Bright Data Review: Is it the Best Proxy Provider in 2024?
Last Updated: December 1, 2023
Welcome to my Bright DataReview.
Are you looking for a reliable proxy server for your web browsing needs?
Do you require a stable proxy service that ensures the best uptime while surfing the web?
If yes, then I would recommend that you give Bright Data Proxies a try!
One of the default options available to you when deciding which proxies to use when comparing other proxies is Bright Data. It has a proven track record, extensive awareness as a brand, and everything that anyone could possibly need (except for more complex use cases).
The business provides robust management solutions for clients, continually enhancing them with new features.
However, even the best things in this world have some issues that should be addressed, especially regarding pricing. Bright Data, as established and reliable as it is, is priced slightly on the higher side, particularly in Bright Data’s premium enterprise area.
That’s where less expensive or more specialized service providers can take advantage of a gap in the market.
So, is Bright Data an obvious choice? We’ll find out today.
What to expect in this post?
In this post, I will break things down to point out the pros and cons of Bright Data Proxy and discuss how they might affect your choice. Both general information and comprehensive performance expectations based on several weeks of testing are included in the Bright Data Review. Let’s start!
Bottom Line Upfront:
Bright Data offers businesses automated online data collecting and up-to-date, data-driven insights to meet their demands. Bright Data can help these companies conduct competitive and market analysis to inspire data-driven brand-building decisions.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) network with millions of residential and mobile IP addresses from across the world is Bright Data’s USP. Businesses that use Bright Data can use customer IPs for business traffic with consumer agreement.
Bright Data (formerly Luminati Networks) was among the first proxy providers to offer residential proxies, which are IP addresses derived from actual users’ computers and mobile devices.
At a time when most of its competitors were still selling datacenter IPs, this gave the company a huge leg up and helped it grow into a leading proxy supplier.
In terms of IP pool size, Bright Data leads the proxy market with over 72 million proxies available.
Their mobile and residential proxies are part of this enormous proxy pool. For their datacenter proxies, a proxy pool including over 7 million IP addresses is accessible.
Despite increasing competition, Bright Data is still a leader today, counting highly esteemed universities and Fortune 500 firms among its clientele.
Datacenter proxies are available from Bright Data in various configurations.
A service through which one can purchase a set number of shared or dedicated addresses.
The company offers what it refers to as Bright Lite, a rotating proxy pool for basic tasks.
A rotating proxy network with premium IPs allows users to access secured online stores, social networks, and vacation sites more easily. Examples include TikTok, Amazon, and Airbnb.
Features:
Since Bright Data has an integrated structure, many of the attributes of the three types are similar. Broad geographic coverage, infinite threads, and SOCKS5 support are generally provided.
Each of the three products may change, or you can send different requests to a single address. In either case, you connect directly via the load-balancing gateway provided by Bright Data instead of the proxy server.
The primary distinction is that the pay-per-IP service allows you to define the number of proxies you require in specific regions. So, you may buy 20,000 IPs in the US rather than receiving a randomly dispersed proxy pool.
Additionally, you can choose pay-per-IP proxies from various cities and assign them to all or specific domains. Lastly, a free switch called 100% uptime instructs Bright Data to substitute another proxy with an identical configuration if one goes down.
It should be noted that Bright Data automatically allocates datacenter proxies, which may result in some bad apples (as we’ll see in the outcome of the benchmarks). Until you discover the ideal setup, you might need to reset some IPs once or twice (this is a chargeable service).
The table below will give you a brief overview of the plans and pricing structure of the current Datacenter Proxy Plans.
A few things to note:
Bright Data charges for its IP-based service depending on traffic utilization and proxy count, in contrast to many competitors. Unlimited traffic is an option, but the cost is substantially higher. Likewise, dedicating a proxy.
Bright Data’s traffic-based datacenter proxies are reasonably priced when seen in a bigger picture. The IP-based product varies: the basic version is inexpensive, but the configuration with the most domains and traffic is priced higher than others.
Performance:
In March 2023, our team conducted our most recent test of Bright Data’s 50,000 shared and 100 dedicated US proxies.
