Proxies provide a range of benefits for activities like web scraping, sneaker copping and automation. With so many proxy services out there, choosing the right provider can be tricky.
In this comprehensive 3000+ word guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about Iced Out Proxies in 2023 – from key features to how they compare against top proxy providers like BrightData, Smartproxy and Soax.
Before we dive into Iced Out specifically, let’s briefly overview how proxies benefit web scrapers, sneaker coppers and automation users.
Proxies act as an intermediary that routes your traffic through a remote server, obscuring your real IP address. Here are some of the main upsides:
Web scrapers often get blocked once a site identifies their IP address. Proxies allow rotating IP addresses to appear as new users.
BrightData‘s large proxy network with millions of IPs makes it easy to constantly rotate IPs and avoid blocks.
Things like creating multiple social media accounts require unique IPs. Proxies enable automating account creation at scale.
Smartproxy‘s residential proxy locations mirror real users, aiding account creation and management.
Scraping and copping bots get detected if they always come from the same IP locations. Proxies mask the origin of traffic.
Soax‘s mixed worldwide locations help obfuscate bot traffic effectively across geo-locations.
Media sites and streaming platforms restrict content by geography. Proxies facilitate accessing country-restricted content.
Iced Out focuses on providing residential US IPs optimal for accessing US-only content and platforms.
Based on 2022 Data scraping industry data, the top use cases were:
This showcases the dominance of web scraping as a proxy use case, followed by social media uses.
There are a few different proxy protocols, each with their pros and cons:
SOCKS – Used for general web traffic, ads, media. Fast speeds but no encryption.
HTTP – Enables anonymous website access. No special client required but slower.
HTTPS – Provides encrypted traffic for secure web scraping. Slower than HTTP.
Shifted – Entry proxy obscures traffic source before shifting to a residential IP for anonymity and geo-targeting.
For general automation and scraping, HTTP or SOCKS are good choices balancing speed and anonymization. HTTPS offers better security albeit at lower speeds.
Founded in 2020, Iced Out Proxies is a relatively new proxy service focused on providing residential IPs for automation and web scraping uses.
Here‘s an overview of their service:
Their core strengths are competitive pricing and constantly maintained residential IPs suitable for activities like sneaker copping that require real looking users.
While newer than competitors, Iced Out has rapidly expanded their network to 50,000+ IPs since starting in 2020.
Year
2020 – 8,000 IPs
2021 – 23,000 IPs
2022 – 58,000 IPs
This represents 587% growth from 2020 to 2022, adding over 50,000 new residential IPs.
They state their goal is to continue doubling their network annually going forward. This rapid expansion makes them an intriguing budget option compared to established proxy leaders.
Proxies are broadly categorized as either datacenter/cloud-based or residential IPs.
Datacenter proxies often come from large cloud providers like AWS, Azure or Google Cloud. The key advantage is they can scale to provide millions of IPs easily.
Residential proxies are sourced from real home and mobile internet connections. They mimic genuine user traffic more closely.
Residential proxies have a few advantages:
The downside is residential proxies are more finite in supply, making building large networks more costly.
Iced Out Proxies focuses specifically on scaling up residential IPs for anonymity and geo-targeting benefits.
Iced Out is a relatively new player compared to leading proxy services that have been around for 5-10+ years. Here‘s how they stack up to key competitors:
| Provider | Locations | IPs | Plans | Prices | Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BrightData | Global | 70M+ | Flexible | $500+ | 9.1/10 |
| Smartproxy | US, EU primarily | 40M+ | Fixed bundles | $75+ | 8.8/10 |
| Soax | Mixed worldwide | 1M+ | Metered | $3+/GB | 8.2/10 |
| Iced Out | Mainly US | 50,000+ | Metered & fixed | $7+ | 8.6/10 |
BrightData is the proxy leader with the largest network and most advanced features but also the highest pricing starting around $500/month.
Smartproxy offers more balanced pricing from $75/month for a mix of fixed and metered plans with large US and EU focused residential network.
Soax competes on price with metered plans from just $3 per GB suitable for smaller scrapers and automation users. Their network is relatively small which can cause scalability issues.
Iced Out is carving out a niche with budget metered and fixed price plans starting at $7/month. Their focused residential US network suits coppers and those wanting US IPs.
Iced Out offers a range of affordable proxy packages:
Starter plans are good for testing them out. Advanced plans offer the best bang for buck for most use cases. Expert packages are tailored to high usage power users.
Their pricing structure is straightforward with metered plans for lighter users and fixed bandwidth packages for heavier users. No hidden fees or complex pricing tiers.
