The proxy market in 2026 has matured dramatically. Early assumptions like “just rotate IPs” no longer hold. Today, you’re choosing not just IPs but entire infrastructures: residential vs mobile vs ISP, sticky sessions vs rotating, anti-ban, scrape APIs, geo-targeting, compliance and price models.
Decodo (the rebranded form of Smartproxy) sits in the middle of this landscape: more sophisticated than budget options, less expensive than the big enterprises. But if you’re scaling aggressively or have special needs, there are several alternatives in the list that might fit you better.
In this article, I’ll present 8 alternatives for Decodo — with our #1 being GonzoProxy — and dig into their strengths, weaknesses, best use-cases.
#1 GonzoProxy — The Most Practical Alternative to Decodo
Overview
GonzoProxy advertises a peer-to-peer residential network of 20 M+ real devices, with traffic that never expires.
Why It Stands Out
- Real P2P devices mean more natural behavior and fewer bans in high-risk tasks like social media and ad account automation.
- Traffic that doesn’t expire: you buy GBs and you use them when you want — this contrasts with many providers who force monthly use.
- Very fast onboarding, no heavy KYC.
- Excellent for arbitrage, multi-accounting, scraping tasks where trust and longevity matter.
Where It Beats Decodo
- For long-lived sessions (accounts, profiles): GonzoProxy’s sticky sessions and device-based IPs give an edge.
- For cost control: non-expiring traffic means you’re not forced to burn GBs inside a month.
- For ad/networking tasks: fewer bans reported.
Tech reviewers list success rates ~90% for certain tasks.
Weaknesses
- Entry cost may be higher than ultra-budget providers.
- Fewer advanced corporate features (API scraping, enterprise data layers) compared to Decodo.
- As a newer model, may have smaller pools in specific niche geos or mobile carriers.
Best For
- Social media automation, Facebook/TikTok/Google accounts
- Multi-account setups, profile farms
- Scraping protected sites
- Arbitrage and marketing campaigns requiring long-term stable IPs
- Best proxies for Amazon: stay safe, scale faster and avoid account bans
#2 Nexus Proxy — Non-Expiring Traffic & City-Level Geo Precision
One of the lesser-known but strong picks from the list: Nexus Proxy. It offers non-expiring traffic similar to GonzoProxy but focuses on geo-precision (down to cities) and is tailored for ads/affiliate use.
Strengths
- Traffic never expires — aligns with freedom of use.
- City-level targeting, which many providers lack at decent price.
- Good connectivity in major markets.
Weaknesses
- Pool size smaller (~7 M) compared to giants.
- Less enterprise tooling.
- Documentation and marketing less polished.
Good Use-Case
- Regional ad campaigns, multi-city A/B testing
- Social automation in smaller markets where city-specific IPs matter
- Middle-scale scraping in defined geos
Compared to Decodo, Nexus gives you more freedom (non-expiry) but less total scale and fewer features.
#3 Astro Proxy — Flexibility Across Types: Residential + Mobile + DC
Astro Proxy offers a very flexible suite: you can choose residential, mobile, or datacenter IPs depending on task.
Strengths
- 100+ country coverage.
- Multiple proxy types in one account.
- Low entry threshold (from 1 GB).
Weaknesses
- They keep traffic logs (some users may care).
- Speed in some regions (e.g., US) reported lower.
- Traffic still subject to subscriptions/expiry depending on plan.
Best For
- Mixed workloads: scraping, mobile app automation, connection switching
- Projects where you don’t know exactly what type of proxy you’ll need
Compared to Decodo, Astro is more flexible but possibly less specialized in residential quality for high-risk tasks.
#4 Best Proxies — SOCKS & Multi-Location for Testing & Scaling
Best Proxies stands out for providing SOCKS proxies, multi-location export formats, and high location count (300+).
Strengths
- Large location count.
- Many export formats (list, API, etc).
- Good for multi-location testing, SEO tools, automation requiring location diversity.
Weaknesses
- Residential quality not as high as best-in-class.
- Speed varies by region.
- Documentation basic.
Best For
- SEO monitoring, competitor tracking in many countries
- Multi-location bots for data gathering
- Users wanting SOCKS protocol specifically
Compared to Decodo: Best Proxies is less about premium residential and more about location breadth + protocol flexibility.
#5 Mango Proxy — Massive Pool, Global Reach for Social & Retail Bots
Mango Proxy claims 90 M+ residential & mobile IPs across 220+ countries — one of the largest footprints in the list.
Strengths
- Exceptional global coverage.
- Good for retail bots (shopping, sneaker, limited items) and social network campaigns spanning many regions.
- Residential + mobile mix.
Weaknesses
- Reports of blocking shortly after purchase in some reviews — support and QA may vary.
