Backconnect residential proxies give you one gateway address instead of a list of IPs. You connect to a single host and port, and the provider sends each request, or each sticky session, out through a different real home IP from its pool. That makes a backconnect proxy the simplest way to run web scraping, price monitoring, SEO tracking and ad checks across many locations without managing IP lists. We compared 13 backconnect proxy providers on targeting, session control, price per GB and trials. To start straight away, see ProxyEmpire’s rotating residential proxies.
Quick answer
ProxyEmpire is the best backconnect proxy provider in 2026. One gateway, v2.proxyempire.io on port 5000, reaches 30M+ residential IPs in 170+ countries and 4M+ mobile IPs, with rotating or sticky sessions and country, region, city, ZIP, ISP and ASN targeting set in the username at no extra charge. Residential traffic costs $3.50/GB pay as you go, falling to $1.50/GB at 1 TB, and you can test it with a $1.97 trial.
Best backconnect residential proxies compared
All 13 providers at a glance| # | Provider | Targeting | Sessions | Price per GB | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ProxyEmpire | Country, region, city, ZIP, ISP, ASN | Rotating or sticky, no fixed limit | $3.50 → $1.50 | Best overall |
| 2 | Decodo | Country, state, city, ZIP, ASN | Up to 24 hours | $4.00 → $2.00 | Easy start |
| 3 | Oxylabs | Country, state, city, ZIP, ASN, coordinates | Up to 24 hours | $6.00 → $2.50 | Enterprise scraping |
| 4 | Byteful | Country, region, city, ISP | Up to 24 hours | $3.25 → $1.95 | Bandwidth that never expires |
| 5 | Proxy-Seller | Country, city, ISP | Per task, or timed rotation | $3.50 → $1.45 | Low price at 1 TB |
| 6 | ResiProx | Country, region, city, ISP | Rotating or sticky | $3.50 → $1.75 | Residential and mobile on a budget |
| 7 | NodeMaven | Country, city, ISP, ZIP | Up to 24 hours | $5.31 → $2.75 | Quality-filtered IPs |
| 8 | SOAX | Country, region, city, ISP, ASN | Custom length | $5.00 → $1.50 | Custom session lengths |
| 9 | Bright Data | Country, city, ZIP, ASN, carrier | Length not stated | $4.00 → $2.50 | Largest listed network |
| 10 | Webshare | Country, state, city, ZIP, ASN | Length not stated | $3.50 → $1.50 | Self-serve monthly plans |
| 11 | IPRoyal | Country, state, city | Up to 7 days | $7.00 → $3.36 | Week-long sticky IPs |
| 12 | Rayobyte | Country, state, city, ASN | Length not stated | $3.50 → $0.70 | Lowest rate at 1 TB |
| 13 | DataImpulse | Country (more for a fee) | Up to 120 minutes | $1.00 flat | Lowest flat price |
Price per GB shows each provider’s regular rotating residential price on its smallest plan, then the lowest regular rate it publishes at 1 TB or less. Bright Data is shown at its current 50% discount (list $8.00 → $5.00/GB); other promotions are mentioned in the reviews, not the table. Sessions shows the longest sticky session each provider states; “Length not stated” means its product and pricing pages don’t give one. Prices, targeting and session limits were read from the providers’ own pages and docs between 26 September and 1 October 2026.
How we compared backconnect proxy providers
What matters behind the gatewayEvery provider here sells rotating residential IPs through a gateway, so the real differences sit behind it: how precisely you can choose the exit IP, how long you can hold one, what a gigabyte costs at your volume, and how cheaply you can test.
The 13 best backconnect proxy providers in 2026
Rotating residential gateways, reviewed
ProxyEmpire
Best overallProxyEmpire runs residential and 4G/5G mobile traffic through one gateway, v2.proxyempire.io:5000. You choose the location and session in the username, so one line in your tool reaches 30M+ residential IPs in 170+ countries, and unused bandwidth rolls over.
- New IP on every request, timed rotation or sticky sessions with no fixed time limit, over HTTP, HTTPS or SOCKS5
- 99.9% uptime, ethically sourced IPs and 24/7 support from real people, with mobile, static residential and datacenter proxies on the same account
- Not the lowest rate at 1 TB (Rayobyte, DataImpulse and Proxy-Seller go lower), and login is by username and password only, with no IP allow-listing
Decodo (formerly Smartproxy)
Easy startDecodo lists 115M+ residential IPs in 195+ locations, with an endpoint generator in the dashboard and a free three-day trial to test the gateway first.
- Targeting from continent down to ZIP and ASN
- 24/7 technical support and a 14-day money-back guarantee on the first purchase
- City or ZIP targeting can’t be combined with ASN targeting, per its docs
Oxylabs
Enterprise scrapingOxylabs lists 175M+ residential IPs in 195+ countries and targets down to coordinates, with scraper APIs and an account manager for large projects.