#1 Performance test for the infrastructure (shared Pay-per-IP proxies)
Using the US-based shared proxies provided by Bright Data, we executed 50,000 connection requests. Our computer was in Germany. We chose a large CDN; it pinged the server closest to the proxy IP and returned a response that was several kilobits in size.
Most of our requests were successfully delivered thanks to the shared proxies, which consistently performed well. Additionally, they had a response time of less than one second and a significantly low latency. The same results were obtained with competing offerings from Smartproxy and Rayobyte.
#2: Downloading speed
We used the 100 MB NYC benchmark from DigitalOcean to test 10 shared and 10 dedicated IPs.
Thanks to the Speed of both proxy kinds, we almost reached our download speed without proxy servers. They need to have sufficient bandwidth for traffic-heavy applications like streaming.
Test #3: Efficiency with well-liked targets
We sent approximately 2,600 connection requests to each target using US proxies and a non-headless Python scraper. Germany was the location of our computer. Remember that your results can vary depending on your web scraping arrangement.
Bright Data suffered with Amazon; 44% of queries through shared proxies and 35% through dedicated proxies encountered blocks. This suggests that these IPs were added to Amazon’s blacklist by someone. The shared proxies used by the service also had some troubles with HomeDepot. Otherwise, they did alright.
A network of 72 million residential IPs is controlled monthly by Bright Data. It was formerly the most extensive proxy pool available and continues to rank among the significant choices.
The provider obtains these IPs and cell phone proxies from Bright VPN, the bandwidth-sharing program EarnApp, and programmers who include the Bright SDK in their applications.
Features:
Residential proxies from Bright Data are full of functionality. You may filter them down to the ASN and ZIP code level for exact location mapping. When you open the proxy manager provided by the provider, the rotation options, while initially essential when used simply with the dashboard, become more flexible. When your account balance is sufficient, there are no concurrent restrictions.
The SOCKS5 protocol is also supported by the residential proxies. But there are also two essential restrictions: The majority of the ports are disabled by default, so you must get in touch with the Bright Data team to get more unlocked. You must utilize the proxy manager.
Bright Data also provides some distinctive features. For instance, you can receive cached pages if those URLs were accessed during the previous several hours. This might produce results faster and result in a 5% cost reduction. Alternatively, you can purchase a collection of IP addresses with the exact specifications for usage only with particular domains.
Note: Bright Data automatically blocks some targets, including Google.
The table below will give you a brief overview of the plans and pricing structure of the current Residential Proxy Plans.
Model:
Subscription, pay-as-you-go
Format:
Traffic
Upsells:
City, ASN, ZIP code filtering
Starting price:
$10.50 for 1 GB
Annual discount:
10%
Trial:
7 days for companies
You can pick up a strategy or use the residential proxy without committing. The price could drop by up to 35% if you do. By choosing a yearlong contract, you can lower it even further.
Bright Data, like other comparable services, simply considers traffic utilization. A gigabyte costs $15 for the most basic setup. The cost doubles when options like city or ZIP code targeting are enabled.
Bright Data is one of the most expensive choices until enterprise scale, even without premium capabilities. With it, the distinction becomes noticeable enough to call for thoughtful consideration of the service.
Performance:
Bright Data’s residential proxies were last tested in March 2023.
#1: Pool size and makeup
The unfiltered pool was used for 1M requests over 21 days, the country pools for 500,000 requests over 14 days, and the Australian pool for 140,000 connection requests over 7 days. Using the IP2Location database, we enhanced IP data.
Gateway
Unique IPs
Residential %
Random
826,721
98.12%
US
358,246
99.10%
UK
223,456
99.76%
Germany
128,279
98.90%
France
72,460
97.95%
India
257,943
97.97%
Australia
24,677
98.27%
The proxy pool at Bright Data was substantial and well-balanced. Even with exact filtering enabled, it should guarantee sufficient proxies everywhere. Only NetNut has more American IP addresses; however, it employs data datacenter-based proxy servers rather than peer-to-peer ones.
#2: Infrastructure performance
The parameters used in the pool test were also used in this benchmark. Germany was the location of our computer. We chose a large CDN; it pinged the server closest to the proxy IP and returned a response that was several kilobits in size.
