Bright Data vs Decodo (2026): Features, Pricing & Verdict
Bright Data and Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) both sell rotating residential proxies to production scrapers, but they target different budget tiers and onboarding paths. Bright Data bundles the largest documented residential pool with unlocker APIs, compliance certifications, and zone-based billing for enterprise data teams. Decodo rebranded from Smartproxy in April 2025 and kept the mid-market formula: a polished self-serve dashboard, lower per-gigabyte residential rates, and optional scraping APIs without a sales-led KYC gate on every account. For this comparison, we analyzed both providers’ pricing pages and documentation, our existing Bright Data review and Decodo review, and community discussions across Trustpilot, G2, Reddit, and independent proxy roundups.
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Bottom line: Choose Bright Data if you need the widest proxy-type selection, procurement-grade compliance documentation, and a full data-platform stack including Scraping Browser and Dataset Marketplace. Choose Decodo if you want mid-market residential pricing, faster self-serve onboarding, and a dashboard many reviewers rank among the easiest in the category. Neither is the right default for hobbyists who only need cheap datacenter IPs on lightweight targets.
Choose Bright Data if: your team runs multi-proxy-type jobs at scale, needs mobile-carrier or ZIP-level geo-targeting, or requires ISO/SOC compliance paperwork for vendor review
Choose Decodo if: your residential usage sits in the 3 to 100 GB/month range, you want a 3-day residential trial with 100 MB before committing, or you prefer a single backconnect gateway over Bright Data’s zone-based configuration
Bright Data vs Decodo at a Glance
| Dimension | Bright Data | Decodo |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Enterprise data platforms at scale | Mid-market scraping and growth teams |
| Proxy types | Residential, datacenter, ISP, mobile | Residential, datacenter, ISP, mobile, Site Unblocker |
| Locations | 195 countries (residential); 98 (datacenter) | 195+ countries; country, state, city, ZIP, ASN |
| Pool size | 400M+ residential (monthly) | 115M+ residential (125M+ total IPs claimed) |
| Starting price | $8/GB residential PAYG; $0.42/GB datacenter PAYG | $3.75/GB residential (3 GB plan); $0.60/GB datacenter |
| Billing model | Per-GB (residential/mobile) or per-IP/month (datacenter unlimited, ISP) | Per-GB monthly tiers; wallet PAYG at $8.50/GB (mutually exclusive with subscriptions) |
| Free trial / refund | Free trial on all proxy types; no credit card at signup | 3-day residential trial (100 MB); 14-day money-back on eligible first purchases (not with trial) |
| Comparison date | July 2026 | |
Both vendors sell ethically sourced residential IPs with geo-targeting, but Bright Data prices and packages for enterprise volume while Decodo undercuts on entry residential tiers. View Bright Data plans · View Decodo plans
Feature Comparison: Bright Data vs Decodo
Features verified on both providers’ product pages and documentation as of October 2026. The gap is less about whether either can rotate residential IPs and more about platform depth, compliance posture, and how much dashboard complexity your team will tolerate.
| Feature | Bright Data | Decodo |
|---|---|---|
| Rotation | Per-request or timed rotation per zone | Per-request or sticky sessions up to 30 minutes (dashboard supports longer) |
| Sticky sessions | Configurable duration per zone; ISP static by design | Sticky up to 30 minutes default; up to 24 hours in dashboard/docs |
| Protocols | HTTP/S, SOCKS5 | HTTP(S), SOCKS5 |
| Authentication | Username/password per zone, sub-users, IP whitelist via Proxy Manager | Username/password or IP whitelist; sub-users with traffic limits |
| Geo-targeting | Country, state, city, ZIP, ASN, mobile carrier | Country, state, city, US ZIP, ASN |
| API / dashboard | Zone management API, Proxy Manager desktop app, usage analytics | Dashboard endpoint generator, public API, usage stats with CSV export |
| Anti-bot / unlocker | Web Unlocker, Scraping Browser, SERP API, Datasets | Site Unblocker, Web Scraping API, Fast Search API, AI Parser |
| Support | 24/7 live chat, email, ticket; 99.99% SLA on enterprise | 24/7 live chat and email; no published enterprise SLA on self-serve tiers |
Pricing Comparison
Pricing verified October 2026. Check Bright Data’s pricing page and Decodo’s pricing page for current rates. Both bill residential proxies per gigabyte, but Decodo’s self-serve entry tiers start well below Bright Data’s $8/GB pay-as-you-go rate. The table compares residential tiers because that is what most buyers evaluating this comparison actually need.
