Home broadband vs carrier IPs
A residential proxy borrows an IP that an ISP assigned to a home internet connection. It looks like an ordinary household visitor and comes from a large pool, which makes it both trusted and cost-effective for a wide range of tasks.
A mobile proxy routes through a cellular network using 4G or 5G. Because carriers share a small number of IPs among many subscribers at once, each mobile address stands for many real phone users, and websites see it as belonging to a mobile carrier.
Choosing between them
Residential proxies handle the large majority of use cases: scraping public data, ad verification, price monitoring, and location-specific checks. They cost less and come with a bigger pool for rotation and wider country and city choice.
Mobile proxies are worth the premium when your work is on a mobile-first platform and needs to see it the way a phone on a carrier network does, or when you specifically need carrier addresses. The trade-off is higher price and sometimes lower, more variable speed.
Residential vs mobile compared
It comes down to trust level against cost, speed and pool size.
| Residential | Mobile (4G/5G) | |
|---|---|---|
| IP source | Home broadband | Carrier cellular network |
| Pool | Very large | Smaller, shared among many phone users |
| Nefo rotating price | $0.90/GB down to $0.53/GB at 10 TB | $3.90/GB down to $2.30/GB at 2 TB+ |
| Nefo coverage | 227 countries and territories | 110 countries |
| Sticky sessions | 1 minute to 24 hours | Up to 2 hours |
| Best for | Scraping, ad verification, price monitoring | Mobile-first platforms, carrier-specific checks |
Where Nefo helps
Nefo offers both. Residential proxies cover most work with country, state, city and ISP targeting. Mobile proxies are rotating 4G/5G, with country targeting included and state, city and ASN targeting at 2x traffic.
If you need one dedicated modem rather than a rotating pool, mobile proxies are also rented by the day from $1.00 per day, with free modem, IP and location changes.
Frequently asked questions
Carriers assign a limited set of IPs to many subscribers at once (carrier-grade NAT), so one mobile address can stand for many phone users. Websites see the address as belonging to a mobile carrier. Read why mobile proxies are the hardest to detect.
No. Mobile costs more and can be slower and more variable. Residential proxies already cover most tasks, so mobile is worth it only when your work needs carrier IPs.
Residential. Nefo residential proxies start at $0.90/GB and fall to $0.53/GB at 10 TB, while rotating mobile proxies start at $3.90/GB and fall to $2.30/GB at 2 TB or more.
Yes. Rotating 4G/5G mobile proxies cover 110 countries with sticky sessions up to 2 hours, and you can also rent a dedicated mobile port by the day from $1.00 per day. See mobile proxies.
Start with residential, since it handles most needs affordably. Move to mobile only if testing shows your target needs carrier addresses. The mobile vs residential article walks through examples.