- Pricing above budget.
- Traffic expiry applies.
Best For
- Large-scale global campaigns
- Multi-country social automation
- Monitoring retail/marketplaces across many regions
Compared to Decodo: Mango is bigger in raw pool & global reach, but perhaps less polished in support and premium quality.
#6 Proxy-IPv4 — European Residential IPv4 Specialist
Proxy-IPv4 is a European-focused residential provider: 12 M+ IPv4 addresses, strong across 150 countries, and IPv4 for users who dislike IPv6.
Strengths
- IPv4 focus (many services still prefer/require IPv4).
- Good EU coverage.
- Stable routing.
Weaknesses
- Pool size modest compared to top names.
- Prices above average per GB.
- Traffic expiry.
Best For
- European-centric scraping, automation, ad verification
- Projects where IPv4 is essential (some ad platforms restrict IPv6)
Compared to Decodo: Proxy-IPv4 is narrower in scope, but can be better in EU-specific IPv4 tasks.
#7 Rayobyte — Speed-Focused + US/ISP Hybrid for High-Performance Tasks
Rayobyte (formerly Blazing SEO) offers ~50 M+ residential IPs alongside ISP and datacenter proxies. Strong for speed‐sensitive scraping and US market.
Strengths
- Very high speeds (especially US)
- ISP proxies for low-hop routing
- Good for high-volume scraping
Weaknesses
- Residential pricing high.
- US-centric; other geos weaker.
- Datacenter IPs more detectable (for high‐stealth tasks).
Best For
- US-market scraping
- Large e-commerce monitoring
- High concurrency, high throughput tasks
Compared to Decodo: Rayobyte trades some stealth for speed and raw throughput.
#8 PacketStream — Ultra-Budget P2P Alternative for Cost-Conscious Workloads
PacketStream is a peer-to-peer residential proxy platform, great for budget-sensitive tasks.
Strengths
- Very low cost (~$1/GB in many cases)
- P2P residential model, similar in spirit to GonzoProxy
Weaknesses
- Reliability lower compared to premium providers.
- Speed / latency can vary widely
- Minimal support, fewer features.
Best For
- Testing, prototyping, small scale scraping
- Budget bots or side-projects
Compared to Decodo: PacketStream is much cheaper but much more trade-off in quality and reliability.
Summary Table
| Provider | Traffic Expiry | Pool Size | Best For | Key Strength |
| GonzoProxy | Never expires | 20M+ P2P | Arbitrage, accounts, long sessions | Real devices, quality |
| Nexus Proxy | Never expires | ~7M | Geo-ads, city targeting | City-level precision |
| Astro Proxy | Subscription/Expiry | Broad | Mixed proxy types | Flexibility across types |
| Best Proxies | Subscription | 10K+ online | Multi-location testing | SOCKS, location breadth |
| Mango Proxy | Subscription | 90M+ | Global campaigns, retail bots | Massive global reach |
| Proxy-IPv4 | Subscription | 12M+ | EU, IPv4-only workflows | IPv4 focus, EU routing |
| Rayobyte | Subscription | 50M+ | High-speed scraping, US market | Speed & ISP hybrid |
| PacketStream | Balance-based | 7M+ P2P | Budget testing, side-projects | Very low cost |
Which One Should You Pick?
- If you manage social media accounts, run ad campaigns, need long sessions and minimised blocking, pick GonzoProxy.
- If you’re scaling scraping globally, need huge pool, and don’t mind price, pick Mango Proxy or Rayobyte depending on priority (global breadth vs speed).
- If you focus on Europe/IPv4, pick Proxy-IPv4.
- If you’re testing, building or on tight budget, pick PacketStream.
- If you want a “middle” provider with solid features and global coverage, stick with Decodo (since you asked originally) or consider Astro Proxy.
Conclusion
The proxy landscape in 2026 is no longer just “who has the biggest IP count”. It’s about:
- IP source quality (real devices vs datacenter)
- Session stickiness and behavior that mimics real users
- Geo-precision, city/ISP targeting
- Reliability under high concurrency
- Transparent pricing and non-expiring traffic
- Support and features that match your real workflow
If you’re using Decodo already and it works, you may stay. But if you’re hitting limits — bans, high latency, scaling issues — then switching to one of the alternatives above may be the smartest move.
When selecting, always run proof-of-concept tests: check success rate, latency, coverage in your target geos, real cost per usable GB, and total ROI (is your bot/ad script making money after proxy cost?). The best proxy is the one that helps you earn — not just the one with the biggest pool.
Sandra Larson is a writer with the personal blog at ElizabethanAuthor and an academic coach for students. Her main sphere of professional interest is the connection between AI and modern study techniques. Sandra believes that digital tools are a way to a better future in the education system.



