Decodo vs IPRoyal (2026): Features, Pricing & Verdict
Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) and IPRoyal both target buyers who want residential proxies without enterprise onboarding, yet they package access very differently. Decodo sells 115M+ rotating residential IPs on monthly per-gigabyte tiers with a polished dashboard, scraping APIs, and a 3-day trial. IPRoyal sells 64M+ residential IPs with traffic that never expires, aggressive pay-as-you-go pricing, and cheap static datacenter IPs from $1.39 for 90 days. If you are comparing them, you are usually deciding between subscription-style residential scale and flexible, non-expiring gigabytes. Pricing verified July 2026. For this comparison, we analyzed both providers’ pricing pages and documentation, our existing Decodo review and IPRoyal review, and community discussions across Trustpilot, G2, Reddit, Proxyway-style roundups, and independent proxy testing writeups.
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Bottom line: Choose Decodo if you want the larger documented residential pool, monthly subscription tiers with scraping APIs, and a dashboard G2 recognized for usability. Choose IPRoyal if non-expiring residential traffic, pay-as-you-go flexibility, or cheap static datacenter and ISP IPs matter more than pool depth. Neither replaces Bright Data or Oxylabs for hardened anti-bot targets at enterprise scale, but both undercut those vendors on entry residential pricing.
Choose Decodo if: you need 115M+ residential rotation with city, ZIP, and ASN targeting, you want Site Unblocker or Web Scraping API under one vendor, or you prefer a 3-day residential trial before subscribing to monthly tiers with G2-recognized dashboard usability
Choose IPRoyal if: you consume residential data unevenly over months and want gigabytes that do not reset at month end, you need budget static datacenter or ISP IPs alongside residential, or you want pay-as-you-go checkout without monthly subscription commitment
Decodo vs IPRoyal at a Glance
| Dimension | Decodo | IPRoyal |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Mid-market residential scraping with APIs | Budget PAYG residential and static datacenter |
| Proxy types | Residential, ISP, mobile, datacenter, Site Unblocker | Residential, datacenter, ISP, mobile, Web Unblocker |
| Locations | 195+ countries; country, state, city, ZIP, ASN | 195+ residential; 60+ datacenter; 31+ ISP |
| Pool size | 115M+ residential (125M+ total IPs claimed) | 64M+ residential; 4.5M+ mobile (provider claims) |
| Starting price | $3.75/GB residential ($11.25/mo, 3 GB) | $7/GB residential PAYG; $1.39/datacenter IP (90 days) |
| Billing model | Monthly per-GB tiers; wallet PAYG at $8.50/GB | Non-expiring residential; per-IP datacenter/ISP |
| Free trial / refund | 3-day residential trial (100 MB); 14-day money-back on eligible first purchases | Optional 3-day residential trial (100 MB); strict 24–72 hour refunds by product |
| Comparison date | July 2026 | |
Decodo optimizes for larger residential pools and subscription scraping workflows; IPRoyal optimizes for flexible spend and non-expiring traffic. View Decodo plans · View IPRoyal plans
Feature Comparison: Decodo vs IPRoyal
Features verified on both providers’ product pages and documentation as of July 2026. Both sell self-serve residential access below enterprise rates, but Decodo leans into managed scraping APIs while IPRoyal leans into catalog breadth and traffic longevity.
| Feature | Decodo | IPRoyal |
|---|---|---|
| Rotation | Per-request or sticky sessions up to 30 minutes (longer in dashboard) | Per-request, timed, or sticky up to 7 days (residential) |
| Sticky sessions | Up to 30 minutes default; up to 24 hours in dashboard/docs | Up to 7 days on residential; static on datacenter/ISP |
| Protocols | HTTP(S), SOCKS5 | HTTP(S), SOCKS5 |
| Authentication | Username/password or IP whitelist; sub-users with traffic limits | Username/password or IP whitelist; sub-users with roles |
| Geo-targeting | Country, state, city, US ZIP, ASN on residential | Country, state, city on residential/datacenter |
| API / dashboard | Dashboard endpoint generator, public API, usage stats export | Self-serve multi-product dashboard, REST APIs, team workspaces |
| Anti-bot / unlocker | Site Unblocker, Web Scraping API, Fast Search API | Web Unblocker (per-request billing) |
| Support | 24/7 live chat and email | 24/7 live chat and email |
Pricing Comparison
Pricing verified July 2026. Check Decodo’s pricing page and IPRoyal’s pricing page for current rates. Both bill residential per gigabyte, but Decodo uses monthly tiers with unused traffic expiring while IPRoyal sells non-expiring residential packs.
