Head-to-Head Comparison · 2026
Best Bright Data Alternatives for SOCKS5 (2026)
Looking for a Bright Data alternative? Compare Oxylabs, Smartproxy, SOAX, NetNut, IPRoyal and Decodo for SOCKS5 workloads.
Bright Data
$8.40/GB · 680ms
The most feature-rich proxy network with granular targeting.
- POOL
- 150M+
- PRICE FROM
- $8.40/GB
- SPEED
- 680ms
- COUNTRIES
- 195
Smartproxy
$7.00/GB · 810ms
Best value residential SOCKS5 for small to mid-size teams.
- POOL
- 65M+
- PRICE FROM
- $7.00/GB
- SPEED
- 810ms
- COUNTRIES
- 195
Spec-by-spec comparison
Every number below comes from our latest 90-day benchmark run against the same targets, under the same conditions, from the same test rig.
| Spec | Bright Data | Smartproxy | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 9.6 / 10 | 9.3 / 10 | Bright Data |
| IP pool size | 150M+ | 65M+ | — |
| Countries | 195 | 195 | Tie |
| Avg. response time | 680 ms | 810 ms | Bright Data |
| Starting price | $8.40/GB | $7.00/GB | Smartproxy |
| Protocols | SOCKS5, HTTP, HTTPS | SOCKS5, HTTP, HTTPS | — |
| IP types | residential, mobile, datacenter, isp | residential, mobile, datacenter | — |
| Editor's Choice | — | — | — |
Why look beyond Bright Data?
Bright Data is powerful, but not always the right fit — the dashboard has a learning curve, entry pricing is high, and the enterprise procurement process can slow small teams down.
Best alternatives, ranked
1. Oxylabs — closest feature parity, marginally simpler dashboard, comparable pricing. 2. Smartproxy — the best value alternative for teams that don't need Web Unlocker or ZIP targeting. 3. SOAX — the best mobile SOCKS5 alternative; cleaner pool, per-second billing. 4. NetNut — faster than Bright Data if latency is your priority. 5. IPRoyal — the budget alternative; use only for low-volume workloads. 6. Decodo — modern developer experience, honest per-GB pricing.
Which to pick
Match your primary constraint to the pick above. If you're leaving Bright Data over cost, Smartproxy or IPRoyal. Over complexity, Decodo or Smartproxy. Over latency, NetNut.
Verdict
Best all-round Bright Data alternative: Oxylabs. Best cheaper alternative: Smartproxy. Best for mobile: SOAX. Best for speed: NetNut. Best budget alternative: IPRoyal.
Who should pick which?
Pick Bright Data if…
- +Largest raw IP pool in the industry
- +Precise ZIP-code and carrier targeting
- +Web Unlocker for anti-bot bypass
Pick Smartproxy if…
- +Simple, transparent pricing
- +3-day money-back guarantee
- +24/7 live-chat support
Bright Data vs Smartproxy — FAQ
Bright Data vs Smartproxy: which is faster in 2026?+
In our latest 10-region benchmark, Bright Data averaged 680ms and Smartproxy averaged 810ms end-to-end. Bright Data is the faster gateway on residential SOCKS5, though both are within the noise band for typical scraping workloads.
Bright Data vs Smartproxy: which is cheaper?+
Bright Data starts at $8.40/GB; Smartproxy starts at $7.00/GB. Committed plans typically compress the gap. If entry price is your main constraint, choose Smartproxy; if you need per-request success rate, price parity is usually irrelevant.
Bright Data vs Smartproxy: which has a larger IP pool?+
Bright Data advertises 150M+ IPs across 195 countries. Smartproxy advertises 65M+ IPs across 195 countries. Pool size alone does not guarantee quality — the meaningful metric is unblocked success rate, which we test above.
Which one should I pick for web scraping?+
For hardened tier-1 targets (Google, Amazon, Instagram, Cloudflare) both providers are enterprise-grade. Choose Bright Data if reliability is your priority; choose the other if pricing, targeting granularity, or specific tooling (Web Unlocker, SERP API) matters more.
Do both providers support SOCKS5 with UDP?+
Yes — both Bright Data and Smartproxy expose SOCKS5 with username / password authentication and UDP passthrough on the residential gateway. Full protocol support: Bright Data (SOCKS5, HTTP, HTTPS), Smartproxy (SOCKS5, HTTP, HTTPS).
Best Bright Data Alternatives for SOCKS5 (2026) — is there a free trial?+
Bright Data and Smartproxy both operate limited-trial or money-back windows for verified accounts. See the /deals page on Best SOCKS5 for the latest verified offers, or contact each provider's sales team for extended enterprise trials.
Test either provider in your browser
All tools →Bright Data & Smartproxy live deals
All deals →Active offer
Bright Data
Save up to 30% on annual Bright Data SOCKS5 plans. Entry price: $8.40/GB.
Claim Bright Data OfferActive offer
Smartproxy
Save up to 30% on annual Smartproxy SOCKS5 plans. Entry price: $7.00/GB.
Claim Smartproxy OfferOther providers to consider
All providers →Further reading
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