Head-to-Head Proxy ComparisonVerified Public Specifications (Oct 2026)

PacketStream vs Proxy-Cheap

Side-by-side comparison of PacketStream and Proxy-Cheap across supported proxy types, residential pricing per GB, datacenter & ISP pricing, geographic coverage, protocols, session rotation, authentication, platform features, and pros & cons.

Editorial Rankings & Factual Comparison Notice: PacketStream (Rank #—) and Proxy-Cheap (Rank #—) are compared below using verified public documentation (our editorial rankings feature 2Captcha Proxy at #1). Missing specifications are marked Not available.

Provider 1Cataloged

PacketStream

Est. 2018 • Pay-As-You-Go

Residential

Peer-to-peer residential proxy network powered by bandwidth-sharing Packeters, offering flat $1.00/GB rotating and sticky sessions with non-expiring traffic credits.

Residential / GB$1.00 / GB

Starting Price / IPNot available

Geographic Coverage100+ Countries

ProtocolsHTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5

Read PacketStream Review →Visit Site ↗

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Provider 2Cataloged

Proxy-Cheap

Est. 2018 • Pay-As-You-Go & Subscriptions

ResidentialDatacenterISPMobile

Budget-friendly proxy network offering Rotating Residential ($1.50–$0.78/GB), Static Residential/ISP (IPv4 & IPv6), Datacenter (IPv4 & IPv6), and Mobile proxies across 195+ countries.

Residential / GB$1.50 / GB

Starting Price / IPFrom $1.49 / IP

Geographic Coverage195+ Countries

ProtocolsHTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5

Read Proxy-Cheap Review →Visit Site ↗

Network Coverage

Supported Proxy Network Types

Side-by-side availability across Residential, Datacenter, Static ISP, and Mobile proxy pools.

Proxy Network Type	PacketStream	Proxy-Cheap
Residential Proxies (Rotating & Sticky) Household ISP-assigned IPs supporting automatic rotation and sticky sessions	✓ Supported	✓ Supported
Datacenter Proxies (Dedicated & Shared) High-speed IPv4/IPv6 cloud server subnets for bulk concurrency	Not available	✓ Supported
ISP / Static Residential Proxies Static consumer ASN-registered IPs hosted on server backbones	Not available	✓ Supported
Mobile Carrier Proxies (3G / 4G / 5G / LTE) Cellular gateway IPs routed through carrier CGNAT pools	Not available	✓ Supported

Pricing Comparison

Residential Pricing per GB, Datacenter & ISP Rates

Verified pricing across residential bandwidth per GB, datacenter and static ISP per-IP/bandwidth plans, and minimum account outlays.

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Pricing Category	PacketStream	Proxy-Cheap
Residential Starting Rate (per GB)	$1.00 / GB	$1.50 / GB
Published Pricing Summary	$1.00 / GB flat rate • $50 minimum deposit • Non-expiring bandwidth credits • No recurring subscriptions • Reseller API at $1.00/GB ($500 min)	$1.50 / GB entry (3 GB min = $4.50) • $1.20 / GB (4–50 GB) • $0.78 / GB bulk (51+ GB min = $39.78) • Static ISP from $2.44 / IP • Datacenter IPv4 from $1.49 / IP • Mobile from $5.99 / GB
Datacenter Proxy Pricing	Not available	Datacenter Proxies (IPv4 & IPv6): IPv4 from $1.49 / mo per IP (down to $0.70 / IP in bulk); IPv6 from $0.15–$0.20 / mo per IP (sold in bulk packages of 50+ IPs starting around $10/mo)
ISP (Static Residential) Pricing	Not available	Static Residential / ISP (IPv4 & IPv6): IPv4 from $2.44–$2.99 / mo per IP; IPv6 from $0.52–$0.70 / mo per IP; available in Basic, Dedicated, and Premium tiers with unlimited bandwidth subject to fair usage
Mobile Proxy Pricing	Not available	Mobile Proxies (Rotating & Static): Rotating Mobile 4G/5G metered at $5.99 / GB; Dedicated Static Mobile 4G/5G modems from $11–$50 / mo per proxy with unlimited cellular data
Starting Rate per IP	Not available	$1.49 / IP
Billing Structure	Pay-As-You-Go	Pay-As-You-Go & Subscriptions
Minimum Outlay / Deposit	$50.00	$4.50
Accepted Payment Methods	Credit CardPayPalCrypto	Credit CardPayPalCrypto

Technical Capabilities

Locations, Protocols, Session Rotation & Authentication

Side-by-side comparison of geo-targeting granularity, supported connection protocols, sticky session durations, authentication methods, and platform tooling.