- Some of the most precise targeting available, including ZIP and coordinates
- HTTP(S), HTTP3 and SOCKS5
- No pay as you go or residential trial: the smallest plan is 5 GB for $30 a month
Byteful
Bandwidth that never expiresByteful, formerly Ping Proxies, lists 35M+ residential IPs in 195+ countries, with bandwidth that never expires.
- Country, region, city and ISP targeting
- Residential, mobile, static residential and datacenter from one provider
- The smallest residential plan is 10 GB
Proxy-Seller
Low price at 1 TBProxy-Seller lists 47M+ residential IPs in 220+ locations, and its per-GB rate falls steadily from $3.50 to $1.45 at 1,000 GB.
- Rotation by time or request, or a sticky IP for the length of a task
- Username and password or IP allow-list login, with the same credentials on HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5
- Residential traffic expires 30 days after purchase
ResiProx
Residential and mobile on a budgetResiProx sells rotating residential and rotating mobile proxies with rotating or sticky sessions and country, region, city and ISP targeting on every plan.
- Unused traffic rolls over, and you can pay by card, PayPal or crypto
- HTTPS and SOCKS5, and one trial covers both residential and mobile
- Rotating residential and mobile only: no static, ISP or datacenter proxies
NodeMaven
Quality-filtered IPsNodeMaven lists 30M+ residential and 295K mobile IPs and screens each IP for quality before its gateway assigns it. Its plans currently show 20% off, at $4.25 falling to $2.20/GB.
- Unused traffic rolls over to the next billing period
- ISP proxies from $2.99 per IP with unlimited traffic
- Regular residential rates are higher than most here, and there are no datacenter proxies
SOAX
Custom session lengthsSOAX lists 155M+ residential IPs in 195+ locations, lets you set your own session length and falls to $1.50/GB on its largest plan.
- Region, city and ISP or ASN targeting
- Residential and mobile share one balance
- Credits on monthly plans expire after 60 days, and it now sells residential and mobile only
Bright Data
Largest listed networkBright Data lists 400M+ monthly residential IPs in 195 countries and currently sells residential traffic at half its list price: $4.00/GB pay as you go, falling to $2.50/GB on the 798 GB plan ($1,999 a month).
- ZIP, ASN and carrier targeting on a very large network
- Scraping APIs and ready-made datasets alongside the proxies
- Strict KYC for new users, no rollover, and residential SOCKS5 works only towards HTTPS targets
Webshare
Self-serve monthly plansWebshare lists 80M+ residential IPs in 195 countries on self-serve monthly plans from 1 GB at $3.50 to 1,000 GB at $1.50/GB.
- ZIP and ASN targeting on low-cost plans
- Static residential and datacenter proxies in the same dashboard
- Monthly bandwidth does not roll over, and there is no mobile network
IPRoyal
Week-long sticky IPsIPRoyal lists 64M+ residential IPs in 195+ countries and holds a sticky IP for up to 7 days, the longest stated limit here.
- Traffic you buy stays usable until you spend it
- ISP, datacenter and mobile proxies in the same account
- The highest residential rates here, and targeting stops at city level
Rayobyte (formerly Blazing SEO)
Lowest rate at 1 TBRayobyte lists 40M+ residential IPs in 163+ countries, and its ladder drops from $3.50 to $2/GB at 50 GB, $1.50 at 250 GB and $0.70 at 1 TB.
- The lowest 1 TB rate in this comparison
- A free residential trial, and pay-as-you-go traffic that doesn’t expire
- Fewer listed countries than most here, and no session length or protocols stated on its residential page
DataImpulse
Lowest flat priceDataImpulse lists 90M+ residential IPs and charges a flat $1/GB pay as you go, with traffic that never expires and $0.80/GB above 1 TB.
- The lowest entry price here, with no subscription
- HTTP(S) and SOCKS5
- Only country targeting is free; city, state, ZIP and ASN cost extra
What is a backconnect proxy?
One gateway, many exit IPsA backconnect proxy, also called a gateway or rotating proxy, gives you one host and one port instead of a list of IP addresses. Every request goes to that gateway. Behind it, the provider picks an exit IP from its pool of home or mobile connections and forwards your request from there. The website sees only the exit IP, never your own.
The provider, not you, decides when that exit IP changes, based on how you connect:
- Rotating: a new IP on every request, or at a timed interval.
- Sticky: the same IP for a session, which you hold by reusing a session ID. It ends when you switch IDs or the device behind the IP goes offline.
With ProxyEmpire, the flow looks like this:
- Your tool connects to v2.proxyempire.io on port 5000 with your username and password.
- The gateway reads the location and session settings in your username.