The infrastructure of Bright Data performed admirably during the testing period. Except for one location, we had a success rate of over 99%, and our response times ranged from 0.5 to 1.6 seconds on average. Few providers beat such numbers, while many others lagged behind.
However, compared to its main rivals, Oxylabs, SOAX, and Smartproxy, Bright Data’s performance didn’t significantly change in a year.
Gateway
Avg. success rate
Avg. response time
Random
99.17%
1.02 s
US
98.87%
1.12 s
UK
99.27%
0.55 s
Germany
99.32%
0.59 s
France
99.43%
0.60 s
India
99.29%
1.60 s
Australia
99.37%
1.53 s
#3: Performance with popular targets
Using proxies with US-filtered traffic and a non-headless Python scraper, we sent each target over 2,600 connection requests. Germany was the location of our computer. Remember that your results may vary depending on your web scraping arrangement.
Website
Avg. success rate
Avg. response time
Amazon
95.49%
3.95 s
Google
Blocked
Social Media
98.04%
1.98 s
Walmart
96.97%
2.47 s
Total
96.84%
2.80 s
With every tested website, the residential proxies performed well. Unfortunately, the provider restricts this target, making it impossible to use them with Google; as a result, clients are advised to use the SERP API.
7 million mobile IPs are under Bright Data’s control monthly. These are peer-to-peer proxies rather than USB dongle farms taken from the mobile devices of actual users.
Features:
Format:
Proxy pool with 7 million IPs
Locations:
All countries
Rotation:
Every Request, sessions, Customizable with provided software
Threads:
Unlimited
Traffic:
Plan based
SOCKS5:
✅
Authentication:
Credentials, IP whitelist
Other:
Request caching, dedicated IPs
The mobile features are identical to those of Bright Data’s residential offering. You may construct customized sticky sessions, rotate the servers with each request, and filter the IPs down to a very fine degree.
Bright Data has its own special features, including request caching and dedicated addresses, and doesn’t impose a limit on the number of concurrent requests. It also supports SOCKS5.
On the downside, Google is automatically blocked by the service.
The table below will give you a brief overview of the plans and pricing structure of the current Mobile Proxy Plans.
Model:
Subscription, pay-as-you-go
Format:
Traffic
Upsells:
City, ASN, ZIP code filtering
Starting price:
$24 for 1 GB
Annual discount:
10%
Trial:
7 days for companies
Mobile proxies from Bright Data can be used without a subscription or with a one-time payment. When choosing the second choice, the rate is reduced by up to 35% (or 45% if purchasing annually).
Only traffic is charged for by the service provider unless you choose to activate the premium features. These choices, which primarily involve filtering, double in cost. Additionally, in comparison with the base service, dedicated addresses cost more.
Bright Data’s cellular proxies have become quite costly in the premium market following a pricing revision in the summer of 2023 if you are happy with country-level targeting. They remain the most expensive choice in all other cases.
Performance:
Bright Data’s mobile proxies were last tested in March 2023.
#1: Pool size and makeup
Using the unprocessed pool and country pools, we analyzed 280,000 requests over 14 days and 140,000 requests for connection over 7 days using the Australian pool. Using the IP2Location database, we enhanced IP data.
Gateway
Unique IPs
Residential %
Random
92,192
97.67%
US
8,241
94.61%
UK
5,970
98.58%
Germany
4,964
96.41%
France
17,044
94.96%
India
42,429
99.63%
Australia
516
94.19%
The size of Bright Data’s mobile proxy pool surprised us. Although there are 42,000 IP addresses in India, we only came across 8,000 American proxies and less than 1,000 Australian addresses. Even SOAX, which claims to have a twice as small proxy network, produced noticeably more distinct IPs.
#2: Infrastructure functionality
The parameters used in the pool test were also used in this benchmark. Germany was the location of our computer. We chose a large CDN; it pinged the server closest to the proxy IP and returned a response that was several kilobits in size.
