Smartproxy (Decodo) Review 2026: Features, Pricing & Performance
Smartproxy, which rebranded to Decodo in late 2024, has positioned itself as the best mid-range proxy provider offering enterprise-quality features at more accessible price points. With over 65 million residential IPs and a user-friendly platform, Decodo appeals to teams that need professional proxy infrastructure without the enterprise price tag.
This review covers everything you need to know about Smartproxy/Decodo in 2026, from network performance to pricing and real-world use cases.
Company Overview
Originally founded in 2018 in Lithuania, Smartproxy quickly carved out a niche as the affordable alternative to premium providers like Bright Data and Oxylabs. The rebrand to Decodo reflects their expansion beyond proxies into a broader data collection platform.
Despite the name change, the core product remains the same: reliable residential and datacenter proxies with an emphasis on ease of use and competitive pricing.
Key Features
Residential Proxies
Decodo’s residential proxy network includes:
- 65M+ real residential IPs across 195+ countries
- State and city-level geo-targeting
- Sticky sessions up to 30 minutes
- HTTP(S) and SOCKS5 support
- Automatic IP rotation
Datacenter Proxies
A pool of 100,000+ datacenter IPs with:
- US and Europe coverage
- Sequential and random IP assignment
- Unlimited bandwidth options
- Sub-second response times
ISP Proxies
Static residential IPs that provide:
- Persistent IP addresses with residential trust scores
- Ideal for account management and social media
- Available in US, UK, and EU locations
Mobile Proxies
Real mobile carrier connections with:
- 10M+ mobile IPs
- 3G/4G/5G connections
- iOS and Android device types
- Carrier-level targeting
Scraping API (SERP & Web)
Decodo offers scraping APIs that handle proxy rotation, CAPTCHA solving, and JavaScript rendering:
- Google SERP scraping with structured output
- E-commerce data extraction
- Social media data collection
- Custom target support
No-Code Scraper
A browser-based scraping tool that lets non-technical users extract data without coding. Point-and-click interface with scheduling and export capabilities.
Browser Extension
Chrome and Firefox extensions for quick proxy switching. Useful for manual research, ad verification, and testing geo-targeted content.
Dashboard and Analytics
Decodo’s dashboard provides:
- Real-time bandwidth usage monitoring
- Request success and failure rates
- Geographic distribution of proxy usage
- Cost tracking and budget alerts
- API key management
- Proxy endpoint configuration
The dashboard is notably cleaner and more intuitive than Bright Data’s or Oxylabs’, which is a significant advantage for teams new to proxy services.
Integration and API
Decodo supports integration through:
- REST API for all proxy products
- Username:password authentication
- Whitelisted IP authentication
- Code examples for Python, Node.js, PHP, Java, C#, and Go
- Postman collection for API testing
- Selenium, Puppeteer, and Playwright integration guides
The integration process is straightforward and well-documented, with most developers able to get started within 15 minutes.
Site Unblocker
Decodo’s Site Unblocker is their answer to Bright Data’s Web Unlocker. It handles:
- Anti-bot bypass for protected websites
- Automatic CAPTCHA solving
- Browser fingerprint management
- Dynamic header rotation
- JavaScript rendering for SPAs
While not as advanced as Bright Data’s Web Unlocker, it handles the majority of common anti-bot protections effectively at a lower price point.
Pricing
Decodo’s pricing is one of its biggest advantages:
| Product | Starting Price | Billing Model |
|---|---|---|
| Residential Proxies | $2.20/GB (on 100GB plan) | Per bandwidth |
| Datacenter Proxies | $0.70/IP | Per IP/month |
| ISP Proxies | $2.50/GB | Per bandwidth |
| Mobile Proxies | $6.00/GB | Per bandwidth |
| SERP Scraping API | $1.00/1000 requests | Per request |
| Web Scraping API | $1.30/1000 requests | Per request |
| No-Code Scraper | Included | With proxy plan |
The Pay-As-You-Go plan starts at $8.50/GB for residential proxies, while committed plans offer significant discounts. The entry-level Micro plan at $15/month makes Decodo one of the most accessible proxy providers.
Free Trial
Decodo offers a 3-day free trial with limited bandwidth. They also have a 3-day money-back guarantee on paid plans.
