Hey friend! With more of the web shifting to IPv6, you‘re smart to start thinking about IPv6 proxies. I‘ve been in the web scraping game for over 5 years, so let me walk you through everything you need to know to pick the right IPv6 proxy service.
First, let‘s quickly cover the basics…
IPv6 is the latest generation of IP addresses – the identifier assigned to each device on the internet. Compared to the old IPv4 standard, IPv6 provides 340 trillion IP addresses, ensuring we won‘t run out anytime soon!
As major sites like Facebook, Amazon and even Google switch to IPv6, proxy tools need to upgrade as well to handle the new standard.
This is where IPv6 proxies come in!
IPv6 proxies act as an intermediary for IPv6 traffic, allowing you to anonymize your scraping bots, ads accounts, and other web-based tools.
But with so many proxy providers out there, how do you pick the right one? I‘ve tested my fair share of proxy services, so let me break down the top contenders.
Based on several years of first-hand experience, here are my in-depth reviews of the top 10 places to buy IPv6 proxies:
Bright Data, formerly known as Luminati, is my top choice for serious web scraping and data harvesting projects. With over 72 million residential IPs, their network is simply unrivaled in size.
Pros
Cons
I‘ve used Luminati (Bright Data) proxies to scrape hundreds of millions of product listings from ecommerce sites. Their sheer scale allows you to extract huge datasets.
Their peer-to-peer model also helps mimic real users by routing traffic through home devices. If you need a heavy duty web scraping solution, Bright Data has the coverage and bandwidth to handle it.
While smaller than Bright Data, Smartproxy‘s 40M+ residential IPs work great for general scraping needs.
Pros
Cons
I‘ve found Smartproxy‘s residential proxies to be snappy and consistent, with minimal packet loss. Their backend team actively monitors and optimizes proxy performance too.
For most scrapers, Smartproxy will provide reliable throughput without the enterprise-level prices. Their free trial lets you test the proxies for yourself.
If you want specialized proxy solutions, Soax lets you build your own package with custom ports, IPs, and protocols.
Pros
Cons
I like Soax for their flexible options – you can choose specific locations, rotating vs static IPs, HTTP/Socks5 protocols, and more. Their specialized approach works if you have unique proxy needs.
If you want an affordable IPv6 proxy service, Proxy Seller is a great choice. Prices start at just $10/month.
Pros
Cons
Don‘t expect advanced features, but Proxy Seller lets you get started with private proxies on the cheap. Just beware of slower speeds at peak times.
ProxyBonanza wins top marks for offering unlimited bandwidth on all plans.
Pros
Cons
If you have high bandwidth needs, ProxyBonanza will not throttle your usage. Their worldwide datacenter locations also provide a geographically diverse network.
Looking for maximum proxies for minimum spend? BuyProxies has packages starting at just $1 per proxy.
Pros
Cons
Don‘t expect many advanced features, but BuyProxies lets you get private datacenter proxies on a tight budget.
ProxyNova wins for easy setup with browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox.
Pros
Cons
For casual proxy users, ProxyNova‘s browser extensions streamline the process. But advanced users may want more location and protocol options.
ProxyRack offers competitive rates for hourly proxy rental. No long-term commitments required.
Pros
Cons
For short-term projects, ProxyRack allows you to spin up proxies on demand and pay per hour used. But you lose the flexibility of monthly plans.
Shifter offers a slick dashboard for intuitive proxy management and analytics.
Pros
Cons
If you want an easy way to manage and monitor your proxy usage, Shifter‘s dashboard provides visibility into your metrics. But the convenience comes at a cost.
Lastly, GeoSurf provides an affordable way to test residential IPv6 proxies.
Pros
Cons
For new users on a tight budget, GeoSurf is a cheap way to experiment with residential proxies. Just set your expectations accordingly in terms of speed and features.
Beyond the specific providers, make sure to evaluate the following criteria:
Look for diverse proxy locations to appear more natural and avoid getting IP banned. Providers with IPs spanning North America, Europe, Asia, and South America provide the best coverage.
Make sure your provider doesn‘t throttle usage or cap monthly bandwidth. Unlimited bandwidth is ideal for large scraping or ad campaigns.
Proxies with automatically rotating IPs help mimic real users. Sticky or static IPs don‘t change, making bans more likely.
Faster proxy connections result in better scraping performance. Look for providers that optimize and test proxy speeds.
Free trials allow you to test drive the proxies before committing. Make sure to benchmark speed, uptime, and bandwidth.
Verify the proxies support modern protocols like SOCKS5 and HTTP/HTTPS for maximum versatility.
Pick a provider with solid technical support in case you need help debugging proxy issues.
You may be wondering – just how widespread is IPv6 adoption really? Is this something I actually need to worry about now?
According to Google, IPv6 traffic has grown over 300% since 2018. Major sites like Facebook, Wikipedia, and Cloudflare have already made the switch to IPv6 as well.
Here are some statistics that highlight the accelerating growth:
And Cisco predicts that by 2023, 71% of global internet traffic will use IPv6.
So while IPv4 is still widely used, IPv6 adoption is rapidly increasing each year. Your tools need to be ready to make the transition as well.
When evaluating proxy providers, you may be tempted by cheap plans, or even free proxies.
But take it from me – those ultra cheap and free proxies are not worth the hassle or risk!
Here are just some of the issues I‘ve encountered when trying cut-rate proxies:
Do yourself a favor – avoid the temptation of cheap proxies! Paying a reasonable price results in private, dedicated proxies with decent speeds and helpful customer service.
Your time is more valuable than trying to save a buck on proxies that barely work.
When getting IPv6 proxies, you have two main options:
Datacenter proxies – Dedicated proxies hosted on high-performance machines in datacenters. These provide blazing speeds and ultra low latency but don‘t rotate IPs.
Residential proxies – Proxies using real home and mobile devices across the globe. Residential proxies mimic real users better but have slower speeds. Their IPs automatically rotate frequently.
So which should you choose? Here are my recommendations:
For large scraping or transactional projects, start with residential proxies. The rotating IPs and human-like behavior make residential proxies ideal for avoiding detection. They provide a built-in level of randomness that datacenter proxies lack.
However, datacenter proxies excel for their speed and reliability. Tasks like inventory monitoring and tracking can benefit from the performance of datacenters. You can always route more demanding traffic through residential proxies.
My advice is try out residential proxies first. Then layer in datacenter IPs for better performance where needed. A blended approach gives you the best of both worlds.
Migrating your web scraping and automation tools to IPv6 may seem intimidating. But by picking the right proxy provider, you can make the transition seamlessly.
My top overall recommendations are Bright Data, Smartproxy and Soax. Each brings unique strengths to the table.
Bright Data provides unmatched scale for large-scale scraping. Smartproxy offers reliable throughput for general use. And Soax gives you customized packages to meet specialized needs.
No matter which provider you choose, remember to:
Hopefully this guide provides a helpful starting point for evaluating IPv6 proxy services. I tried to pack in everything I‘ve learned from 5+ years of web scraping proxy use.
Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m always happy to discuss proxy best practices with a fellow scraper.
Good luck with your shift to IPv6 proxies. The transition may be rocky at times, but worth it to future-proof your web automation.