| Plan / tier | Decodo | IPRoyal |
|---|---|---|
| Entry residential | $3.75/GB ($11.25/month, 3 GB) | $7/GB PAYG (1 GB minimum) |
| Mid-volume residential | $3.25/GB ($81.25/month, 25 GB) | $4.90/GB at 50 GB subscription tier |
| High-volume residential | $2.75/GB ($275/month, 100 GB) | $1.75/GB at bulk tiers (provider pricing page) |
| Datacenter | $0.60/GB shared datacenter traffic | $1.39/IP for 90 days with pooled bandwidth |
| Hidden costs | Monthly traffic doesn’t roll over; trial auto-converts; VAT via Paddle | Strict refunds; Web Unblocker extra; KYC friction on some products |
Decodo’s entry residential tier ($3.75/GB) undercuts IPRoyal’s $7/GB PAYG on list price, but the comparison shifts with usage patterns. Decodo monthly plans expire unused gigabytes at billing cycle end, which punishes intermittent scrapers. IPRoyal non-expiring traffic rewards buyers who purchase bulk and consume slowly. At 50+ GB committed upfront, IPRoyal bulk tiers approach or beat Decodo per-GB rates depending on the tier you select. For static datacenter workloads, IPRoyal’s $1.39/IP for 90 days often wins over Decodo’s per-GB datacenter metering when you need predictable long-lived IPs. Web Unblocker pricing also differs: IPRoyal advertises from $1.00/1K requests versus Decodo Site Unblocker from $0.95/1K requests on current product pages, so compare managed unblocking cost if CAPTCHA-heavy targets dominate your pipeline. Run Decodo’s 3-day trial alongside a 1 GB IPRoyal pack before you commit to either billing model.
IPRoyal partly sources residential IPs through its Pawns.app partner network, which creates a different sourcing story than Decodo’s EWDCI membership and Proxyway-tested pool claims. Neither replaces enterprise ethical-review depth, but Decodo’s larger published pool and higher Trustpilot average suggest fewer residential quality disputes for production scraping buyers evaluating risk.
What Users Say: Decodo vs IPRoyal
Decodo holds 4.2/5 on Trustpilot across roughly 1,900 reviews and 4.6/5 on G2 across 630+ reviews (checked July 2026). IPRoyal holds 3.6/5 on Trustpilot across about 2,640 reviews and 4.6/5 on G2 across 145 reviews. Decodo’s Trustpilot score is higher despite a smaller absolute sample on G2. IPRoyal’s large Trustpilot footprint includes more residential quality and refund complaints, while G2 skews toward business users praising value.
| Reputation | Decodo | IPRoyal |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot | 4.2/5 (~1,900 reviews) | 3.6/5 (~2,640 reviews) |
| G2 | 4.6/5 (630+ reviews) | 4.6/5 (145 reviews) |
| Top praise themes | Dashboard usability, residential reliability, support speed | Non-expiring traffic, datacenter value, multi-product catalog |
| Top complaint themes | Identity verification delays, trial auto-renewal, refund eligibility | Residential quality variance on hardened sites, strict refunds |
Community threads comparing Smartproxy (now Decodo) with IPRoyal appear sporadically on Reddit and proxy forums. Recurring themes: Decodo wins on pool size and dashboard polish; IPRoyal wins on non-expiring traffic and datacenter pricing. Independent testers like Proxyway historically ranked Decodo (as Smartproxy) ahead of IPRoyal on residential success rates, though both trail Bright Data and Oxylabs on hardened targets. Treat performance claims as approximate and re-test on your own target URLs before committing volume or bulk residential packs.
What Is Decodo?
Decodo launched in 2018 as Smartproxy and rebranded in April 2025. Operated by UAB Data troops in Vilnius, it serves 135,000+ clients with 115M+ residential IPs across 195+ locations. The platform added Site Unblocker, Web Scraping API, Fast Search API, AI Parser, and an MCP server while keeping Smartproxy’s backconnect residential model under the new brand.
