The Best Proxies for Ad Verification in 2024
According to TrafficGuard/Statista, ad fraud has become the world’s second-largest criminal business after drugs.
While it’s only a partial solution to the problem, ad verification effectively makes sure that your ads appear at the right place and are seen by actual people. This page will explain how proxies aid the ad verification process and which providers are the best for the job.
The Best Ad Verification Proxy Providers – Quick Summary:
1. Smartproxy – quality proxies for less.
2. Oxylabs – the best premium provider.
3. Bright Data – the biggest array of features.
4. SOAX – proxies with flexible targeting options.
5. NetNut – residential proxies for large-scale use.
How Does Ad Verification Work?
Digital ads often get misplaced, either deliberately or accidentally. Where do they end up? After scammers tamper with them, the ads are placed on lewd, untrustworthy websites, where they’re seen mostly by bots.
Ad verification is a process that aims to correct both accidentally and intentionally misplaced ads. During this process, the ad verification specialists check if the ad is displayed according to the advertiser’s criteria, such as location preference. They also make sure that the ad is placed on the right website and is seen by real people.
Proxies are closely tied to this process. Let’s see how.
How Proxies Assist with Ad Verification
Scammers often are familiar with ad verification companies and blacklist their IP addresses. They also have strict anti-botting measures on their websites to filter out all the scrapers. That’s where proxies come in. They allow changing the IP address and looking like a regular user to let the script do its job.
Ad verification specialists use proxies to check ad redirection paths. Scammers frequently steal clicks from legitimate ads by redirecting the user to their websites. Fraudsters do this to lure unsuspecting users to their products or services. Sometimes they even try to install malware on the user’s device.
The third use case is checking how an ad appears in a localized context. If you place geographic restrictions on an ad, such as targeting users near your physical store, you need to make sure that fraudsters aren’t taking advantage of it. They can find ways to feed advertisers fake location data to get higher prices for their ad impressions. Imagine how much money you’d waste if your ad appeared to users somewhere in Asia instead of the US? Proxies allow you to connect from various locations to see how people worldwide can view the ad.
How to Choose Proxies for Ad Verification
It’s hard to imagine a successful ad verification process without proxies. That’s why you need to make sure you have suitable proxies for the job. Here are a few things to consider when choosing a provider:
- First of all, make sure you’re using residential proxies. Any other kind of proxies may get you banned before you get any job done. Meanwhile, residential proxies provide anonymity and make you look like a regular internet user. That way, owners of fraudulent sites won’t be able to know that you’re using proxies and won’t prevent you from running an ad verification script.
- The second criteria is a wide range of IP locations because you might need to check ads from a wide variety of locales. Also, make sure you can actually target those locations.
- Proxy pool quality is secondary, however still worth considering. The quality is best measured by looking at the composition of a proxy pool. A good quality residential proxy IP network should contain landline, mobile, or mixed IP addresses.
- Depending on your budget, the price may also be an important aspect to think about. When it comes to proxies, you get what you pay for. Premium providers offer both well-performing proxies and plenty of additional tools to go with them. Meanwhile, mid-range and cheap providers have to cut corners to keep prices low, but they usually deliver satisfactory performance.
Where You Can Buy Proxies for Ad Verification
There’s a wide variety of proxy providers, and it can be resource-intensive to test them on your own. That’s why we used our expertise in the market to do the hard work for you. We tested and analyzed the most prominent providers and composed all the data into our annual Proxy Market Research.
However, you won’t find free proxies in our recommendations. Not only do they lack performance, free proxies can also compromise your security. You can read more about them in our article here. If you’re not willing to take any chances, continue reading for the best ad verification proxy provider we recommend.
The Best Proxy Providers for Ad Verification
1. Smartproxy
Quality proxies for less.
Pool size:
Very large
Locations:
195+
Success rate:
99.68%
Response time:
0.54s
- Proxy pool: 55 million
- Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5
- Targeting: country, state, city, ZIP code
- Rotation: every request; 1, 10, 30 minutes
- Support: award winning 24/7 support
- Extras: API, browser extension, anti-detect browser, extensive documentation
- Free trial: 3-day free trial available
- Pricing: Starts from $7 for 1 GB
Smartproxy combines something that seems hardly attainable – affordable prices and quality proxies. The provider has one of the cleanest proxy networks, and you’ll get access to the full proxy pool with any of the plans. The service comprises 55 million IPs and has granular filtering; you can target addresses from any country, state, city, or ZIP code.
Smartproxy emphasizes making its products easy to use. That’s why you should expect a friendly user experience and extensive documentation. On top of that, Smartproxy’s customer service representatives are always ready to help – immediately.
