Quick answer
Residential vs mobile proxies: which one fits US targets?
In residential vs mobile proxies, residential wins on price per GB and location precision, while mobile wins when you need one carrier IP for a long session. FiftyStateProxy offers both: US residential traffic from $0.52/GB, targetable by state, city, ZIP or ASN, and dedicated 4G/5G ports on T-Mobile, AT&T or Verizon starting at $3.75/day. No KYC — no ID, no selfie, no documents. Pay in crypto.
How do residential and mobile proxies differ?
| Residential (per GB) | Mobile port (dedicated) | Mobile pool (per GB) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the IP is | A home broadband connection, from ISPs such as Comcast, Spectrum or AT&T Fiber | A 4G/5G modem with a T-Mobile, AT&T or Verizon SIM, for one customer | A shared pool of US 4G/5G mobile IPs |
| Billing | Per GB | One port for 1, 7 or 30 days | Per GB |
| FiftyStateProxy price | $1.50 for 1 GB, down to $0.52/GB | $3.75 / $15 / $45 | $2.99 for 1 GB, down to $1.50/GB |
| US targeting | State, city, ZIP code, ASN | Carrier, among those in stock | Country level |
| IP change | Per connection, or sticky sessions | New IP by link or API; timer on 7- and 30-day ports | Per connection, or sticky sessions |
| Data | Prepaid GB never expire | Unlimited under fair use | Prepaid GB never expire |
| Who shares the IP | Usually one home connection | Many subscribers, through carrier-grade NAT | Many subscribers, through carrier-grade NAT |
| KYC at FiftyStateProxy | None | None | None |
Published by FiftyStateProxy, which sells both residential and mobile proxies.
Which is cheaper per GB, residential or mobile?
Residential proxies are cheaper per GB at every tier. At $0.52/GB, US residential traffic costs 65% less per GB than rotating mobile traffic at its best rate, $1.50/GB. At entry level, 1 GB costs $1.50 on residential and $2.99 on mobile, about half.
A dedicated port changes the math for heavy users, because its data is unlimited under fair use. The $45 30-day port costs as much as 60 GB of residential traffic at $0.75/GB, or 30 GB of rotating mobile at $1.50/GB. Past those volumes in a month, the port is the cheaper way to move data.
What do residential and mobile proxies cost at FiftyStateProxy?
| Product | Plan | Price | Per unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential | 1 GB | $1.50 | $1.50/GB |
| Residential | 100 GB | $75 | $0.75/GB |
| Residential | 1 TB | $520 | $0.52/GB |
| Mobile port | 1 day | $3.75 | One dedicated modem |
| Mobile port | 7 days | $15 | One dedicated modem |
| Mobile port | 30 days | $45 | One dedicated modem |
| Rotating mobile | 1 GB | $2.99 | $2.99/GB |
| Rotating mobile | 100 GB | $150 | $1.50/GB |
Which proxy type fits each use case?
Residential fits most location work, and a dedicated mobile port fits work tied to one stable carrier IP. Verdicts by use case:
- Local SEO by city or ZIP code: residential. At FiftyStateProxy, ZIP and ASN targeting come only with residential plans.
- Price monitoring across many stores: residential, for the lowest cost per GB and ZIP-level location.
- Large public-data scraping: residential, with per-connection rotation.
- Ad verification by state or media market: residential; add a mobile port to check what carrier customers are shown.
- Social media management for clients: a dedicated mobile port, one stable carrier IP per client, within platform terms.
- App and mobile-site QA: a mobile port on the carrier your users have.
- Occasional mobile IP checks: rotating mobile per GB, since unused traffic never expires.
Product details: US residential proxies and US mobile proxies.
Why are mobile IPs harder to block than residential IPs?
Mobile IPs are harder to block because each one is shared by many subscribers at once. A residential IP usually stands for one household; a mobile IP stands for a crowd of phones. The sharing method is carrier-grade NAT (CGNAT), whose internal range 100.64.0.0/10 comes from RFC 6598. In Cloudflare's words (October 2025), one shared address "may represent hundreds or even thousands of users".
The same study shows CGNAT addresses hit rate limits roughly three times as often, so a mobile IP is no free pass. Keep request rates moderate and respect site terms. Blocked on every FiftyStateProxy plan: Banking, government and payment-portal sites, plus SMTP (email-sending) ports 25, 465 and 587.
How do these prices compare with other providers?
Price per GB and per port varies a lot between providers, and so do KYC rules and payment methods. Our US proxy price index tracks public prices across providers. For ranked lists, see the best US residential proxies and the best US mobile proxies. Our own plans are all listed under how much do residential and mobile proxies cost.
Residential vs mobile proxies: FAQ
Are mobile proxies better than residential proxies?
Not in general: each wins on different jobs. Residential is cheaper per GB and targets states, cities, ZIP codes and ISPs; mobile gives a carrier IP shared by many subscribers and, on a dedicated port, one stable IP for long sessions.
Why do mobile proxies cost more than residential proxies?
A dedicated mobile port ties up one 4G/5G modem and one carrier SIM for a single customer. Residential traffic is shared home bandwidth sold by the GB, so each gigabyte costs less.
Can I target a US ZIP code with a mobile proxy?
Not at FiftyStateProxy. ZIP, city, state and ASN targeting come with residential plans; ports are chosen by carrier, and the rotating mobile pool targets the country.
Which is better for managing clients' social media accounts?
A dedicated mobile port, with one stable carrier IP per client account. A 30-day FiftyStateProxy port is $45 at October 2026 prices, and must be used within each platform's terms.
Do I need ID to buy residential or mobile proxies?
No. Neither product at FiftyStateProxy involves an ID, a selfie or documents. Both are paid from a crypto balance in BTC, USDT, USDC, ETH, SOL, LTC, topped up from $25.
Buy US residential or mobile proxies
Residential from $0.52/GB, mobile ports from $3.75/day. No KYC — no ID, no selfie, no documents. Pay in crypto.
Sources (2)
- RFC 6598: IANA-Reserved IPv4 Prefix for Shared Address Space — RFC Editor (2026-10-05)
- Detecting CGN to reduce collateral damage — Cloudflare (2025-10-29)