Comparison
IPRoyal vs Bright Data: which one should you buy from?
IPRoyal's traffic never expires; Bright Data residential is for verified companies only. Dated per-GB prices, sessions, trials and picks by job.
Start with who’s allowed to buy. Bright Data sells residential proxies only to registered companies that pass a human-reviewed KYC, so a solo developer or side project can’t use its residential network at all. Network access.
If you can buy from both, IPRoyal suits small or irregular use because its traffic never expires, while Bright Data’s coupon and deeper targeting suit a verified company that needs ZIP, ASN or carrier targeting. Below are dated per-GB prices with the gaps marked, two worked buyers, the independent performance data that exists, and a pick per job.
Short on time?
Here's my take
- Solo developer or no registered company
- IPRoyal
- Bright Data residential is company-only with human KYC. IPRoyal's terms ask for an ID document; I found no company rule.
- Irregular or bursty use
- IPRoyal
- Traffic never expires, so 10 GB at $5.51 PAYG can last months. Bright Data commitments don't roll over.
- Cheapest per GB at 1–10 GB, for three months
- Bright Data with RESIGB50
- $4/GB pay-as-you-go for three months, if your company passes KYC. After that, the $8 list rate applies.
- ZIP, ASN or carrier targeting
- Bright Data
- Documents city, ZIP, ASN and carrier targeting; IPRoyal's docs list country, state and city only.
- Long sticky sessions
- IPRoyal
- Sticky sessions up to 7 days. Bright Data releases an IP after 5 minutes without requests.
- An unblocker plus scraper APIs or datasets
- Bright Data
- Web Unlocker at $1.50 per 1,000, success-only, beside Scraper APIs and datasets IPRoyal doesn't sell.
- Just a cheap unblocker
- IPRoyal Web Unblocker
- $1.00 down to $0.70 per 1,000 requests by package. Its page doesn't say whether failures are billed.
Prices verified . Sponsors cannot buy a verdict or a position.
How do they compare side by side? #
Prices verified 2026-11-12, in USD before tax and any checkout fee.
| IPRoyal | Bright Data | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can buy residential | ID-verified accounts; no company rule found (scope disputed, see below) | Verified companies only, human-reviewed KYC |
| Residential at 1 GB | $7.00 subscription, $7.35 PAYG | $8 PAYG list; $4 with RESIGB50 for 3 months |
| Traffic expiry | Never expires | Monthly commitment doesn’t roll over |
| Pool claim | 64M+ IPs (own page); 32M advertised per Proxyway | 400M+ monthly IPs |
| Countries | 195+ | 195 |
| Targeting | Country, state, city | City, state, ZIP, ASN, carrier |
| Sticky sessions | Up to 7 days | Released after 5 minutes idle; no stated maximum |
| SOCKS5 | Yes | Yes |
| Other proxies | ISP, datacenter, mobile | ISP, datacenter; mobile status below |
| Unblocker per 1,000 | $1.00–$0.70 | $1.50 PAYG, success-only |
| Refunds | 24 h for faults; crypto never refunded | Fees non-cancelable and non-refundable |
| Payments | Crypto, PayPal, Alipay | Not checked |
| Support | 24/7 live chat, email, Discord | Not checked |
Both pool figures are vendor claims, not counts of IPs you’ll get at once.
Can you buy from both? #
Only if you’re a registered company. Bright Data says residential access is “available only to verified companies that pass a human-reviewed KYC”, that “Accounts on a personal email (for example Gmail or Outlook) are not eligible”, and that “Approval is never automatic, instant or self-serve.” Hobby and side projects “are not approved”. Network access.
The rule covers zones created after July 7, 2026, and KYC isn’t available in the Playground or Limited Trial, so you add funds first. Bright Data’s October 24, 2026 release notes then asked customers to switch their Immediate access Residential and Immediate access Mobile proxies, adding: “Those retired proxies will be deleted from their owners’ accounts on 9-Nov-2026.” Network access, release notes.