For more information and performance tests, read our Smartproxy review.
2. Oxylabs
The best premium provider.
Pool size:
Very large
Locations:
195+
Success rate:
99.82%
Response time:
0.41s
- Proxy pool: 100+ million
- Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5
- Targeting: country, state, city, ASN, ZIP, coordinates
- Rotation: every request, custom up to 30 minutes
- Support: 24/7 via live chat, dedicated account manager
- Extras: API, browser extension, extensive documentation
- Free trial: 7-day free trial for businesses, 3-day refund for individuals
- Pricing: Starts from $8 for 1 GB
When it comes to proxy providers, Oxylabs is almost always at the top of our lists, and it’s not hard to see why. Being a premium company, it lives up to its mark. Oxylabs has one of the largest – 100 million – IP pools and offers a wide range of location targeting options: every country in the world and thousands of cities, ASN, ZIP code, and coordinatesWhen it comes to performance, there’s hardly anything to complain about. Oxylabs’s proxies are fast and have a nearly perfect success rate.
In terms of pricing, Oxylabs isn’t very cheap, but over the years, it managed to make its prices for a broader range of users.
Read the Oxylabs review for more information and performance tests.
3. Bright Data
The biggest array of features.
Pool size:
Very large
Locations:
195+
Success rate:
98.96%
Response time:
1.12s
- Proxy pool: 72+ million
- Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5 (requires extra software)
- Targeting: country, city, ASN, ZIP code, coordinates, and OS
- Rotation: every request, customizable sticky sessions with Proxy Manager
- Support: 24/7 via live chat, tickets, dedicated account manager
- Extras: API, browser extension, Proxy Manager, extensive documentation
- Free trial: 7-day free trial for businesses, 3-day refund for individuals
- Pricing: Starts from $8.4 for 1 GB
Bright Data is the largest proxy provider. It dominates the market with an outlandish proxy pool, which is just a little smaller than Oxylabs’ and consists of 72 million IPs. As a premium service, it gives all you need – global locations and targeting up to ZIP code level. The performance is also one of the best we’ve seen. The company is well known for its wide range of tools; however, setting everything up can be challenging for inexperienced users.
If you’re interested in all of the benefits this company has to offer, don’t expect it to come cheap. It’s one of the more expensive providers, especially if you need features like city or ASN targeting.
Read the Bright Data review for more information and performance tests.
4. SOAX
Proxies with flexible targeting options.
Pool size:
Very large
Locations:
150+
Success rate:
98.49%
Response time:
2.11s
- Proxy pool: 155 million
- Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5 (with UDP/QUIC)
- Targeting: country, city, ASN targeting
- Rotation: every request, custom session duration
- Support: 24/7 via live chat and tickets
- Extras: limited API, node access (connect to an IP directly), customer success manager
- Free trial: 3-day trial available
- Pricing: Starts from $99 for 15 GB ($6.6/GB)
SOAX offers quality service – its residential proxies are fast and stable. The pool of 155 million addresses provides IPs in over 150 locations. One of SOAX’s most distinguishing features is location targeting. SOAX lets you specify a country, city, and even ASN free of charge.
SOAX’s pricing is among the cheaper of the bunch. However, the provider remains one of a few companies that doesn’t offer pay as you go. Additionally, some technical choices like obligatory IP whitelisting might trigger some users.
Read the SOAX review for more information and performance tests.
5. NetNut
Residential proxies for large-scale use.
Pool size:
Very large
Locations:
Global
Success rate:
98.15%
Response time:
1.21s
- Proxy pool: 85 million
- Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5
- Targeting: country, city, ASN targeting
- Rotation: every request or as long as the IP is available
- Support: 24/7 via email, live chat, Skype (larger plans)
- Extras: API (for resellers), basic documentation
- Free trial: 7-day free trial for companies
- Pricing: Starts from $99 for 14 GB ($7.07/GB)
NetNut controls a 85 million residential proxy pool. The service gives you access to over 150 countries, with an option to target cities and ASN when you subscribe to a larger plan. The provider scales well once you buy proxies in bulk and has adequate proxy usage statistics, which you can reach via the dashboard.
Being a premium provider, the price of NetNut services isn’t cheap. It’s clear that the company targets big business, but so do other premium companies, and to be fair, the performance could be improved.
For more information and performance tests, read our NetNut review.
6. Nimbleway
Premium proxies with city targeting.