| Plan / tier | Bright Data | Decodo |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level residential | $8/GB pay-as-you-go (no commitment) | $3.75/GB ($11.25/month, 3 GB) |
| Mid-tier residential | $6/GB ($999/month, 332 GB) | $3.25/GB ($81.25/month, 25 GB) |
| High-volume residential | $5/GB ($1,999/month, 798 GB) | $2.75/GB ($275/month, 100 GB) |
| Datacenter entry | $0.42/GB pay-as-you-go | $0.60/GB ($6/month, 10 GB) |
| Hidden costs | Bandwidth includes full request/response payload; monthly balances don’t roll over; KYC required for full residential access | Monthly traffic doesn’t roll over; trial auto-converts unless cancelled; wallet PAYG and subscriptions are mutually exclusive; VAT via Paddle |
At every self-serve residential tier we could verify in July 2026, Decodo undercuts Bright Data on per-gigabyte cost. A team using 25 GB/month pays roughly $81 on Decodo’s popular tier versus $200 at Bright Data’s $8/GB PAYG rate. Bright Data closes the gap only at very high committed volumes ($5/GB at 798 GB/month) where enterprise sales conversations also enter the picture. Bright Data datacenter pay-as-you-go is $0.42/GB; Decodo’s datacenter entry is $0.60/GB on the 10 GB plan. Calculate your actual monthly gigabyte estimate before choosing, and remember Bright Data’s bandwidth metering counts headers and response bodies, which can inflate usage on image-heavy pages.
What Users Say: Bright Data vs Decodo
Bright Data holds a 4.4/5 TrustScore on Trustpilot across roughly 970 reviews and a 4.6 to 4.7/5 rating on G2 across 240+ reviews (checked July 2026). Decodo scores 4.2/5 on Trustpilot across roughly 1,900 reviews and 4.6/5 on G2 across 630+ reviews. G2 sentiment is strong for both; Trustpilot shows more billing and KYC friction on Bright Data and more identity-verification disputes on Decodo.
| Reputation | Bright Data | Decodo |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot | 4.4/5 (~970 reviews) | 4.2/5 (~1,900 reviews) |
| G2 | 4.6 to 4.7/5 (240+ reviews) | 4.6/5 (630+ reviews) |
| Top praise themes | Pool scale, geo-targeting depth, unlocker tooling | Dashboard usability, support responsiveness, value per GB |
| Top complaint themes | Premium PAYG pricing, KYC gates, billing complexity | Identity verification delays, refund eligibility disputes, trial auto-renewal |
Community comparisons on Reddit’s r/webscraping and Proxyway-style roundups frequently position Smartproxy (now Decodo) as the mid-market alternative to Bright Data and Oxylabs: easier onboarding and lower residential pricing, with less compliance documentation and a smaller advertised pool. We did not find a consistent independent consensus that Bright Data delivers materially better success rates than Decodo on identical targets. Published benchmarks vary by methodology. Treat success-rate marketing figures as directional and test your own URL list on each provider’s trial.
What Is Bright Data?
Bright Data was founded in 2014 as Luminati Networks and rebranded in 2018. Headquartered in Israel, it positions itself as a full web data platform serving 20,000+ organizations. Beyond raw proxy networks, Bright Data bundles a Web Unlocker, Scraping Browser, SERP API, pre-built datasets, and a desktop Proxy Manager for routing rules and bandwidth optimisation.
That breadth makes Bright Data the default shortlist entry for teams that want one vendor for proxies, anti-bot tooling, and structured data products. The trade-off is dashboard complexity and a KYC compliance gate for full residential and mobile access. For a deeper dive into pricing tiers, hidden costs, and feature clusters, see our Bright Data review.
What Is Decodo?
Decodo launched in 2018 as Smartproxy and rebranded in April 2025 to reflect a wider product scope. The company is operated by UAB Data troops in Vilnius, Lithuania, and serves more than 135,000 clients according to its site. Smartproxy.com endpoints and accounts continue to work; Decodo.com is now the canonical domain. The provider warns that smartproxy.org and smartproxy.cn are impersonators not affiliated with the real service.
