management, giving Bright Data the clear advantage.
Auto-Rotation
If you have a task that involves consistent data extraction or monitoring, what you’d need is a stable IP address for an extended period with minimal disruptions. That’s precisely what you get from Bright Data’s residential peers – ideal for these tasks. Bright Data’s non-time limited sessions with auto-rotation per request, or per session, brings dynamism to your data scraping needs.
For SOAX, you can keep an IP for as long as it’s available, rotate proxies per connection request, or specify a custom duration upwards of 90 seconds.
What sets Bright Data apart from SOAX here is the presence of dedicated IPs. Unlike SOAX, Bright Data provides dedicated IPs to the user should they opt for it. A dedicated IP is essentially a residential IP that is not shared among users but is exclusively given to one user for a period of time. For tasks involving gigabytes of data collection, dedicated residential proxies provide much needed stability.
| Criteria | SOAX | Bright Data |
| Session Stability | Depends on IP availability, configurable auto-rotation per request or per session (upwards of 60 seconds) | Non-time limited sessions with configurable auto-rotation per request, or per session |
| Suitable for | Ideal for small to medium scale scraping tasks, but not enterprise-grade data extraction | Ideal for consistent enterprise-grade data extraction or monitoring tasks requiring stable IPs for extended periods |
| Flexibility and Adaptability | Less flexible, provides only 2 IP slots and you have to pay to unlock more. This makes it less suitable for organizations with large teams who need to use proxies for their job. | Offers a higher level of flexibility and adaptability with auto-rotation, doesn’t limit IP slots and only adds more on further payment |
| Dedicated IPs | There is no information on whether SOAX provides dedicated IPs. | Offers dedicated IPs. |
In a nutshell, Bright Data’s peers with auto-rotation, whether per request or per session, offer a level of flexibility and adaptability that SOAX’s sessions can’t quite match. Even though SOAX provides a level of flexibility and customization when it comes to auto-rotation, it can’t guarantee a stable connection over longer periods because of the absence of dedicated IPs.
User/Developer Experience
SOAX is the more convenient, user-friendly option in general, but for an enterprise user base with experienced developers, Bright Data stands out thanks to the granular level of proxy management and level of customization it offers on an access management API.
In addition, Bright Data provides extensive documentation, web data masterclass, videos, blogs, webinars, code snippets for multiple programming languages, and plenty of presets to help users who are developers. While SOAX also provides extensive documentation, video guides, integration tutorials, and an interactive wizard exclusively for new users, it’s mostly geared toward regular users.
Both SOAX and Bright Data have multiple tiers but SOAX’s traffic-based approach can make for bad user experience.
For SOAX, if traffic limitation is hit, your service stops, and you’d have to either wait for the next billing period or manually increase traffic limit by paying extra. This could prove to be a hindrance when you’re gathering data en masse. Plus, the usage graph provided by SOAX on their dashboard is extremely limited in information.
In contrast, Bright Data uses the concept of “Zones.”
Zones are essentially shared ecosystems, in which users can have multiple active plans for a specific service and manage them all in the same dashboard. Users can also track usage across multiple zones in customizable graphs. Having detailed usage statistics on a per-proxy and per-zone level on one screen makes it relatively easier to keep track of usage and manage your subscription which would be complicated if you had to switch between multiple tabs.
| Criteria | SOAX | Bright Data |
| User-Friendliness | More convenient and user-friendly in general | Granular proxy management, especially beneficial for enterprise users with experienced developers |
| Documentation and Support | Provides clear documentation, suitable for regular users | Extensive documentation, web data masterclass, videos, blogs, webinars, and code snippets; may be too detailed for regular users |
| Subscription and Proxy Management | Traffic based monthly plans, need to manually increase limits | Uses the concept of “Zones” for multiple active plans, providing a unified dashboard for easier management and tracking of usage |
| Tracking and Usage Statistics | The usage graph provided in the dashboard is not ideal and lacks information | Uses “Zones” for tracking usage across multiple plans, offering detailed statistics on a per-proxy and per-zone level in one screen |
Pricing
Both SOAX and Bright Data have multiple plans and tiers for their residential proxy service.
SOAX’s plans are subscription-based, billed monthly, and tiered as per traffic. SOAX doesn’t provide a free trial – instead, you get a 3-day paid trial period at $1.99. Its plan starts at $6.6 per GB capped off at 15GB, getting cheaper per GB as traffic increases. There’s no pay-as-you-go model available.
Moreover, besides increasing the traffic and adding more whitelisted IP slots, SOAX’s higher tier plans don’t offer much else.
Bright Data, on the other hand, provides a great deal of flexibility. Most of our plans are pay-as-you-go. You’d only have to commit if you are scaling up and opting for a larger plan. Bright Data’s tariff begins with a no-commitment pay-as-you-go plan, charging $10.5 per GB of traffic. We also have a micro plan that has traffic capped off at 1 GB, charging as low as $10 per month. You also have the option to opt for our free trial.