Decodo targets developers and growth teams who need rotating residential access with geo-targeting depth for general web scraping, ad verification, and price monitoring. It sits between budget PAYG vendors and enterprise platforms like Bright Data and Oxylabs. If you are still deciding which IP class fits your targets, our residential vs datacenter comparison walks through when residential legitimacy matters.
What Is IPRoyal?
IPRoyal launched in 2020 and is incorporated as IPRoyal Services FZE LLC in Ajman, UAE, with operations centered in Vilnius. The company sells residential, datacenter, ISP, mobile, and Web Unblocker products from a single self-serve dashboard, claiming 10,000+ clients on its homepage.
IPRoyal’s commercial differentiator is non-expiring residential traffic: buy gigabytes once and spend them over months without monthly reset. Residential and mobile IPs are partly sourced through the Pawns.app partner network with customer KYC described on its site. IPRoyal competes with Decodo and Proxy-Seller in budget roundups but trails premium networks on independent success-rate benchmarks for hardened anti-bot targets. Decodo’s longer Smartproxy track record (2018 launch, April 2025 rebrand) and larger Trustpilot sample give mid-market buyers more third-party signal when residential quality is the deciding factor.
What Decodo and IPRoyal Have in Common
- Mid-market residential positioning: Both undercut enterprise per-GB rates from Bright Data and Oxylabs on entry tiers
- Self-serve dashboards: Instant or near-instant credential provisioning without sales calls
- Multi-product catalogs: Residential plus datacenter, mobile, and unlocker-style add-ons
- HTTP(S) and SOCKS5: Standard proxy protocols for scrapers, browsers, and automation tools
- Geo-targeted egress: Country-level routing at minimum; both support finer targeting on residential lines
- 24/7 support channels: Live chat and email on both providers’ public pages
- Optional residential trials: Both offer 3-day residential trials with 100 MB for new users (credit card may be required)
Key Differences
Pricing and billing
Decodo bills residential on monthly tiers from $3.75/GB entry through $2.75/GB at 100 GB, with unused traffic expiring each cycle. IPRoyal sells non-expiring residential packs from $7/GB PAYG down toward $1.75/GB at bulk tiers. Decodo wins on entry per-GB rate for steady monthly consumers. IPRoyal wins for intermittent buyers who hate losing unused gigabytes. IPRoyal’s $1.39/datacenter IP for 90 days is a separate value path Decodo does not match on static per-IP economics.
IP pool and geo coverage
Decodo publishes 115M+ residential IPs with state, city, US ZIP, and ASN targeting. IPRoyal advertises 64M+ residential IPs with country, state, and city targeting. Decodo’s pool is roughly 3.5x larger on published counts, which matters on high-concurrency scrapes where IP diversity reduces block rates. IPRoyal compensates with 4.5M+ mobile IPs and 500K+ ISP addresses in its catalog. For maximum residential rotation depth, Decodo has the documented edge. For mobile carrier routes or long-lived static ISP IPs, IPRoyal’s catalog breadth wins.
Ease of use and onboarding
Decodo’s dashboard earned G2 Best Usability awards and generates ready-to-copy endpoints from location and session selections. IPRoyal’s dashboard covers five product lines with team workspaces and granular sub-user roles but feels more utilitarian. Decodo’s trial auto-converts to a paid plan if not cancelled, which catches some buyers off guard per Trustpilot threads. IPRoyal requires KYC on some products before full access, adding friction Decodo’s self-serve flow sometimes avoids. Both support standard HTTP client integration; neither requires proprietary SDKs for basic proxy routing.
Unique features
Decodo exclusives: 115M+ residential pool, Fast Search API, Web Scraping API, AI Parser, MCP server for LLM workflows, EWDCI founding membership, Smartproxy heritage with 630+ G2 reviews.
IPRoyal exclusives: Non-expiring residential traffic, 90-day datacenter IPs at $1.39/IP, Pawns.app-sourced network, cryptocurrency payment options, team workspace controls with permission scopes.