Where Bright Data leads with compliance portals and zone-based enterprise billing, Decodo targets developers and growth teams who want self-serve residential access, optional Site Unblocker and Web Scraping API add-ons, and per-gigabyte pricing that stays competitive from roughly 3 GB through 100 GB per month. Decodo is a founding member of the Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative (EWDCI) and cites Proxyway testing for published success-rate figures. If you are still deciding which proxy category fits your project, our residential vs datacenter comparison walks through when each IP type earns its cost.
What Bright Data and Decodo Have in Common
- Four core proxy types: Both offer residential, datacenter, ISP/static residential, and mobile proxy networks
- 195-country residential coverage: Free geo-targeting at country, state, city, and ASN level on both platforms
- Managed unblocking products: Bright Data’s Web Unlocker and Decodo’s Site Unblocker both handle CAPTCHA-heavy targets without building custom retry logic
- HTTP/S and SOCKS5 support: Standard protocol coverage for Scrapy, Puppeteer, Playwright, and Selenium workflows
- Sub-user management: Both dashboards let you allocate traffic limits per project or teammate
- 24/7 support: Live chat and email on both platforms; dedicated account management on Bright Data enterprise tiers
- Ethical sourcing claims: Both document consent-based residential IP programs and publish compliance-oriented marketing
Key Differences
Pricing and billing
Decodo wins on residential entry price by a wide margin: $3.75/GB on an $11.25/month 3 GB plan versus Bright Data’s $8/GB pay-as-you-go with no commitment. At 100 GB/month, Decodo’s $2.75/GB tier ($275/month) still undercuts Bright Data’s highest published self-service tier ($5/GB at $1,999/month for 798 GB). Bright Data offers more flexibility for buyers who want to purchase a single gigabyte without a monthly plan, but at roughly double Decodo’s entry per-GB rate. Both providers count bandwidth aggressively: Bright Data includes full request and response payload; Decodo’s monthly tiers do not roll over unused traffic. Bright Data adds KYC friction that can delay residential access; Decodo’s self-serve path is faster for most mid-market accounts, though some buyers report identity verification holds on Trustpilot.
IP pool and geo coverage
Bright Data advertises a larger residential pool (400M+ monthly IPs vs Decodo’s 115M+ on current pricing pages) and documents mobile-carrier-level targeting that Decodo does not match at the same granularity. For most scraping workloads the practical difference is smaller than the headline numbers suggest. Both pools are large enough for production rotation on retail, travel, and marketplace targets. If you need ZIP-code targeting, both document it on residential product pages. Bright Data’s advantage shows on mobile-carrier filters and the sheer scale procurement teams cite when justifying a single-vendor contract.
Ease of use and onboarding
Decodo is generally faster to integrate: one backconnect gateway at gate.decodo.com:7000, a dashboard endpoint generator, and a 3-day residential trial with 100 MB for new users. Bright Data uses a zone-based model with separate credentials, ports, optional Proxy Manager installation, and KYC review for full residential access. G2 awarded Decodo Best Usability and Best User Adoption in 2025; Bright Data’s G2 praise focuses on infrastructure reliability at scale rather than first-hour simplicity. Community comparisons frequently cite Bright Data’s steeper learning curve and Decodo’s cleaner onboarding path for teams migrating from budget providers.
Unique features
Bright Data exclusives: Scraping Browser (headless browser with built-in unblocking), Proxy Manager desktop app, Dataset Marketplace, mobile-carrier targeting, and newer AI-agent tooling. ISO 27001, SOC 2/3, and CSA STAR certifications appear on Bright Data’s compliance pages for procurement review.
Decodo exclusives: Fast Search API for structured SERP data, AI Parser, MCP server for LLM workflows, official n8n node, and browser extensions bundled with residential subscriptions. Decodo’s wallet PAYG path suits one-off projects, though it cannot run alongside a monthly subscription.