Those notes point Immediate-access users to ISP proxies or Web Unlocker. KYC can also fail: one Trustpilot reviewer (October 19, 2026) wrote that Bright Data rejected their verification for residential IPs. Release notes.
IPRoyal’s position is less clear, so here are both sides:
- IPRoyal says everyone is verified. Its LLM info page says “All clients undergo identity verification through a strict Know Your Customer (KYC) process”, and its terms (§2.5) say an account “must be verified using a unique and valid identity document”. LLM info, terms.
- Proxyway says it’s optional. Its August 20, 2026 review says “KYC isn’t obligatory” but “without it, your use of proxies will be relatively limited.” IPRoyal’s own KYC policy says verification “ensures unrestricted access to all our services and features”, which fits that reading. Proxyway review, KYC policy.
I can’t settle that from public pages. Either way, plan on showing an ID to IPRoyal, and a company plus a human review to Bright Data.
What does 1, 10, 100 or 1,000 GB cost? #
IPRoyal publishes four cards, and Bright Data a pay-as-you-go rate plus three monthly plans. Anything neither publishes, I mark as a quote rather than invent. Prices verified 2026-11-12; totals are my arithmetic.
| Monthly volume | IPRoyal subscription | IPRoyal PAYG | Bright Data list | Bright Data with RESIGB50 (first 3 months) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | $7.00 | $7.35 | $8 PAYG | $4 PAYG |
| 10 GB | $52.50 | $55.10 | $80 PAYG | $40 PAYG |
| 100 GB | Quote needed ($525 at the 10 GB rate) | Quote needed ($551 at the 10 GB rate) | $800 PAYG; the $499 plan covers about 71 GB at its $7 list rate | $400 PAYG |
| 1,000 GB | Quote needed | Quote needed | $8,000 PAYG; the $1,999 plan covers about 400 GB at $5 list; custom above 1 TB | $4,000 PAYG, if the coupon covers that volume (the $1,999 coupon card shows 798 GB) |
Inputs: IPRoyal residential, Bright Data residential.
IPRoyal’s cards stop at 10 GB. Subscription (5% off) runs $7.00, $5.95 and $5.25 per GB at 1, 2 and 10 GB, and pay-as-you-go $7.35, $6.25 and $5.51. The next published card is custom from 10 TB, at $1.75 or $1.84. Pricing.
Third parties quote middle tiers, but they disagree: Proxyway’s 2026 report lists $4.55 at 100 GB and $3.15 at 1,000 GB (capture date not stated), while MarsProxies, a competing seller, lists $4.55 and $3.36 as of October 7, 2026. I’d treat both as a starting point for a quote. Proxyway, MarsProxies.
Bright Data’s plan cards show coupon prices. Every card carries the RESIGB50 code, which takes 50% off for three months: $499 with “141 GB Included” at $3.50/GB, $999 with 332 GB at $3.00, and $1,999 with 798 GB at $2.50. The struck-through list rates are $7, $6 and $5 per GB, and pay-as-you-go is $8 list.
Price divided by included GB ($3.54, $3.01, $2.50) matches the coupon rates, so at list rates the same plans would cover about 71, 166 and 400 GB. Those list quotas are my arithmetic, so confirm what a plan includes from month four at checkout. Residential pricing.
The same pricing page calls geo-targeting free, while the residential product page lists “Geo-location targeting - $0.42/GB” in one place and “completely free” in another. I’d go with the pricing page but ask before relying on it. Product page. For the rest of Bright Data’s price list, see Bright Data pricing.
Never-expiring traffic vs a monthly plan #
This is where your usage pattern decides more than the per-GB rate. IPRoyal lists “Never expiring traffic”, while Bright Data says “your monthly commitment will not roll over to the next month”. IPRoyal, Bright Data.
