I’ve been dabbling with proxies for years, mostly for web scraping projects and market research. Earlier this year, I heard about Smartproxy’s rebrand to Decodo, and honestly, I was curious if it was more than just a name change. Fast forward to late 2025, and after putting it through its paces on a real data collection project—pulling pricing data from e-commerce sites across regions—Decodo has become my go-to. It’s not perfect, but the upgrades in usability, performance, and extra tools make it feel like a genuine evolution. Here’s my hands-on take, structured like a mini case study on how it handled my workflow.
Getting Started: The Dashboard That Actually Makes Sense
Signing up was straightforward—just an email, and I was in. The dashboard is clean and intuitive, a big step up from some clunky providers I’ve used. Everything’s organized: proxy types, usage stats, and quick filters for use cases like AI training or SEO monitoring.
What impressed me right away was the customization. I could tweak geolocation down to city or ZIP code level, set session durations, and choose protocols—all in a few clicks. Then, grab ready-to-use endpoints or code snippets for Python, Node.js, curl, you name it. No fumbling with configs for hours.
For my project, I needed targeted requests to test blocks on specific sites. Decodo’s test request feature let me simulate that instantly. Real-time stats showed upload/download volumes and top targets, helping me optimize on the fly. And those built-in video tutorials? Super helpful without being overwhelming. The documentation is massive too—feels like they really thought about beginners and pros alike.
If you’re curious about pricing or want to poke around yourself, check out Decodo here—they often have trials and discounts that make testing risk-free.
The Proxy Lineup: Power and Reliability in Action
Decodo boasts over 125 million ethically sourced IPs across 195+ locations, with blazing-fast response times (under 0.6 seconds on average) and sky-high success rates.
- Residential Proxies: Over 115 million IPs—these were my workhorse for blending in like real users. Perfect for large-scale scraping without triggers. Handled market research and ad verification flawlessly, with 99.95%+ success.
- Static Residential (ISP) Proxies: Great for tasks needing stability, like long sessions in AI training or account management.
- Mobile Proxies: Routed through real carriers (10M+ IPs, 700+ carriers), ideal for social media or high-stakes verification. Insane coverage and reliability.
- Datacenter Proxies: For pure speed and uptime (99.99%), with dedicated options if you need exclusivity.
In my e-commerce scraping case, residential proxies rotated seamlessly, dodging bans where cheaper providers failed. The performance jump post-rebrand is noticeable—no more frustrating downtime.
Plans are flexible: pay-as-you-go per GB, or dedicated setups for enterprises. They even offer 3-day free trials for proxies to test drive.
Standout Extras: Beyond Basic Proxies
This is where Decodo shines for data-driven folks. The Site Unblocker auto-rotates IPs, handles CAPTCHAs, and renders JavaScript—like a smart browser without the hassle.
The All-in-One Scraping API bundles tools for e-commerce, SERPs, social media, and general web data. Core plan for basics, advanced for JS-heavy sites. There’s a 7-day trial here too.
And the AI Parser? Game-changer. Paste a URL, describe what you want (e.g., “extract product names and prices”), and it outputs structured data—no coding.
These tools turned my project from a week-long grind into a couple days. Less setup, more insights.
Final Thoughts: Worth the Switch?
Decodo isn’t the cheapest out there, but for reliability, ease of use, and those smart extras, it’s easily one of the best proxy providers in 2025. My scraping success rate jumped, blocks became rare, and the user-friendly vibe saved me tons of time.
If you’re tired of unreliable proxies or building everything from scratch, give Decodo a shot. Sign up and explore the plans here—the trials and occasional discounts (keep an eye out) make it easy to start. For me, it’s stayed in my toolkit post-rebrand. Solid upgrade all around.