- It picks a matching residential or mobile IP from the pool.
- The site answers that IP, and the gateway passes the response back to you.
So one line in a scraper or browser profile can reach millions of IPs, and you never replace dead or blocked addresses yourself. Residential backconnect proxies are the most common type, but the same model works for rotating mobile proxies, which ProxyEmpire sells from $4.50 falling to $2.00/GB through the same gateway.
Backconnect proxies vs a static proxy list
Who manages the IPs| Backconnect gateway | Static proxy list | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | One host and port | A list of IP:port lines |
| Who rotates IPs | The provider, per request or session | You, in your own code |
| Blocked IPs | Replaced from the pool automatically | You swap them out |
| Priced by | Gigabyte | IP, per month |
| Best for | Scraping, price monitoring, SEO and ad checks | Accounts and allow-lists that need one IP for weeks |
A backconnect gateway suits most data jobs because you pay only for the traffic you use. If you need one address that never changes, ProxyEmpire’s static residential proxies cost $3.50 falling to $2.00 per IP a month in 19 countries; we compare those providers in our guide to the best ISP proxies. For when to rotate and when to stick, see sticky vs rotating proxies.
How to use a backconnect proxy
Gateway, username, test- Create an account and buy traffic, or start with the $1.97 trial.
- In the dashboard, choose the country, region, city or ISP and a rotating or sticky session. It builds the username for you.
- Enter the gateway in your tool: host v2.proxyempire.io, port 5000, plus that username and your password. HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 all use the same gateway and login.
- Test it. ProxyEmpire’s own example,
r_username-country-us-sid-123456, targets the US and holds session 123456. Change the session ID to get a new IP.
To check it works, open an IP-check page twice. With rotation you should see two different IPs; with the same session ID, the same one. Login is by username and password only, and target sites on ports 80 and 443 work by default. Our help centre lists the supported protocols.
Free backconnect proxies: do they exist?
Why we don’t publish a listNot really. A backconnect gateway needs a pool of real home connections behind it, and someone pays for that bandwidth. Free “backconnect residential proxies” are usually datacenter IPs with the wrong label, or devices used without their owners’ consent. They are slow, shared by strangers who can see your traffic, and often already blocked. That is why we don’t publish a list. A cheap paid trial from an ethical provider is the safer test: ProxyEmpire costs $1.97, Decodo and Byteful have free trials, and Webshare has a free datacenter plan. The terms of the sites you visit and your local laws apply whichever proxy you use.
Backconnect proxy FAQ
Short answersWhat is the best backconnect proxy provider?
ProxyEmpire, in our 2026 comparison: one gateway for 30M+ residential and 4M+ mobile IPs, targeting from country to ZIP, ISP and ASN included, $3.50/GB falling to $1.50/GB, and a $1.97 trial.
Are backconnect proxies the same as rotating proxies?
Mostly. “Backconnect” describes the single gateway you connect to, and “rotating” describes the exit IP changing behind it. Providers use the two terms for the same product.
How is a backconnect proxy different from a regular proxy?
A regular proxy is one fixed IP, so you manage a list and rotate it yourself. A backconnect proxy gives you one address, and the provider picks and replaces the IPs behind it.
Can a backconnect proxy keep the same IP?
Yes, with a sticky session. With ProxyEmpire there is no fixed time limit: the IP stays until you rotate it or the device goes offline. Competitors state caps, such as 24 hours at Decodo, Oxylabs and NodeMaven, or 7 days at IPRoyal.
How much do backconnect residential proxies cost?
Among these 13 providers, the smallest plans cost about $3.25 to $7.00 per GB and fall to $0.70–$3.36 at 1 TB. DataImpulse is the exception at a flat $1/GB.
Do backconnect proxies support SOCKS5?
Most do. ProxyEmpire supports HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 on every proxy type, though not UDP. Bright Data’s residential SOCKS5 works only towards HTTPS targets.
Can I target a city with a backconnect proxy?
Yes, if the provider supports it. ProxyEmpire lets you target country, region, city, ZIP, ISP and ASN at no extra charge; DataImpulse charges extra for anything below country.
Are backconnect proxies legal?
Yes, using them is legal in most countries. What matters is what you do with them, so follow the laws and site terms that apply to your use.
Are there free backconnect proxies?
Not reliable ones. Free lists are shared, short-lived and not private. Paid trials such as ProxyEmpire’s $1.97 give you private residential and mobile IPs to test.
One gateway, 30M+ residential IPs
Rotate on every request or keep a sticky session, target country, city, ZIP, ISP or ASN at no extra charge, and pay from $3.50/GB down to $1.50/GB at 1 TB, with bandwidth that rolls over and 24/7 support from real people. Try ProxyEmpire for $1.97.