Support and reliability
Both advertise 24/7 support. Bright Data cites a 99.99% network uptime SLA on enterprise plans and an under-10-minute average response time. Decodo cites 99.99% uptime and sub-second average residential response times based on Proxyway-verified benchmarks. G2 ratings are comparable (4.6 to 4.7 for Bright Data, 4.6 for Decodo). Trustpilot tells a more mixed story on both platforms, with billing and verification complaints concentrated in one-star reviews rather than uptime disputes.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Bright Data if…
- You need mobile proxies, ISP proxies, and residential routes in one billing account with carrier-level targeting
- Procurement requires ISO/SOC compliance documentation and the largest published residential pool
- Your workflow benefits from Scraping Browser, Dataset Marketplace, or Proxy Manager routing rules
- You run multi-proxy-type jobs at hundreds of gigabytes monthly and can absorb $8/GB PAYG or committed enterprise tiers
Choose Decodo if…
- Your residential usage sits between roughly 3 and 100 GB/month and you want the lowest verified self-serve per-GB rates
- You prefer a single backconnect endpoint and dashboard generator over zone-based configuration
- You want a 3-day residential trial before committing to a monthly tier
- Your team values G2-recognized dashboard usability and mid-market support without enterprise sales cycles
Consider a different provider if…
Your budget is under $10/month, your targets accept datacenter IPs without blocks, or you need static per-IP pricing rather than per-gigabyte residential metering. Both Bright Data and Decodo are overkill for hobbyist scrapers hitting lightweight sites. See our Proxy-Seller review for per-IP catalog pricing, or our residential vs datacenter comparison if you are still deciding between IP types.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bright Data better than Decodo for web scraping?
Neither is universally better. Bright Data fits enterprise teams that need the largest pool, compliance documentation, Scraping Browser, and multi-proxy-type billing under one vendor. Decodo fits mid-market teams that want lower residential per-GB pricing, faster self-serve onboarding, and a dashboard many reviewers rank as easier to learn. Both handle production scraping when configured correctly; test your actual targets on each trial.
Which is cheaper, Bright Data or Decodo?
Decodo is cheaper at every self-serve residential tier we verified in October 2026: $3.75/GB entry versus Bright Data’s $8/GB pay-as-you-go. Bright Data datacenter pay-as-you-go is $0.42/GB; Decodo datacenter entry is $0.60/GB on the 10 GB plan. Bright Data’s advantage appears only at very high committed volumes and enterprise sales tiers. See Bright Data pricing and Decodo pricing for current rates.
Is Decodo the same as Smartproxy?
Yes. Decodo is the April 2025 rebrand of Smartproxy. Existing Smartproxy accounts and endpoints continue to work. Search for “Smartproxy vs Bright Data” and “Decodo vs Bright Data” describe the same mid-market provider under its current brand name. Use only decodo.com and decodo.cn; smartproxy.org and smartproxy.cn are reported impersonators.
Does Bright Data or Decodo have better IP quality?
Both source residential IPs through documented ethical programs and operate pools large enough for production rotation. Bright Data’s larger advertised pool and mobile-carrier targeting may help on specific hardened targets. Decodo cites Proxyway-verified success rates and IPQualityScore fraud metrics favorably. Community sentiment does not show a consistent independent winner. IP quality is target-specific: run both trials against your URL list.
Can I try Bright Data and Decodo before committing?
Yes, with different paths. Bright Data offers a free trial on all proxy types with no credit card required at signup. Decodo offers a 3-day residential trial with 100 MB for new users; the trial auto-converts to your selected paid plan unless you cancel in billing before it ends. Decodo’s 14-day money-back guarantee does not apply if you used the 3-day trial.
Does either provider offer a Web Unlocker or scraping API?
Both do. Bright Data’s Web Unlocker handles CAPTCHAs and retries automatically; its Scraping Browser adds headless-browser unblocking, and SERP API returns structured search data. Decodo offers Site Unblocker, Web Scraping API (from $0.09/1K requests on the homepage), Fast Search API, and AI Parser. Choose based on whether you need Bright Data’s broader enterprise product mix or Decodo’s mid-market pricing on add-on APIs.
Final Verdict: Bright Data vs Decodo
Bright Data and Decodo serve different tiers of the same market. Bright Data is the stronger pick for enterprise data teams that need the largest documented residential pool, procurement-grade compliance paperwork, Scraping Browser and Dataset products, and multi-proxy-type billing at scale. Decodo is the stronger pick for mid-market teams that want materially lower residential per-GB pricing, a dashboard recognized for usability, and self-serve onboarding without Bright Data’s zone complexity or KYC gate on every account. Run both trials against your actual target list before committing to a monthly tier. If neither fits your budget, our Proxy-Seller review covers strong per-IP alternatives for static workflows.
