Head-to-Head Comparison · 2026
Smartproxy vs SOAX: Which Mid-Tier SOCKS5 Wins?
Smartproxy or SOAX for SOCKS5 proxies? Compare pricing, pool size, IP quality, mobile support, and use-case fit.
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
SOAX
$6.60/GB · 890ms
Clean residential and mobile SOCKS5 with per-second billing.
- POOL
- 191M+
- PRICE FROM
- $6.60/GB
- SPEED
- 890ms
- 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 | Smartproxy | SOAX | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 9.3 / 10 | 9.1 / 10 | Smartproxy |
| IP pool size | 65M+ | 191M+ | — |
| Countries | 195 | 195 | Tie |
| Avg. response time | 810 ms | 890 ms | Smartproxy |
| Starting price | $7.00/GB | $6.60/GB | SOAX |
| Protocols | SOCKS5, HTTP, HTTPS | SOCKS5, HTTP | — |
| IP types | residential, mobile, datacenter | residential, mobile | — |
| Editor's Choice | — | — | — |
Overview
Smartproxy and SOAX are the two most-recommended mid-tier residential SOCKS5 providers. Both punch above their price bracket, both work with any SOCKS5-compatible tool, and both have earned solid reputations in the scraping community.
Pool size
SOAX claims 191M+ IPs across residential and mobile — technically the larger pool. Smartproxy claims 65M+. In practice, both provide more than enough IP diversity for any workload short of enterprise-scale.
Speed and success rates
Smartproxy averaged 810ms, SOAX averaged 890ms. Smartproxy's success rates were higher on general-purpose targets (Google 98.7%, Amazon 99.2%). SOAX pulled ahead on social platforms (Instagram 97%, TikTok 96%) thanks to its aggressive IP-replacement system.
Mobile
SOAX has a real mobile pool with per-second billing. Smartproxy's mobile offering is smaller and priced higher per GB.
Pricing
Smartproxy residential SOCKS5 starts at $7/GB, SOAX starts at $6.60/GB. Both offer generous rollover and no monthly commitment.
Dashboards
Smartproxy's dashboard is cleaner and better documented. SOAX exposes more per-target metrics but takes longer to learn.
Verdict
Smartproxy wins on speed, price, and general-purpose reliability. SOAX wins on IP freshness and mobile — pick SOAX for Instagram/TikTok and ad verification.
Who should pick which?
Pick Smartproxy if…
- +Simple, transparent pricing
- +3-day money-back guarantee
- +24/7 live-chat support
Pick SOAX if…
- +191M+ IPs across residential and mobile
- +Per-port and per-second billing
- +Country, region, city and ISP targeting
Smartproxy vs SOAX — FAQ
Smartproxy vs SOAX: which is faster in 2026?+
In our latest 10-region benchmark, Smartproxy averaged 810ms and SOAX averaged 890ms end-to-end. Smartproxy is the faster gateway on residential SOCKS5, though both are within the noise band for typical scraping workloads.
Smartproxy vs SOAX: which is cheaper?+
Smartproxy starts at $7.00/GB; SOAX starts at $6.60/GB. Committed plans typically compress the gap. If entry price is your main constraint, choose SOAX; if you need per-request success rate, price parity is usually irrelevant.
Smartproxy vs SOAX: which has a larger IP pool?+
Smartproxy advertises 65M+ IPs across 195 countries. SOAX advertises 191M+ 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 Smartproxy 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 Smartproxy and SOAX expose SOCKS5 with username / password authentication and UDP passthrough on the residential gateway. Full protocol support: Smartproxy (SOCKS5, HTTP, HTTPS), SOAX (SOCKS5, HTTP).
Smartproxy vs SOAX — is there a free trial?+
Smartproxy and SOAX 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.
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Smartproxy
Save up to 30% on annual Smartproxy SOCKS5 plans. Entry price: $7.00/GB.
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