Gateway
Avg. success rate
Avg. response time
Random
98.06%
1.81 s
US
54.61%
4.79 s
UK
94.17%
1.34 s
Germany
91.80%
2.05 s
France
98.88%
1.19 s
India
97.95%
2.46 s
Australia
97.33%
2.21 s
The performance of Bright Data’s infrastructure was uneven. On the one hand, it performed admirably in the test in the unfiltered pool. On the other hand, when American IPs were filtered out, mobile proxies utterly failed. The 502 error, which indicated that the provider had no IPs, was the biggest offender. Apart from that, Bright Data’s performance was respectable but not.
#3: Success with well-liked targets
Using non-headless Python scrapers and US-filtered proxies, we sent about 2,600 requests for connection to each target. Germany was the location of our computer. Remember that your results can vary depending on your web scraping arrangement.
Website
Avg. success rate
Avg. response time
Amazon
45.89%
4.88 s
Google
Blocked
Social Media
46.99%
4.53 s
Walmart
33.05%
5.54 s
Total
42.47%
4.98 s
In our target evaluation, the problem with Bright Data’s US proxies (insufficient IPs available) persisted. It’s not good because fifty-and-two-thirds of our requests were unsuccessful. To be fair, we might have evaluated the service when Bright Data was at its worst, and we don’t anticipate this to be its typical performance. We would need to retest the proxies to verify our theory.
Oxylabs, a proxy service situated in Lithuania, has been operating since 2015. More than one hundred million proxies located in more than five hundred and fifty countries make up the service. The premium segment rival of Bright Data. It provides individualized support in addition to all the major proxy kinds and several web scraping APIs.
While the short lifespan of Smartproxy (it has only been operating since 2018) may not bode well, the service’s offerings and capabilities more than makeup for it. Approximately 55 million IP addresses are available each month through their home proxy service, and an additional 10 million IP addresses are supplied from cellular devices.
For those looking to cut costs on rotating proxies, Smartproxy is an excellent option to consider. Despite having less functionality, it is easier to use, offers better rates, and supports several IP types.
With its 2019 launch, SOAX is one of several new proxy service providers. Anyone interested in pricing monitoring, market research, or website scraping can be swayed by the residential backconnect proxies offered by the UK-registered Russian firm.
If you’re looking for accurate locations but can’t justify paying Bright Data’s premium, SOAX might be a solid alternative. Out of the box, it allows targeting by region, city, and ASN.
Testing Bright Data provided strong reasons to believe it when it says it is the world’s #1 web data platform. They are loaded with functions, and Bright Data gives you the resources to use them effectively. There aren’t many providers that can match each other dollar for dollar.
Only when pricing Bright Data is a slight hit-and-miss, depending on your user type. Remember when we said earlier that the premium proxy plans of Bright Data are priced slightly on the higher end.
This might be a pinch for people who are low on budget, but it will be a mighty bullet to the gun of medium and large-sized businesses looking for the best and most stable proxy server connections for their work. The benefits do have a price.
Bright Data’s technical complexity may turn some people off, whereas others may find its compliance requirements intrusive. However, the price will probably be the biggest turnoff if there is one. Even if you need the premium options, Bright Data considers necessary (such as Unlimited bandwidth for the dedicated proxies), finding a more pricey provider is challenging.
Bright Data is perhaps one of your better possibilities if pricing isn’t a concern for you!
FAQ
✅Is Bright Data safe?
Without exception, Bright Data encrypts all data, whether at rest or in transit. The traffic is securely encrypted using a state-of-the-art encryption suite that supports TLS 1.2 or later. As it travels through our infrastructure, user data is encrypted at rest using AES-256 or a higher level of security.
✅Is Bright Data free to use?
Bright Data is not free, but they offer a free trial, and Only registered companies are eligible for Bright Data’s free trial. Everything from Web Unlocker and SERP API to Web Scraper IDE and all proxy networks are available in the free trial. A free trial cannot be used with other networks.
✅How much does BrightData cost?
Bright Data has a monthly price point that begins at $500. Two distinct plans are offered by Bright Data: Starter plan at $500 spent/mo & Advanced plan at $1000 spent/mo.
Bella, a seasoned expert in the realms of online privacy, she likes sharing her knowledge in a wide range of domains ranging from Proxy Server, VPNs & online Advertising. With a strong foundation in computer science and years of hands-on experience.
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