Mobile, Residential and Datacenter Proxies in the US: a Three-Way Comparison
US proxies are sold in three kinds, named after where their exit address comes from. A datacenter proxy exits from a server in a hosting facility. A residential proxy exits from a home broadband connection. A mobile proxy exits from a SIM on a cellular carrier. Each has a different address reputation, a different pricing model and a different set of jobs it suits. This page compares the three on the facts that decide a purchase, and ends with a plain statement of when each is the right buy. Mobile Proxy USA sells only the third kind, as dedicated lines in eight US metros, and says so where it matters below.
Where the address comes from
A datacenter address is announced by a hosting provider's autonomous system. Reputation databases classify it as hosting, and every website that cares can see that no consumer lives there. Datacenter proxies are plentiful, fast and cheap because servers are cheap, and they are sold as fixed lists of addresses, often dedicated to one buyer.
A residential address is announced by a consumer internet provider such as a cable or fibre company. It belongs to a household. Residential proxy vendors obtain access to it either through software installed on a consumer's device, with that consumer's consent in exchange for a free app or a payment, or through agreements with ISPs. Residential proxies are usually sold as a pool: each request may exit from a different home, and the buyer pays per gigabyte.
A mobile address is announced by a cellular carrier: in the US, AT&T under AS20057, T-Mobile under AS21928, Verizon under AS22394 or AS6167. It is shared through carrier-grade NAT by many subscribers at once. Mobile proxies are sold either as pools, like residential, or as dedicated lines, which is a single SIM in a single device assigned to one buyer. Mobile Proxy USA sells the dedicated kind.
How websites treat each kind
Hosting addresses are the easiest to identify and the first to be blocked, challenged or served a reduced page by any site that cares about automation. Residential addresses are treated as individual consumers; one address is one household, so a site can attach a history to it and block it without collateral damage. Mobile addresses are treated as crowds; a site that blocks one blocks hundreds of real subscribers, so it judges mobile traffic by behaviour rather than by address. This is why mobile addresses tolerate more activity before a site reacts and why fraud-score tools tag them as low risk despite their shared history.
Geolocation differs too. A datacenter address resolves to the facility. A residential address resolves to the household's city with good accuracy. A mobile address resolves to the carrier's regional gateway, which is the metro the device is in for T-Mobile, a regional hub for AT&T, and can be a few hundred miles away for Verizon, while the state is reliable on all three.
Side by side
The table summarises the properties that decide most purchases.
| Property | Datacenter | Residential | Mobile (dedicated) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Address owner | Hosting provider | Home ISP | AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon |
| Shared with real users | No | One household | Hundreds of subscribers via CGNAT |
| How sites classify it | Hosting | Consumer, individual | Consumer, crowd |
| Pricing model | Per address per month | Per gigabyte | Per line per period, unlimited data |
| Address control | Fixed list | Pool, limited stickiness | Sticky or rotate on demand |
| Geolocation precision | Facility | City | Metro to region, state reliable |
| Speed | Highest | Varies by home | 4G lines usually run 20 to 45 Mbps, 5G 50 Mbps and up |
| Typical cost at Mobile Proxy USA | Not sold | Not sold | 4G $5 day, $28 week, $65 month; 5G $6, $31, $75 |
Cost at different volumes
Datacenter proxies cost the least per address and have no data charge, so they win on any job where the address type does not matter. Residential pools cost per gigabyte, which is cheap for a few gigabytes and expensive for hundreds. A dedicated mobile line is a flat price per period with unlimited data, so its cost per gigabyte falls as usage rises and its cost per identity is fixed. A buyer moving a few gigabytes a month through many addresses pays least on residential; a buyer moving tens of gigabytes through one identity pays least on a mobile line; a buyer who needs raw speed and does not care about blocks pays least on datacenter.
What each is actually used for
Datacenter proxies are used for high-volume collection from sites that do not resist it, for load testing, for API access that is rate-limited per address, and for any task where a block simply means trying the next address. Residential pools are used for broad public-data collection from sites that block hosting ranges, for price and search sampling across many cities, for ad verification at scale, and for tasks where each request is independent. Dedicated mobile lines are used for accounts that must survive, for platforms that fingerprint aggressively, for app testing that must look like a phone, for ad verification that must look like a phone, and for any sustained activity from one consistent US identity.
When each is the right buy
Buy datacenter when the target does not block hosting ranges, when speed and price matter more than reputation, or when the job is against your own systems. Buy residential when the job needs many different consumer addresses in many cities, the total data is modest, and no session needs to persist. Buy a dedicated mobile line when the job is an identity rather than a request: an account, a profile, a device that must look like one American on one phone over weeks, or when the volume is large enough that per-gigabyte pricing hurts.
Many buyers hold more than one kind. A common layout is a residential or datacenter pool for collection and one dedicated mobile line per account that matters. Mobile Proxy USA supplies the second half of that layout: 4G at $5 per day, $28 per week or $65 per month, 5G at $6, $31 or $75, hourly tests from $2, all with unlimited data, unlimited rotation and free moves between New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Miami, North Carolina and Boston.
- Datacenter: volume against targets that do not resist, speed, price
- Residential: breadth across many consumer addresses, modest data, independent requests
- Dedicated mobile: identity, persistence, mobile-app realism, large data volumes
Questions about per-GB pricing
Is a mobile proxy always better than a residential one?
No. It is better for identity and persistence and worse for breadth. Choose by the job.
Why are mobile proxies more expensive per line?
Each line is a physical SIM in physical hardware in a US city, serving one customer with unlimited data. A pool spreads one device across many buyers and meters the data instead.
Can a site tell a dedicated mobile line from a real phone?
Not from the address. The address is identical to the carrier's subscribers behind the same gateway. Differences, if any, come from the browser or app the buyer uses.
Do you sell residential or datacenter proxies?
No. Mobile Proxy USA sells dedicated mobile lines only.