Two hypothetical buyers, before tax and any checkout fee:
| Buyer | IPRoyal | Bright Data (verified company) |
|---|---|---|
| A: 30 GB spread over 6 months (about 5 GB a month) | 3 × 10 GB PAYG = $165.30, used whenever | $240 at the $8 list; $180 if RESIGB50 covers months 1–3 (15 GB × $4 + 15 GB × $8) |
| B: 140 GB every month for 6 months | 14 × 10 GB on subscription = $735 a month, $4,410 (a quote may be lower) | $4,494 with RESIGB50: the $499 coupon card (141 GB) for months 1–3, then the $999 plan; $5,994 at list for all six months |
Once the coupon ends, Bright Data’s $499 plan covers only about 71 GB at its $7 list rate, so 140 GB needs the $999 plan (about 166 GB at $6). Pay-as-you-go at the $8 list would be $1,120 a month.
For buyer A, IPRoyal wins on price, and it doesn’t need a registered company. For buyer B, IPRoyal’s published 10 GB rate also edges Bright Data, even with the coupon, and a quote at 140 GB could widen the gap. Bright Data’s case at steady volume is ZIP and ASN targeting, not price. My proxy pricing models guide explains these billing styles in more depth.
Sessions, rotation and targeting #
Sticky sessions differ a lot. IPRoyal says sticky sessions last “up to 7 days”. Bright Data says “The Session IP is kept persistent for up to 5 minute of idle time” and “After 5 minutes with no requests, the IP is released back to the pool”, with a keep-alive request every 30 seconds suggested; it states no maximum session length. IPRoyal docs, Bright Data FAQs.
Targeting is deeper on Bright Data. IPRoyal’s docs list “country, state, or city” at no extra cost and don’t mention ZIP or ASN. Bright Data’s residential page lists city, state, ZIP, ASN and carrier targeting. IPRoyal docs, Bright Data.
Both support SOCKS5. IPRoyal documents “HTTP(S) and SOCKS5 support”, and Bright Data’s residential page lists SOCKS5 too.
Which one is faster or more reliable? #
There’s no current head-to-head. The newest independent test measured IPRoyal, and Bright Data didn’t take part. I haven’t measured either.
| Source | Who ran it | Data dates | IPRoyal | Bright Data | What it measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proxyway market research 2026 | Proxyway, a proxy review site | “collected in March and April of 2026” | 96.11%, 1.24s global (down 3.45 points); 98.48%, 1.42s US | “isn’t participating this year” | 3.6M global requests over 21 days to a small CDN endpoint, not real target sites |
| Bright Data’s comparison | Bright Data, citing an older Proxyway round | Not dated in the text; post first published 2023-12-26 | 89.05%, 3.73s | 99.17%, 1.02s | Picked by one of the two vendors |
| IPRoyal’s comparison | IPRoyal, citing vendor sites and BestProxyFinder | “September 2026” collection | 97% | 97–98% | Picked by one of the two vendors |
Proxyway’s August 2026 review of IPRoyal adds two lines worth weighing: “The infrastructure failed surprisingly often”, and “IPRoyal can no longer be considered a cheap provider.” Proxyway review.
My read: IPRoyal’s 2026 numbers are respectable on a simple endpoint, and Bright Data’s absence means there’s nothing current to compare it with. The 99.17% vs 89.05% gap comes from an older, undated round, so I wouldn’t lean on it.
What else does each sell? #
Prices verified 2026-11-12:
| Product | IPRoyal | Bright Data |
|---|---|---|
| ISP proxies | $1.80 per IP for 24 h; $2.70, $2.55, $2.40 for 30, 60, 90 days | Shared $1.80 down to $1.30 per IP; dedicated $3.50 down to $2.50 |
| Datacenter proxies | $1.57, $1.48, $1.39 per IP for 30, 60, 90 days | Shared $1.40 down to $0.90 per IP; dedicated $2.20 down to $1.30; $0.60/GB PAYG |
| Mobile proxies | $6.80/GB at 2 GB down to $5.20/GB at 100 GB; time plans from $10.11 a day | Immediate-access mobile retired; see the FAQ |
| Unblocker | $1.00, $0.90, $0.80, $0.70 per 1,000 at 1K, 5K, 50K, 100K requests | $1.50 per 1,000 PAYG; $499 for 383K |
| Scraper APIs and datasets | None | Yes (pricing overview) |
IPRoyal’s Web Unblocker is cheaper per 1,000, and its LLM info page describes it as “Pay as you go (per request)”. Its pricing page doesn’t say whether failed requests are billed or what JavaScript rendering costs. Bright Data’s Unlocker charges only for success, with 5,000 free requests a month from a shared pool. IPRoyal LLM info, Bright Data.