Support and reliability
Both advertise 24/7 live chat. Decodo’s Trustpilot score (4.2/5) exceeds IPRoyal’s (3.6/5) on residential buyer sentiment, though IPRoyal actively replies to negative Trustpilot reviews within about two days. Decodo cites Proxyway-verified benchmarks on pricing pages; IPRoyal cites 99.4% residential success rates that independent testers treat as best-case figures. Neither publishes enterprise SLA documentation comparable to Oxylabs on self-serve tiers. For buyers who weight public review volume heavily, Decodo’s ~1,900 Trustpilot reviews provide more signal than IPRoyal’s mixed 3.6/5 average despite the larger sample size.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Decodo if…
- You scrape at steady monthly volume and can consume your allocated gigabytes before they expire
- 115M+ residential pool depth and ZIP/ASN targeting reduce block rates on your targets
- You want Site Unblocker, Web Scraping API, or Fast Search API alongside raw proxies
- Dashboard usability and a larger G2 review sample matter for team onboarding
- You prefer Decodo’s 4.2/5 Trustpilot average over IPRoyal’s 3.6/5 when residential quality disputes are a concern on production targets
Choose IPRoyal if…
- You buy residential traffic in bursts and need gigabytes that survive across months
- Budget static datacenter or ISP IPs ($1.39/IP for 90 days) cover part of your workload
- Mobile dedicated or rotating lines are required alongside residential
- You prefer PAYG checkout without monthly subscription commitment
Consider a different provider if…
You need enterprise compliance documentation, unlocker APIs at petabyte scale, or the highest published success rates on hardened retail and travel sites. Our Bright Data review and Oxylabs review cover that tier. For flat monthly datacenter rotation as a stack layer, see our ProxyMesh review. For SEO-specific hostname routing, budget providers like Decodo and IPRoyal are general-purpose tools, not rank-tracker infrastructure specialists.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Decodo the same as Smartproxy?
Yes. Decodo rebranded from Smartproxy in April 2025. Endpoints, accounts, and pricing philosophy continue under the new brand at decodo.com. Buyers comparing “Smartproxy vs IPRoyal” are evaluating Decodo under its legacy name.
Which is cheaper for residential proxies?
Decodo’s entry tier ($3.75/GB on a 3 GB monthly plan) beats IPRoyal’s $7/GB PAYG on list price. IPRoyal bulk tiers drop toward $1.75/GB at high prepaid volume with non-expiring traffic. Match cost to your consumption pattern: steady monthly scrapers often save on Decodo subscriptions; intermittent buyers often save on IPRoyal prepaid packs.
Does IPRoyal traffic expire like Decodo monthly plans?
No. IPRoyal residential traffic does not expire after purchase under current pricing pages. Decodo monthly subscription traffic resets each billing cycle and unused gigabytes do not roll over. This is IPRoyal’s strongest commercial differentiator for buyers with uneven scrape schedules.
Which has the larger residential pool?
Decodo publishes 115M+ residential IPs versus IPRoyal’s 64M+ residential claim. Larger pools generally improve IP diversity on high-concurrency jobs, though real-world success rates depend on target site anti-bot policies, not pool counts alone.
Can I try both before committing?
Both offer optional 3-day residential trials with 100 MB for new users. Decodo’s trial may auto-convert to a paid plan if not cancelled before the window ends. Read trial terms on each checkout page before entering payment details.
Which is better for hardened anti-bot targets?
Neither matches Bright Data or Oxylabs on independent benchmarks for heavily protected sites. Decodo’s larger pool and Site Unblocker give it a slight edge over IPRoyal for block-heavy general scraping within the budget tier. IPRoyal’s Web Unblocker bills from $1.00/1K requests and can help on CAPTCHA-heavy pages, but Trustpilot threads report more residential quality variance than Decodo at similar price points. For maximum success rates, evaluate enterprise vendors or run trials on your specific target URLs before scaling spend on either platform.
Final Verdict: Decodo vs IPRoyal
Decodo and IPRoyal compete for the same mid-market buyer but optimize for different consumption patterns. Decodo is the stronger pick for teams with steady monthly residential volume who want the larger documented pool, scraping APIs, and a dashboard with broad G2 recognition. IPRoyal is the stronger pick for buyers who need non-expiring gigabytes, cheap static datacenter IPs, mobile add-ons, and pay-as-you-go flexibility without subscription lock-in. Do not expect either to replace enterprise residential platforms on the hardest anti-bot targets. Run each provider’s 3-day trial on your actual URLs, compare effective per-GB cost against your real consumption cadence, and pick Decodo for subscription scale or IPRoyal for traffic longevity. Searchers comparing “Smartproxy vs IPRoyal” are evaluating the same Decodo residential stack under its legacy Smartproxy brand. Read trial auto-renewal terms on both checkout pages before entering payment details.
