Most comparison pages cherry-pick a headline number and call it a day. Here is the honest version: the real 2026 rates for the major rotating-residential providers, plus the catches β promo clocks, volume floors, monthly caps β that decide what you actually pay. Roam isn't the lowest sticker price on this page, and we'll show you exactly where it wins and where it doesn't.
| Provider | Rotating residential | Model | Commitment for best rate | Balance expiry | Free trial |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roam | $2/GB flat | Pay-as-you-go | None β $2/GB at any volume | Never | 300 MB |
| Decodo (ex-Smartproxy) | $4/GB PAYG | PAYG or monthly | $2.75/GB at $275/mo; ~$2.00 at $2,000+/mo | Monthly cycle | 100 MB |
| PacketStream | $1/GB flat | Pay-as-you-go | $1/GB flat, ~$6 minimum deposit | No expiry | No |
| Proxy-Cheap | $0.78/GB promo | PAYG top-up | Promo β70% off ~$2.60 base; capped 50 GB/mo | Monthly top-up | 7-day $1.99 (ISP) |
| Rayobyte | $3.50/GB β $0.50 | PAYG tiers + monthly | $0.50/GB only at 5 TB+; $3.50 at entry | Tiered | Yes (on signup) |
| Infatica | from $0.30/GB | PAYG + monthly | $0.30 is the deep-volume floor; ~$7/GB on regular plans | Plan-based | Trial |
| NetNut | Seized by the FBI / DOJ / IRS-CI on 3 July 2026 β no longer available seized | ||||
Competitor pricing verified July 2026 from each provider's official pricing page (rendered directly, promotional rates flagged). Prices change often β always confirm on the provider's site before buying. NetNut status per the DOJ seizure notice and reporting.
A lower number on the pricing page is not always a lower bill. Here is what the sub-$2 rates on this table actually require:
$2/GB at any volume. No promo clock that resets, no floor you have to hit, no monthly minimum. What you see is the bill.
Roam is a wallet, not a plan. Top up once and spend it over weeks or months β nothing resets at the end of a cycle.
After the NetNut seizure, network stability is a purchasing criterion. Roam runs a commercial, pay-as-you-go network β not a consumer-device botnet that can vanish overnight.
If raw price per gigabyte is the only thing that matters and you can live with fewer controls, PacketStream at $1/GB flat is honestly cheaper. If you'll commit thousands per month, Decodo or Rayobyte enterprise tiers can beat $2/GB. Roam is built for everyone in between: no commitment, no expiry, no fine print.
On the sticker price, PacketStream ($1/GB flat) and Infatica (from $0.30/GB at deep volume) sit below Roam's $2/GB. But those come with catches β promotions that snap back, floors you only reach at terabyte scale, or monthly caps. Roam's $2/GB is flat at any volume with no subscription and a balance that never expires, which is often cheaper in practice than a promo or an unreachable floor.
Because Roam charges everyone the same: a flat $2/GB, no commitment, no expiry, no promo clock. Sub-$1 rates elsewhere usually require large monthly spend, a time-limited promotion, or terabyte-scale volume to unlock.
On 3 July 2026 the FBI, DOJ and IRS Criminal Investigation β with Google, Lumen and the Shadowserver Foundation β seized NetNut (tracked as the βPopaβ botnet) and hundreds of its domains. Its residential pool was built from roughly two million consumer devices co-opted through hidden SDKs. NetNut is no longer an available provider. If you're migrating off it, see our NetNut alternative page.
More than it used to. The NetNut takedown showed that how a network gets its IPs is a legal and operational risk, not a footnote. A network built on a botnet can be seized overnight and take your workloads with it. In 2026, stability and sourcing sit next to price in the decision.
Sign up in seconds, test your targets on real residential IPs, and only pay for what you use. $2/GB, forever-valid balance.