Best Residential Proxies: Reliable Tools for Bootstrappers, Growth Hackers, and Developers

Imagine you’ve just launched a SaaS product. You’ve got landing pages, ad campaigns, and a few targeted SEO plays running. But when you check how your ads display in another country, you get… nothing. Or worse — the wrong language, outdated pricing, or a broken layout.

That’s the reality for many founders working across borders. The internet is highly localized, and without the right tools, you’re making decisions on incomplete or misleading data.

Residential proxies solve that. They let you browse the web as if you were in a specific city, using an IP address from a real household. For indie hackers, that means:

• Validating ad placement in different regions

• Checking competitor pricing without IP bans

• Testing localized landing pages before going live

• Running growth experiments without tripping detection systems

In other words, proxies aren’t just for “techies” — they’re for anyone who wants to move faster and make decisions with confidence.

What’s a Residential Proxy (and Why Should You Care)?

A residential proxy is essentially a middleman for your internet connection. Instead of sending your requests directly from your own IP, you route them through an IP address assigned by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to a real home user.

Why that matters:

• Looks natural: Sites see it as genuine traffic, not from a datacenter.

• Avoids suspicion: Less likely to trigger anti-bot systems or CAPTCHAs.

• Accurate views: Lets you see exactly what users in that location see.

Compared to VPNs or datacenter proxies, residential IPs are far more effective for tasks that need stealth and precision — like checking ad targeting, scraping public data, or testing regional app behavior.

For indie hackers juggling multiple growth experiments, it’s the difference between shooting in the dark and working with a clear map.

Criteria for Choosing a Proxy Provider (Founder-Friendly)

When we put this list together, we used the same lens we’d use for picking any growth tool:

• Ethical sourcing: No shady peer-to-peer harvesting — only verified ISP partnerships.

• Geo accuracy: If it says “Paris,” the IP actually resolves to Paris.

• Speed and uptime: Proxies should enhance, not bottleneck, your experiments.

• Scalability: Handles both small test runs and heavy campaign automation.

• Ease of integration: API support, browser extensions, or even no-code tools for quick setup.

Top 5 Residential Proxy Providers of 2025

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Every tool on this list earned its place by delivering real-world value to founders, marketers, and developers. We tested them for speed, accuracy, ease of integration, and overall user experience.

1\. NetNut – Best Overall for Indie Hackers & Small Teams

NetNut residential proxies stand out because it gets the fundamentals right. It sources its IPs directly from ISPs, which means you’re working with clean, stable addresses — no risk of someone else’s shady activity getting you blocked.

The onboarding is straightforward, and the dashboard is intuitive, but you still get advanced options like ASN-level targeting and full API control. We tested NetNut on tasks ranging from ad verification to competitor price monitoring, and it handled them all without a hiccup.

Why it works for founders:

• 52M+ ISP-sourced IPs with pinpoint geo-targeting

• Sticky or rotating sessions to fit different workflows

• Fast setup with a low learning curve

• Reliable API for automation-heavy projects

Best for: Indie founders, small teams, and growth hackers who want a single proxy solution they can scale up as they grow.

2\. Bright Data – Best for High-Precision Targeting

Bright Data (formerly Luminati) has the largest residential IP pool in the industry and some of the most advanced targeting filters you’ll find. You can specify location down to the city, ISP, or even connection type.

The trade-off? Complexity. If you don’t mind a bit of a learning curve, the customization options are unmatched.

Why it works for founders:

• 72M+ IPs with extreme targeting precision

• In-depth analytics for campaign performance

• Supports advanced use cases like device emulation

Best for: Technical founders and dev teams running highly targeted campaigns or region-specific research.

3\. Oxylabs – Best for Heavy Data Projects

Oxylabs is built for volume. If you’re scraping millions of data points, running global SEO campaigns, or pulling large datasets for market analysis, this is the kind of infrastructure you want behind you.

Its stability under load and dedicated support make it a solid choice for teams with big goals.

Why it works for founders:

• 100M+ residential IPs

• Excellent uptime, even under heavy automation

• Session persistence for long-running tasks

Best for: SaaS companies, agencies, and research-driven startups that need industrial-strength scraping.

4\. Smartproxy – Best Balance of Price & Usability

Smartproxy offers a solid proxy network with a user experience that’s friendly to non-technical users. It’s affordable, and the setup is painless, whether you’re using the API or their browser extension.

For indie hackers managing multiple accounts, testing ads, or doing light scraping, it’s a cost-effective choice.

Why it works for founders:

• Good balance of affordability and features

• Rotating and sticky IPs included

• Fast, simple onboarding

Best for: Early-stage founders or side projects that need reliable proxies without enterprise pricing.

5\. SOAX – Best for Clean, Location-Specific Traffic

SOAX focuses on IP quality and transparency. Every IP in their network is vetted, which is a big plus for compliance-heavy work like ad verification or regional content testing.

The geo-targeting is sharp, down to the city level, and their billing is flexible — you can pay for exactly what you use.

Why it works for founders:

• Clean, verified IP pool

• City and ISP-level targeting

• Pay-as-you-go flexibility

Best for: Marketing teams, QA testers, and founders who prioritize compliance and precision.

Choosing A Proxy Service

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Residential proxies aren’t just for enterprise tech teams. For indie hackers, they’re a powerful way to run smarter experiments, validate markets, and manage location-based campaigns without guesswork.

In 2025, NetNut takes the lead for its combination of speed, ISP-verified IPs, and ease of use. It scales effortlessly from early-stage testing to full-on automation, making it a great all-rounder for bootstrapped teams.

If your growth strategy involves understanding how your product, ads, or content look across the globe, start small. Pick a provider, run a few location tests, and see how much more confident you feel making decisions with clear, accurate data.

FAQ for Indie Hackers

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Is it legal to use residential proxies for growth experiments?

Yes — as long as the provider sources IPs ethically and your use cases comply with the law. Stick to legitimate activities like ad verification, SEO research, and market testing. Indie founders such as Glow Directory or We Raleigh Magazine use residential proxies to scrape Google Maps data to find service providers for their audience.

Will a proxy slow down my product tests?

High-quality providers like NetNut and Oxylabs are optimized for speed, so you won’t notice much difference. Some latency is inevitable, but it’s negligible for most workflows.

What’s the difference between sticky and rotating IPs?

• Sticky IPs: Keep the same address for a set time — useful for account logins or consistent testing.

• Rotating IPs: Change frequently — better for scraping, market monitoring, and avoiding rate limits.

How can I check if a provider’s geo-targeting actually works?

Run the IP through multiple IP location tools to confirm it matches the city or region you selected.

Which provider is best for no-code founders?

NetNut and Smartproxy both offer straightforward dashboards and browser extensions, so you can start testing without touching code.