Bright Data and Decodo are two major proxy providers with comparable infrastructure and feature sets, putting them on relatively equal footing. Decodo earned our Editors’ Choice award for small and medium-sized businesses, while Bright Data—though not an Editors’ Choice winner—stands out with a massive pool of 150 million residential proxies, making it a strong option for enterprise users. Both services hold a four-star rating and a spot on our list of the best proxies, but only one comes out ahead in this comparison. Below, I break down their key differences, evaluating infrastructure, trust, privacy, and overall value.
Price: Decodo Delivers Better Value at Every Tier
Bright Data has plans more suited toward businesses rather than individuals. You can’t pay anonymously with cryptocurrency, either. Dedicated IPs start at $22 per month for 10 proxies and go up to $1,300 per month for 1,000 proxies. Shared IPs can be had for less with a $14-per-month plan for 10 proxies as the baseline, and $900 per month for 1,000 proxies as the maximum tier. ISP proxies start at $18 per month for 10 shared IPs and $35 for 10 dedicated IPs. There’s also a pay-as-you-go plan for $15 per GB. Bright Data also offers mobile proxies at $8.40 per GB, or you can pay for data in bulk if you plan to use a lot of bandwidth. Residential proxies also start at $8.40 per GB, with that same bulk purchase data deal available.
Decodo accepts cryptocurrency and offers a bit more flexibility with smaller baseline plans for individuals. Datacenter proxies start at $5.55 per month for 3 IPs and range up to $2,300 per month for 2,000 IPs. Static residential proxies start at $9.99 per month for 3 IPs and go up to $4,000 per month for 2,000 IPs. Decodo offers mobile proxies that start at $15 per month for 2GB of data and cap out at $550 per month for 100GB. Residential proxies have a lower asking price than Bright Data’s at $3.50 per gigabyte. Monthly plans range from $6 for 2GB to $225 for 100GB.
There are always a lot of options when it comes to configuring a proxy, which makes it difficult to come to a definitive price comparison. Generally, I find that Decodo offers a better value proposition while also accepting a wider range of payment methods. However, Bright Data still has plenty of competitive proxy types depending on your use case and how many you plan to buy.
Winner: Decodo
App Design: Decodo’s Dashboard Feels More Modern and Intuitive
While some elements of proxy dashboard layouts are subjective, I do my best to keep the evaluations in this section as objective as possible.
Bright Data features a white-and-blue-themed dashboard with simple left-hand navigation tabs and proxy stats in the center. It’s the kind of dashboard that gets the job done without any extra frills or bold design choices. There aren’t any glaring omissions or poorly designed features, but it doesn’t stand out much from the competition.
(Credit: Bright Data/PCMag)
Decodo’s dashboard feels more professional with a black, gray, and purple design. Buttons are a bit larger. There are more interactive elements and boxes. Proxies are broken into small subsections on the main dashboard, making it easy to flip between without getting lost.
(Credit: Decodo/PCMag)
Both proxies have serviceable dashboards, but Decodo put a bit more effort into it. It has a more professional feel and was easier to navigate overall.
Winner: Decodo
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Proxy Pool: Bright Data Leads With Sheer Scale
Most proxy sites don’t publish exact figures because the size of each company’s proxy pool fluctuates constantly. However, both Decodo and Bright Data provide general figures that give a rough idea of what to expect.
Bright Data:
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Datacenter proxies: More than 770,000 IP addresses
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Residential proxies: More than 150 million IPs in 195 locations
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Mobile proxies: More than 7 million mobile IPs in 160 locations
Decodo:
Recommended by Our Editors
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Datacenter proxies: More than 500,000 dedicated and shared proxies (400,000 of those being based in the United States)
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Residential proxies: More than 115 million IPs available in 195 locations
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Mobile proxies: More than 10 million mobile IPs in 160 locations
It’s a close call, but Bright Data edges out the competition in both datacenter and residential proxy coverage. Decodo is still an excellent choice, especially for mobile proxies, but Bright Data comes out ahead in this category.
Winner: Bright Data
Privacy and User Data: Decodo Has an Edge on Data Practices
Bright Data complies with the European Union’s GDPR and California’s CCPA policies. However, that only means the company stores data in compliance with regulations, not that it doesn’t collect user data at all. In fact, Bright Data collects quite a bit of data, including publicly available data that you or your business may not have ever given the company access to. Bright Data appears to scrape the web for data such as your full name, email address, address, website interactions, job history, geolocation, and more. The company is very transparent about what it collects, but that doesn’t change the fact that Bright Data hoards a significant amount of user data.
Decodo does collect some user data, which is fairly standard for proxies. The company claims it doesn’t monitor user traffic requests, but also states that it will detect and block users for illegal or morally questionable activities. Identifying information, such as payment details and email correspondence, is kept. How long Decodo keeps data varies depending on the type of data and the company’s use for it. Decodo defines this as “only for a duration that’s reasonably necessary for pre-defined purposes,” which means it could be indefinite. For residential proxies, Decodo claims to source every proxy ethically, with informed consent.
Winner: Decodo
And The Winner Is…
Bright Data and Decodo have similar feature sets and infrastructure, but Decodo pulls ahead in almost every key area. It offers more competitive pricing, an easier-to-use app, and a stronger privacy policy. It’s slightly behind Bright Data in terms of datacenter and residential proxies, but its impressive mobile proxy network almost levels the playing field. Overall, it’s a close matchup between these four-star proxy services, but Decodo gets the win for its better value proposition and more user-friendly data policies.
