We use affiliate links. They let us sustain ourselves at no cost to you.

All About Reddit Proxies and Where to Get Them

If you want to unblock your Reddit account or run automation, you’ll want to hear all about Reddit proxies. This guide explains why you need Reddit proxies and where to get them.

reddit proxies thumbnail wide

Most social media platforms are very strict about bots. Reddit, on the other hand, is widely known for the freedom it gives to its users – you can scrape data or even have multiple accounts without getting blocked. But try breaking sacred rules like spamming, using vote manipulation, and running large-scale automation, and you’ll say bye-bye to your account.

With a good Reddit proxy server, you can bypass Reddit’s restrictions like IP bans or easily access geo-restricted content. Reddit proxies also play an essential role in scraping and automation. This page will tell you more about Reddit proxies and when you need them.

What Is a Reddit Proxy?

A Reddit proxy is an intermediary that stands between your computer and Reddit.com. Such proxies are specifically optimized to bypass restrictions imposed by the website. When you connect to a Reddit proxy, it starts acting on your behalf by masking your actual IP address and location.

When Do You Need Reddit Proxies?

Scrape Reddit. Reddit has many subreddits with lots of information that can provide valuable insights and bring your business the desired growth. Scraping posts and comments can help you with trending topics, market research, finding content ideas, and the like. However, Reddit turns a blind eye to scraping only to a certain extent. For large-scale data collection you’re gonna need a Reddit proxy.

Avoid CAPTCHAs. Constantly reappearing verification requests can drain the life out of you. A CAPTCHA test quickly identifies bot-like actions by tracking connection requests from a single IP address in a specific timeframe. So, if you don’t want to end up solving puzzles while scraping, consider rotating Reddit proxies. By regularly changing your IP, a proxy server makes sure that your traffic is harder to track.

Multiple account management. Reddit’s more than okay with people having multiple accounts. Well, that’s if you don’t upvote your own posts and comments. But when I say multiple, I’m talking about five or six, not fifty. Some heavy marketing (yes, I mean spamming) will get your profiles flagged straight away. Moreover, if you manage all your accounts using the same IP, Reddit can kill them all. That means you’ll need a number of different proxies to reroute your traffic.

Upvote content. Pushing your content by upvoting your posts and downvoting others’ is a way to get on the front page. Of course, if you don’t lose access in the meantime – Reddit’s especially strict about vote manipulation. That’s a site-wide ban for sure. While there are better ways to get famous, like creating exciting content, the decision is all yours.

Unblock Reddit. No, this isn’t about going around your ban from a subreddit. Some schools, workplaces or even countries aren’t fans of Reddit or a particular subreddit, so thousands of redditors don’t have access. While there are more options to choose from, like VPN, Reddit proxies can spoof your location without draining your budget.

Proxy vs. VPN for Reddit

Proxy servers and VPNs work similarly – they both mask your IP address. A VPN is more than enough if you have one account and just want to go around the location- or country-wide access restrictions. However, if you seek to get more insights from the site and expand your business, go with a Reddit proxy.

Reddit proxies can make many connections at once because you can buy hundreds of IP addresses. And most providers offer large proxy pools, so you can work with various commercial activities – web scraping, researching the market, promoting your product, and the like.

Which Types of Proxies Work Best for Reddit

Residential Proxies. Residential IPs carry a low risk of being blocked since they route your connection through real devices. Both static and rotating IPs will do the trick. If you scrape at a large scale or run other automated tasks, choose rotating proxies. Static IP addresses are good for account management.

It’s wise to check the provider’s proxy pool – the bigger, the better. Your connection requests will be spread throughout more addresses, so the pool will stay clean. What’s in it for you? Less or no abused IPs.

Another important feature residential proxies carry is high subnet diversity. Residential IPs are unique because they’re borrowed from a range of devices, so they rarely share the same subnet. You can forget blocking multiple IP addresses at the same time. Sounds nice, right?

There are a variety of great residential proxy providers out there, take your time and get to know them.

Datacenter Proxies. If you aren’t doing some heavy automation, datacenter proxies will work just fine. They’re much cheaper than residential IPs and can provide you with enough anonymity.

Many providers offer both dedicated (private) and shared datacenter proxies. With dedicated IPs, you won’t have to share your addresses with anyone else after the purchase. They’re better for account management, heavier scraping, or automation.

Shared DC proxies should be enough for unlocking geo-restricted content or performing less intensive scraping. They’re cheaper than both residential and dedicated addresses. And while most shared proxies are flagged on popular social media sites, Reddit’s not strict towards proxies, so you just might give it a go.

Mobile proxies. Mobile IPs are the hardest to block. While these proxies are considered to be  the most reliable, they are also known as being the most expensive.

When you’re after a well-protected domain or when other proxy types seem to give up, mobile proxies are your best choice. However, for Reddit, mobile IPs are an overkill – you’ll be wasting their features and draining your pocket.

Bottom Line

If you want to scale up your business, the best Reddit proxies are residential. They come from real devices and have a high subnet diversity, so they’re very hard to block. Datacenter proxies, on the other hand, are much cheaper and might provide you with enough anonymity for less-intensive web scraping or other automation.

Isabel Rivera
Isabel Rivera
Caffeine-powered sneaker enthusiast

Join Smartproxy’s webinar about ready-made scrapers on May 7, 10AM EST. Save your seat >