If your success rate on hard pages is low, Bright Data’s success-only rule could close the gap. My web unblocker comparison sets both against other options.
Trials, refunds and fees you only see at checkout #
IPRoyal doesn’t offer a free residential trial that I could find. Its terms (version 10, effective October 15, 2026) say fees are “non-cancelable and non-refundable”, with a refund only if the service is faulty and you report it within 24 hours; crypto payments are never refundable. Terms.
IPRoyal’s LLM info page adds that residential subscriptions can be refunded within 72 hours of renewal if no new data was used, a rule I didn’t find in the terms text. Separately, §6.17 allows service fees that “are indicated in the System at the time of placing the order”, so the final price can differ from the card. LLM info, terms.
Bright Data says trial traffic “will not be counted towards your bill”, but residential KYC isn’t available on a trial account, so a company still adds funds first. Its licence says “The Subscription Fees are non-cancelable and non-refundable.” Residential pricing, network access, licence.
My residential proxy free trial guide compares these offers with other providers’.
Where do the IPs come from? #
Both vendors describe consent-based sourcing, and neither page is an independent audit.
Bright Data says its “SDK is enabled only after the user opted-in” and that a benefit goes to “100% of users who decide to opt into the Bright Data peer network”. Sourcing.
IPRoyal’s current sourcing page says “Proxies are added to our IP pool through partners” and “Suppliers must provide evidence that they acquire IP addresses with consent from device owners.” It doesn’t name Pawns.app. Sourcing.
Older and third-party pages do. IPRoyal’s own 2022 blog post (last updated November 30, 2022) described Pawns, where “users got compensated for the traffic, and we got authentic residential IPs”. Proxyway’s August 2026 review and PCMag’s comparison also name the Pawns app as a source. IPRoyal blog, Proxyway, PCMag.
Proxyway’s 2026 market research also wrote: “IPRoyal’s proxy pool included over 900k US IPs associated with little-known ASNs belonging to Comcast.” and “This sounds suspiciously familiar to BGP hijacking.” That is Proxyway’s observation; IPRoyal’s sourcing statement is quoted above. Proxyway, IPRoyal sourcing.
For the questions I’d ask any residential provider about consent, see my ethical residential proxies guide.
What do other comparisons still say? #
Claims I checked on November 12, 2026
- Bright Data PAYG at “$10.5 per GB”. Bright Data’s comparison (modified August 2026) still says so. Its pricing page lists $8 list, $4 with RESIGB50.
- IPRoyal “only has 2 million residential IPs”. Same page. IPRoyal now claims 64M+.
- IPRoyal at “2.45$ per GB for 5000GB” and $1.75/GB at 500 GB. From Bright Data’s page and use-apify’s pricing table. IPRoyal publishes no tier between 10 GB and 10 TB; $1.75 is the custom card from 10 TB.
- Bright Data sticky sessions “up to 30 minutes” or “up to 60 seconds”. From IPRoyal’s comparison, use-apify and Roundproxies. Bright Data’s docs say an IP is released after 5 minutes idle, with no stated maximum.
- Bright Data “150M+” IPs. From Roundproxies and use-apify’s intro. Bright Data claims 400M+.
Which one should you pick? #
No registered company: IPRoyal. Bright Data residential isn’t available to you, while IPRoyal’s terms ask for an identity document and I found no company requirement.