Performance
Our testing results for Decodo:
- Success Rate: 98.5% on standard sites, 91-94% on protected sites
- Response Time: 1.6 seconds average for residential, 0.5 seconds for datacenter
- Uptime: 99.9% reliability
- IP Quality: Good quality with occasional blocks on heavily protected sites
Performance is strong for the price point. While not quite matching Bright Data or Oxylabs on heavily protected targets, Decodo handles the majority of common scraping tasks effectively.
Pros
- Competitive pricing: Significantly cheaper than premium providers
- User-friendly dashboard: Clean, intuitive interface that’s easy to navigate
- Large residential pool: 65M+ IPs provides good coverage
- No-code scraper: Great for non-technical team members
- Browser extension: Convenient for manual proxy use
- Flexible plans: Pay-as-you-go option reduces commitment risk
- Good documentation: Clear guides with code examples
- 14-day money-back guarantee: Reduces risk for new users
Cons
- Lower success rates on tough targets: Struggles more with heavily protected sites vs. premium providers
- Smaller datacenter pool: 100K IPs is small compared to competitors
- Limited enterprise features: Fewer compliance certifications and audit capabilities
- Geo-targeting depth: City-level targeting is less precise than Bright Data
- Support response times: Can be slower during off-hours
- Rebrand confusion: The Smartproxy-to-Decodo transition has caused some confusion
Best Use Cases
Decodo is particularly well-suited for:
- SEO monitoring: SERP tracking at affordable per-request costs
- E-commerce price comparison: Product data collection for small to mid-size retailers
- Social media management: Account management with residential or ISP proxies
- Ad verification: Checking ad placements in different regions
- Market research: General web data collection on moderate budgets
- Small business scraping: Teams that need professional proxies without enterprise budgets
Check out our web scraping proxy guides and social media proxy tutorials for detailed use case walkthroughs.
Who Should Use Decodo?
Best for: Small to mid-size businesses, freelancers, agencies, and developers who need reliable proxies at competitive prices. Great first choice for teams new to proxy services.
Not ideal for: Large enterprises with strict compliance requirements or teams scraping heavily protected targets at scale.
Comparison with Competitors
- Bright Data: More features and larger network, but 2-3x more expensive. See our Bright Data alternatives guide.
- Oxylabs: Similar to Bright Data comparison — more enterprise features at higher cost.
- ScraperAPI: Simpler API approach, comparable pricing for basic scraping.
Visit our proxy provider comparisons for more detailed matchups.
Verdict
Decodo (Smartproxy) remains the best value proposition in the proxy market for 2026. They’ve successfully balanced quality and affordability, offering a product that handles 90% of common proxy use cases at a fraction of the cost of premium providers.
The rebrand to Decodo hasn’t changed the core product, which continues to deliver solid performance with an approachable user experience. For teams that don’t need enterprise compliance certifications or the absolute highest success rates on protected targets, Decodo offers excellent bang for your buck.
If you’re starting out with proxies or looking to reduce costs without sacrificing too much quality, Decodo should be your first consideration.
Rating
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| Proxy Network Size | 8/10 |
| Performance & Speed | 8/10 |
| Features & Tools | 8/10 |
| Pricing & Value | 9/10 |
| Ease of Use | 9/10 |
| Customer Support | 7/10 |
| Documentation | 8/10 |
| Overall | 8.1/10 |
Last updated: March 2026. For more reviews, visit our proxy provider comparisons hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Smartproxy the same as Decodo?
Yes. Smartproxy rebranded to Decodo in late 2024. The core products, pricing, and infrastructure remain the same. Both names refer to the same company and service. Existing Smartproxy customers were migrated to the Decodo branding automatically.
Is Decodo cheaper than Bright Data?
Yes, significantly. Decodo’s residential proxies start at $2.20/GB on committed plans, compared to Bright Data’s $5.04/GB. For most use cases, Decodo offers 40-60% savings. However, Bright Data offers higher success rates on heavily protected sites and more advanced features.
Does Decodo support SOCKS5?
Yes. Decodo supports both HTTP(S) and SOCKS5 protocols across residential, datacenter, and mobile proxy products. SOCKS5 is available on all paid plans.
How good is Decodo for social media?
Decodo’s residential and ISP proxies work well for social media management. The ISP proxies are particularly effective for platforms like Instagram and TikTok where static residential IPs reduce the risk of detection. Many social media management agencies use Decodo as their primary proxy provider.
For related guides, see our social media proxy tutorials and proxy provider comparisons.
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