Review · Rated 9.3/10
Smartproxy SOCKS5 Review 2026
Best value residential SOCKS5 for small to mid-size teams.
TL;DR
Smartproxy scores 9.3/10 in our 2026 SOCKS5 benchmark. Pool of 65M+ across 195 countries, average 810ms response, from $7.00/GB. Best for: seo agencies and mid-market scrapers looking for a great price/performance ratio.
Rating
9.3
Pool
65M+
Speed
810ms
From
$7.00/GB
Countries
195
Protocols
SOCKS5, HTTP, HTTPS
IP types
3 types
Editor's
—
Overview
Smartproxy has been our recommended entry point into serious residential SOCKS5 proxies for three years running. Their 65M+ IP pool, straightforward dashboard, and $7/GB pay-as-you-go pricing hit the sweet spot for SEO agencies, sneaker copping, and mid-scale scraping.
Performance
In our tests, Smartproxy's SOCKS5 gateway averaged 810ms — slower than Oxylabs but well within the tolerance for most scraping workloads. Success rates on Google SERPs were 98.7%, Amazon 99.2%, and Instagram 96.8%.
Features
- Full SOCKS5 support on residential and mobile endpoints
- City-level targeting in 50+ countries
- Sticky sessions up to 30 minutes
- Chrome/Firefox extensions
- Sub-user management with quotas
Pricing
Residential SOCKS5 starts at $7/GB. There is no monthly minimum and unused GB rolls over for 30 days. Datacenter proxies start at $30/month for 100 IPs.
Verdict
Smartproxy is the best entry point for teams graduating from free datacenter proxies. If you need enterprise geo-precision or a dedicated account manager, look at Oxylabs or Bright Data.
Pros
- +Simple, transparent pricing
- +3-day money-back guarantee
- +24/7 live-chat support
- +Great docs and code samples
Cons
- −Smaller mobile pool than Bright Data
- −No enterprise SLA
Best for
SEO agencies and mid-market scrapers looking for a great price/performance ratio.
Smartproxy head-to-head
See how Smartproxy stacks up against the closest peers in our comparison lab.
Smartproxy FAQ
Is Smartproxy a good SOCKS5 proxy provider in 2026?+
Based on our 90-day benchmark, Smartproxy scores 9.3/10. It performs best for: seo agencies and mid-market scrapers looking for a great price/performance ratio. With a 65M+ IP pool, 195-country coverage, and 810ms average response time, it earns a place in our top 10.
How much does Smartproxy SOCKS5 cost per GB?+
Smartproxy residential SOCKS5 starts at $7.00/GB. Committed monthly plans and enterprise contracts typically bring the effective per-GB price down by 30–50%. Check the current promotion on the Smartproxy pricing page before committing.
Does Smartproxy support SOCKS5 with UDP and authentication?+
Yes. Smartproxy exposes SOCKS5 with username / password authentication on SOCKS5, HTTP, HTTPS. UDP passthrough is available on the residential gateway and works with cURL, Python (PySocks), Node, Selenium, Playwright, and Scrapy out of the box.
What are the main pros and cons of Smartproxy?+
Pros: Simple, transparent pricing; 3-day money-back guarantee; 24/7 live-chat support. Cons: Smaller mobile pool than Bright Data; No enterprise SLA. Read the full Smartproxy review above for benchmark data and a use-case verdict.
What are the best Smartproxy alternatives?+
Solid Smartproxy alternatives depend on your workload — if pricing matters most, look at Smartproxy, IPRoyal or Proxy-Cheap. For enterprise-grade reliability, Oxylabs and Bright Data are the closest peers. For static ISP SOCKS5, NetNut leads.
Does Smartproxy offer a free trial or money-back guarantee?+
Smartproxy typically offers either a 3-day money-back guarantee, a paid trial for verified businesses, or a small free-tier bundle. Availability changes — visit the Smartproxy deals section on this site or the provider dashboard to confirm.
Is Smartproxy safe and legal to use?+
Smartproxy operates a compliance program that includes KYC on residential access and an ethically sourced IP pool. Using a SOCKS5 proxy is legal in most jurisdictions; ensure your specific use case complies with each target site's terms of service.
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Smartproxy
Save up to 30% on annual Smartproxy SOCKS5 plans. Entry price: $7.00/GB.
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Oxylabs
Save up to 30% on annual Oxylabs SOCKS5 plans. Entry price: $8.00/GB.
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Bright Data
Save up to 30% on annual Bright Data SOCKS5 plans. Entry price: $8.40/GB.
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