Irregular or bursty use: IPRoyal. Never-expiring traffic means a 10 GB pack at $5.51 PAYG can cover months of light use, and nothing is lost when a month is quiet.
A verified company testing for the next three months: Bright Data with RESIGB50. At $4/GB it’s the lowest published rate here at 1–10 GB, as long as you budget for $8 list afterwards.
ZIP, ASN or carrier targeting: Bright Data. It documents the deeper targeting, and IPRoyal’s docs don’t. Steady volume alone doesn’t favor it: for buyer B above, IPRoyal’s published 10 GB rate ($4,410 over six months) undercuts Bright Data even with the coupon ($4,494), and Bright Data’s list rates come to $5,994. I’d confirm the geo-targeting charge before signing.
Long sticky sessions: IPRoyal. Up to 7 days, against Bright Data’s 5-minute idle release.
An unblocker beside scraper APIs or datasets: Bright Data. Just a cheap unblocker: IPRoyal. IPRoyal is cheaper per 1,000 requests, but Bright Data’s success-only billing is written down.
For the wider field, see the proxy pillar, cheapest residential proxies, Bright Data vs Oxylabs and Bright Data vs Decodo. If you’re also weighing IPRoyal against Decodo, Decodo alternatives puts the two side by side.
FAQ #
Is IPRoyal cheaper than Bright Data? #
At list prices for 1 to 10 GB, yes. IPRoyal’s 10 GB card is $5.25 per GB on subscription or $5.51 pay-as-you-go, against Bright Data’s $8 pay-as-you-go list.
But Bright Data’s RESIGB50 coupon cuts that to $4 per GB for three months, which flips the result while it lasts. Prices verified 2026-11-12. IPRoyal, Bright Data.
Does IPRoyal traffic expire? #
No, according to IPRoyal. Its residential pricing page lists never expiring traffic. Bright Data’s residential page says your monthly commitment will not roll over to the next month. IPRoyal, Bright Data.
Can individuals buy Bright Data residential proxies? #
No. Bright Data says residential access is available only to verified companies that pass a human-reviewed KYC, for zones created after July 7, 2026. Personal email accounts are not eligible and hobby or side projects are not approved.
Its October 24, 2026 release notes point Immediate-access proxy users to ISP proxies or Web Unlocker. Network access.
Does IPRoyal require KYC? #
The sources disagree. IPRoyal’s LLM info page says all clients undergo identity verification, and its terms say accounts must be verified with an identity document.
Proxyway’s August 2026 review says KYC isn’t obligatory but that use is relatively limited without it. Plan on verifying your identity. LLM info, Proxyway.
Does Bright Data still sell mobile proxies? #
Bright Data’s October 24, 2026 release notes ask customers to switch their Immediate access Residential and Immediate access Mobile proxies to ISP Proxies or Web Unlocker API, and say those retired proxies will be deleted from their owners’ accounts on 9-Nov-2026. I couldn’t find a public page confirming whether verified companies can still buy mobile proxies. Release notes.
How long do sticky sessions last on each? #
IPRoyal says up to 7 days. Bright Data’s docs say a session IP stays while you keep using it and is released after 5 minutes with no requests; they state no maximum length. IPRoyal, Bright Data.
Sources
30 sources, accessed .
Official pricing, docs, changelogs and status pages 20
- IPRoyal residential pricing
- IPRoyal residential docs
- IPRoyal Web Unblocker pricing
- IPRoyal ISP pricing
- IPRoyal datacenter pricing
- IPRoyal mobile pricing
- IPRoyal LLM info page
- IPRoyal KYC policy
- IPRoyal terms of service
- IPRoyal residential proxy sourcing
- Bright Data residential pricing
- Bright Data residential product page
- Bright Data ISP pricing
- Bright Data datacenter pricing
- Bright Data Web Unlocker pricing
- Bright Data residential network access
- Bright Data residential FAQs
- Bright Data release notes
- Bright Data sourcing
- Bright Data licence
