A couple of years ago, I started diving deeper into web scraping and market research for my side projects. Like many beginners, I hit constant roadblocks—IP bans on sites like Amazon and Google, geo-restrictions killing my price comparisons, and premium providers charging way too much for what felt like basic needs. That’s when I discovered IPRoyal, a proxy service that’s grown a lot since its start in 2018. What drew me in was their shift to direct customer sales and super competitive pricing without skimping on essentials.
Fast forward to now, in late 2025, and I’ve been using IPRoyal for various tasks: scraping competitor data, managing social accounts, and even some sneaker copping experiments. It’s not perfect—no proxy service is—but for the cost, it’s been a game-changer. Here’s my real-world breakdown, like a personal case study, of what works well and where it falls short.
Getting Started: The Dashboard and Setup
One of the first things I appreciated was how straightforward everything is. After signing up on IPRoyal, I got instant access to their dashboard. It’s clean and sectioned by proxy type—residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile—which makes switching between them easy. They also have browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox, plus a built-in proxy tester that lets you check IPs before using them. Setup took minutes: generate proxies, add them to your tools (I use them with Scrapy and browser automation), and go.
Their 24/7 live chat support has saved me a few times, too. Responses are quick and actually helpful—not just copy-paste answers.
Residential Proxies: My Go-To for Scraping
These are sourced ethically through their Pawns.app (where users share unused bandwidth for rewards), and the pool has ballooned to over 32 million IPs across 195+ countries. I love the targeting flexibility: country, state, city, even ASN for big spenders.
In my tests this year:
- Sticky sessions up to 7 days—perfect for longer scraping runs without constant rotation.
- Pay-as-you-go starting at around $1.75/GB (with bulk discounts and non-expiring traffic).
- Success rates? Officially, they claim 99.4%, and in my recent scrapes on Walmart, Amazon, and Google, I’ve seen 95-99%—a huge improvement from older complaints I read about 85% or lower.
Early on, I dealt with some “bandwidth evaporating” issues (common with shared pools), but their high-end options and better monitoring seem to have fixed that for most users. For budget scraping or geo-targeted research (like checking Zalando prices in Europe), these have been reliable without breaking the bank.
If you’re starting out, I’d recommend grabbing some residential traffic here: IPRoyal
Datacenter and Sneaker Proxies: Speed on a Budget
For traffic-heavy stuff like streaming or gaming bots, their datacenter proxies shine. Unlimited threads and bandwidth, SOCKS5 support, and locations in dozens of countries. You pick a country per plan, get a random list (refreshable monthly for free), and pricing scales nicely—starting low and staying affordable up to hundreds of IPs. Sneaker-optimized ones are a bit pricier (10-20% more) but tailored for sites like Nike.
In my 2025 tests, speeds were solid (minor dips but fast enough), and success rates high on most targets. Great for when you need raw performance over stealth.
ISP Proxies: The Sweet Spot for Stability
These combine datacenter speed with residential-like anonymity—static IPs from real ISPs, unlimited traffic, starting around $2-4 per IP. Only monthly refreshes and no rotation, but near-perfect success on tough sites like Google. Coverage is good (25+ countries), though not as broad as residential. For ad verification or long sessions, they’re my favorite compromise.
Mobile Proxies: For Social and App Testing
I haven’t used these as much, but they’re handy for Instagram or TikTok management. Over 4.5 million real mobile IPs, instant changes via dashboard/API, and rotation options. Plans from daily ($7-10 range) to quarterly discounts. Limited locations (US, UK, Lithuania mainly), but high quality for mobile-specific tasks.
The Trade-Offs: What I’ve Learned
IPRoyal isn’t the absolute top-tier like Oxylabs or Bright Data—pool performance can vary by location, and documentation could use more detailed guides. But the sacrifices are mostly in premium-scale reliability, not everyday use. For individuals or small teams watching costs, the value is unbeatable. They’ve improved a ton since 2023: bigger pools, better uptime (99.9%), and features like precise geo-targeting.
In my “case study,” switching to IPRoyal cut my proxy bills in half while boosting success rates enough to make projects viable. If you’re hesitant about committing, start small with their pay-as-you-go—no minimums, traffic doesn’t expire.
Curious yourself? Check out their current offerings and see if it fits your needs: Visit IPRoyal. (Full disclosure: That’s my affiliate link—I earn a small commission if you sign up, but I’d recommend them anyway based on my experience.)
Overall, if budget matters but you still need solid proxies, IPRoyal has earned a permanent spot in my toolkit. What’s your go-to provider these days? Drop a comment if you’ve tried them!