Pool size:
Small
Locations:
150
Success rate:
98.79%
Response time:
1.26s
- Proxy pool: unknown
- Protocols: HTTP
- Targeting: random, country, state, city
- Rotation: every request, 1-30 mins, geo-sessions
- Support: live chat on the dashboard, email, Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Discord
- Extras: extensive documentation, AI proxy optimization engine
- Free trial: 7-day free trial available
- Pricing: starts from $8 for 1 GB
Nimbleway is a premium residential proxy provider that goes after the big fish. It covers most countries that you can filter up to the city level. The provider doesn’t reveal the size of its proxy pool, but our tests showed that it’s rather small – around 5 million IPs.
Nimbleway targets the enterprise segment, so be prepared to empty your pockets. And even though most premium providers offer ASN targeting, you won’t find it with this service.
For more information and performance tests, read our Nimbleway review.
7. Dataimpulse
Cheap residential proxies with basic features.
Pool size:
Small
Locations:
150+
Success rate:
98.69%
Response time:
1.58s
- Proxy pool: 5 million
- Protocols: HTTP, SOCKS5
- Targeting: country, state, city, ASN, ZIP code
- Rotation: every request, sticky sessions up to 120 mins
- Support: live chat, 24/7 via email
- Extras: API for resellers
- Free trial: trial for $5 for 5 GB available
- Pricing: Starts from $50 for 50 GB ($1/GB)
Dataimpulse offers affordable residential proxies, starting at just $1 per GB of traffic when you purchase a minimum of 50 GB. However, the price doubles with extra features, like city, ASN, and ZIP code targeting. The provider has a proxy pool of 5 million addresses and allows you to target any of the 150 countries.
But don’t expect much more; the service doesn’t include proxy management tools, and its peer-to-peer addresses are slower than the top options on this list. But usage graphs reflect expenditure, which will help track your expenses.
For more information and performance tests, read our Dataimpulse review.
8. Rayobyte
Residential proxies with a competent set of features.
Pool size:
Not specified
Locations:
150+
Success rate:
99.10%
Response time:
2.12s
- Proxy pool: not specified
- Protocols: HTTP(S)
- Targeting: country, state, city, ASN
- Rotation: every request, as long as available
- Support: 24/7 support via email, ticketing system, or live chat
- Extras: extensive documentation, Proxy Pilot
- Free trial: 2-day free trial with 50 MB
- Pricing: Starts from $7.5 for 1 GB
Rayobyte doesn’t disclose the size of its IP pool, but according to our tests, it controls one of the bigger proxy pools in the US, not that many IPs in Europe or Australia. You can target any of 150 countries, thousands of cities, and ASN. In terms of price, Rayobyte is especially competitive between 50 GB and 250 GB of traffic.
There are some drawbacks, too. Rayobyte’s residential proxies are slow, and you can only keep the same IP for as long as it remains online – no custom intervals.
For more information and performance tests, read our Rayobyte review.
9. Infatica
Reasonably priced proxies with granular targeting.
Pool size:
Large
Locations:
190+
Success rate:
97.12%
Response time:
0.99s
- Proxy pool: 15+ million monthly IPs
- Protocols: HTTP, SOCKS5
- Targeting: country, city, region, and ASN targeting
- Rotation: every request, or between 5 and 60 minutes
- Support: 24/7 support via tickets, chat or email
- Extras: extensive documentation
- Free trial: 3-day trial for $1.99 available
- Pricing: Starts from $8 per 1 GB
Infatica controls a pool of 10 million peer-to-peer IPs, and the service has all the necessary features for ad verification. You get access to any of the 150 countries and target individual IPs by state, city, or ASN. Infatica even allows you to select multiple countries at once.
One of the downsides – you won’t be able to pay as you go. Also, our tests showed that Infatica’s residential proxies are slow.
For more information and performance tests, read our Infatica review.
10. IPRoyal
Affordable residential proxies with non-expiring traffic.
Pool size:
Large
Locations:
195+
Success rate:
98.22%
Response time:
1.36s
- Proxy pool: 32+ million
- Protocols: HTTP, SOCKS5
- Targeting: country, state & city
- Rotation: every request, freely customizable
- Support: 24/7 via live chat
- Extras: proxy tester, extensive documentation, browser extension
- Free trial: none
- Pricing: Starts from $7 for 1 GB
IPRoyal offers affordable pricing for its services. It owns 32 million IPs and allows you to specify over 150 locations by country, state, and city. IPRoyal uses pay as you go-based pricing, and the traffic stays until you use it. The pricing is slightly more expensive at fewer GBs, but it scales well at one terabyte of data.
Although this provider does offer a decent service, it can’t compete with the market giants. We’ve encountered more errors when running tests, and the proxies were slow.
For more information and performance tests, read our IPRoyal review.