What makes Bright Data really stand out is the ability to customize the features. You can tailor each plan to your proxy usage by ticking off certain functionalities. Each add-on will add to your cost, but you’ll have fine-grained control over exactly what you want.
Bright Data is the more expensive option, but in terms of functionality and features added, it’s well worth the price. Plus, our proxy network is currently available at a 40% discount, offsetting the cost.
| Criteria | SOAX | Bright Data |
| Pricing Model | Subscription-based, tiered per traffic, billed monthly | Pay-as-you-go with customizable plans |
| Starting Price | $6.6 per GB, capped at 15GB | $10.5 per GB with a no-commitment pay-as-you-go plan, $10 per month for a micro plan (capped at 1GB) |
| Plan Flexibility | Larger plans add whitelisted IP slots, limited customization | Highly customizable plans, add-ons available for fine-grained control over features |
| Cost vs. Functionality | Cheaper plans offer basic features, larger plans primarily add IP slots; no free trial available | More expensive, but offers extensive customization and additional features, currently available at a 40% discount; free trial option available for testing |
Ethical Compliance
Both companies are advocates of ethical usage of residential proxies for collection of data. While Bright Data has blogs and articles explaining their process of ethically sourcing IPs, and their stance on ethical data collection practices, SOAX has partnered with The World Ethical Data Forum and runs a podcast that covers ethical collection of data.
While for SOAX, the vetting process of IPs is not clearly mentioned on the website, Bright Data has provided ample information on its site regarding their ethical practices. From the information given on Bright Data’s website, we can gather that its IPs are obtained via Bright SDK, giving all the necessary information to potential peers prior to signing up and users may personally opt out any time they want.
Here’s a comparison of both providers based on key parameters related to ethical compliance.
| Criteria | SOAX | Bright Data |
| IP Sourcing | Does not mention how IPs are sourced | Uses Bright SDK, providing full details beforehand, and allows users to opt-out |
| Incentives | No clear information given | Offers payment per GB, ad-free experiences, and ensures traffic routing doesn’t disrupt device functionality |
| Security/KYC | Employs continuous monitoring and cuts off user’s access to proxy network if any suspicious activity is detected. Uses a third-party tool for KYC verification | Bright Data includes compliance officers for rigorous checks and approval of peers, requires compliance officer approval before onboarding |
| Usage Policy | Limits usage to specific cases like market research, education, travel, social media, AI datasets, etc. Prohibits fraudulent activities | Similar usage limitations, prohibits fraudulent activities |
| Abuse Prevention | License agreements, employs continuous monitoring, and carefully handles each report of abuse | Automated checks, manual checks by compliance officers, and tools to prevent network abuse |
| Reseller Policy | Does not support reselling | Prohibits network or service reselling, detects violations promptly, and terminates accounts accordingly |
| Data Protection Laws | Complies with GDPR | Complies with GDPR and CCPA |
What truly sets Bright Data apart from SOAX however, is the commitment to transparency to the wider population.
- If someone’s Personal Identifiable Information (PII) like an email address is inadvertently collected through Bright Data’s products from publicly available sources, we promptly notify the individual affected and provide them the means to delete their information from the company’s platform.
- We take this a step further by allowing verified email users to access a searchable database from where they can manage their online presence and if required, take steps to remove their PII from the public web.
Customer Service
Both SOAX and Bright Data offer around-the-clock 24/7 customer support.
SOAX provides support through email, phone, Telegram, WhatsApp, or live chat, whereas Bright Data provides support via a ticket system, email, WhatsApp, and Telegram.
SOAX only provides support in English and Russian, while Bright Data ensures industry-standard multilingual support for global users, along with dedicated account managers for certain plans. Both companies provide dashboards to help you monitor network performance and usage in real-time.
Compared to SOAX, Bright Data goes the extra mile by providing frequent feature releases and personalized customization based on your needs – be it a custom dataset, a feature request for your scrapers, or any proxy-related queries.
Conclusion
To sum up, Bright Data’s residential proxy is superior to SOAX’s when it comes to IP count, the diverse feature set, and the presence of dedicated IPs. However, this comes at a price – these features make Bright Data more expensive compared to SOAX.
SOAX, with its convenience and economical options, is perfectly suited to small businesses and small-scale scraping projects. But if data extraction on an enterprise level is your forte, Bright Data’s plethora of features, fine-grained proxy configuration, and dedication to transparency and ethics make it the clear pick in that sector.
What is the rest of the industry saying?
- As per G2 Score, Bright Data currently sits at #1 in the G2 Proxy Network category – not surprising at all, given that it is adopted by Fortune 500 companies – while SOAX ranks #5, which is commendable in the industry, but Bright Data clearly stands out.
- On Trustpilot, Bright Data boasts an impressive 4.5/5 rating based on 628 reviews, indicating a pretty strong vote of confidence from the user community. SOAX, on the other hand, has a 4.1/5 rating based on 120 reviews. As reflected in the ratings and the number of reviews, Bright Data is clearly the more trusted and more adopted product among users.