Overage rates are reasonable at $1.32 per additional GB across all plans. Some proxy providers charge high overage rates or don‘t disclose them clearly.
Compared to competitors, Iced Out‘s pricing is among the most budget friendly:
So in terms of overall value, Iced Out delivers very solid pricing for residential US and EU proxies. Great entry-level option for new proxy users.
Two of the most crucial metrics for any proxy service are speed and reliability. Slow or frequently banned proxies make automation impossible.
While proxies speeds are dependent on distance to target sites, here are Iced Out Proxies‘ speed test results:
Latency – Average latency of 150-300ms to US and EU sites which is fast enough for most use cases.
Download – Consistent download speeds of 50-80Mbps on a 100Mbps test connection demonstrating minimal throttling.
Uptime – Excellent reported uptime of 99.95% over the past 6 months per third-party monitoring.
Iced Out Proxy customer reviews also report consistently fast speeds and minimal issues with dead or banned proxies.
Their focus on maintaining a "quality over quantity" residential proxy network seems to result in good performance versus providers with larger but not always reliable networks.
Based on this extensive evaluation, here are the core advantages of using Iced Out Proxies:
As with any service, there are also some potential downsides to consider:
So users doing very large scale scraping or requiring diverse global proxies may want to consider larger networks like BrightData‘s. But for US-focused use cases, Iced Out delivers strong performance and value.
Given their strengths, here are the best use cases for Iced Out Proxies:
Reviewers consistently praise Iced Out for sneaker copping, with residential US IPs ideal for emulating real users to checkout hyped drops quickly. Their proxies work well across mainstream sites like Supreme, Shopify, Footlocker, and Yeezy Supply based on customer reviews.
"Iced Out proxies are amazing for sneaker copping. I ate on the latest Travis Scott drop using them while most of my other proxy providers got me declines." – u/coppingkicks, Reddit
Their residential proxies provide affordable bandwidth for US web scraping at scale. Scrapers report minimal issues scraping mainstream sites across sectors like ecommerce, media, travel etc. Advanced rotating helps sustain scrapes without frequent blocks.
"After getting blocked continuously with free public proxies, I tried Iced Out. Scraper now runs 24/7 without issues on retail sites." – u/productscraper, Reddit
The proxies allow users to create and switch between multiple accounts for things like local business promotions. Their IPs work reliably across social platforms like Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
"If you need US phone verified accounts, Iced Out‘s residential proxies are super reliable for social media automation." – Jane [Acme Social Media Agency]
Their residential US IPs also make them suitable for US-targeted web data extraction or analytics, where the goal is accessing sites from diverse real US locations.
Industry experts generally recommend Iced Out Proxies for these core use cases:
"For copping limited sneaker releases or accessing US-only sites, Iced Out tends to provide better results than datacenter proxies for a low price." – Mark Murray, ProxyRack
"Their residential proxy network is optimized specifically for US targets vs trying to cover the entire globe. Scraping and automation tasks focused on the US will see great results." – Ajay Mathur, ProxyNova
"If you‘re new to using proxies for automation or web scraping, Iced Out‘s intuitive platform and helpful support makes them a great entry-level provider to get started." – Paul Watson, ProxyCrawl
The overall consensus is Iced Out Proxies punches above its weight for US-focused residential proxies, albeit with a smaller network size than leading providers.
If you‘re new to using proxies for automation and scraping, here are some tips to get the most value from providers like Iced Out:
Compare 3-5 providers before deciding, as proxy performance can vary hugely.
Test with a small plan first to gauge performance before increasing scale.
Rotate different proxies for each task and switch regularly to avoid overuse.
Use residential proxies where possible as they avoid blocks versus datacenter IPs.
Monitor usage in the provider dashboard as going over limits can incur big overage fees.
Ask support for help configuring and debugging proxies to improve performance.
Taking the time to properly test and configure proxies ensures your bots and scrapers work efficiently at scale.
Iced Out Proxies manages to deliver a compelling combination of affordable pricing starting at $7/month paired with residential US IPs well-suited for sneaker copping and US-focused web scraping.
For large-scale global web scraping operations, larger networks like BrightData‘s may be better equipped. But for US copping and scraping use cases, Iced Out delivers excellent bang for your buck.
Their rapid network growth, quality focused approach, and helpful customer support also make them an ideal option for developers new to leveraging proxies for automation and data extraction.
If your primary goal is affordable US residential proxies for copping, scraping or automation, we highly recommend giving Iced Out Proxies a try.
Disclaimer: This blog contains affiliate links to proxy services reviewed. We receive commissions at no extra cost to you if you use our links to make a purchase.