Technical Dimension	PacketStream	Proxy-Cheap
Geographic Coverage & Targeting	100+ Countries (Country-level targeting via password suffix _country-XX)	195+ Countries (Country, City, Region & ASN targeting)
Documented Country Count	100+ Countries	195+ Countries
Supported Protocols	HTTPHTTPSSOCKS5	HTTPHTTPSSOCKS5
Rotation & Sticky Sessions	Rotating on every request or sticky sessions maintained up to 60 minutes via _session-ID password suffix	Rotating per request or sticky sessions (typically up to 30 minutes)
Authentication Methods	Username / Password	Username / PasswordIP Whitelisting
Documented Platform Features	Flat $1.00 / GB residential bandwidth pricing with no monthly subscription$50 minimum account deposit with non-expiring bandwidth balanceRotating Residential Proxies (per-request rotation for stateless crawling)Sticky Residential Sessions (persisting up to 60 minutes via _session-ID)Single Gateway Host: proxy.packetstream.io with port-specific protocolsProtocol Support: HTTPS (31111), SOCKS5 (31113), and HTTP (31112)Country-Level Geo-Targeting: 100+ countries via password suffix (_country-XX)White-label Reseller API ($1.00/GB with $500 minimum purchase)Strict Username/Password authentication (no IP whitelisting supported)Strictly Excluded: Datacenter, Static ISP, and Mobile standalone proxy networks	Rotating Residential: tiered from $1.50/GB (3 GB) to $1.20/GB (4–50 GB) and $0.78/GB (51+ GB)Static Residential / ISP IPv4 ($2.44–$2.99/mo/IP) and IPv6 ($0.52–$0.70/mo/IP)Datacenter IPv4 ($1.49/mo/IP) and Datacenter IPv6 ($0.15/mo/IP in 50-IP bulk packages)Rotating Mobile 4G/5G ($5.99/GB) and Dedicated Static Mobile 4G/5G modems (from $11/mo)Full protocol support: HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 on all proxy categoriesDual Authentication: Username/Password credentials and IP Whitelisting195+ Global Locations with Country, City, Region, and ASN targetingNon-expiring residential traffic balances without mandatory recurring monthly subscriptionsSticky Sessions up to 30 minutes for multi-step browser workflowsTransparent terms: Unlimited bandwidth on static plans subject to fair usage policies
Integration Tools & Clients	PythonNode.jsGocURLPlaywrightPuppeteer	PythonNode.jsGocURLPlaywrightPuppeteer
Ranking Placement	Not available	Not available
Official Documentation Source	https://packetstream.io/pricing/ ↗	https://www.proxy-cheap.com/pricing/ ↗

Trade-Offs Breakdown

Verified Pros & Cons: PacketStream vs Proxy-Cheap

PacketStream

Rank #null

✓ Verified Strengths (Pros)

Extremely cost-effective flat $1.00/GB residential pricing with zero recurring monthly subscription obligations
Non-expiring bandwidth balance ensures purchased traffic never lapses, ideal for intermittent or low-frequency scraping
Both rotating and sticky sessions (up to 60 minutes) share the exact same $1.00/GB rate without hidden premium surcharges
Supports HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 protocol endpoints through a clean gateway architecture (proxy.packetstream.io)

✕ Documented Limitations (Cons)

High entry barrier for casual testing: enforces a mandatory $50 minimum purchase threshold ($500 for Reseller API)
No IP whitelist authentication; connections must strictly authenticate using username and password parameters
Targeting is limited strictly to country level; does not support state, city, ASN, or carrier filtering
Does not offer Datacenter, Static ISP, or Mobile cellular proxy networks

Proxy-Cheap

Rank #null

✓ Verified Strengths (Pros)

Comprehensive multi-category catalog supporting Residential, Datacenter (IPv4/IPv6), Static ISP (IPv4/IPv6), and Mobile (Rotating & Static) proxy networks
Affordable entry threshold: residential packages start at just 3 GB ($4.50 total at $1.50/GB), scaling down to $0.78/GB for 51+ GB bulk purchases
Dual authentication methods (Username/Password and IP Whitelisting) and full HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS5 protocol coverage across all products
Non-expiring residential traffic balances without mandatory recurring monthly subscription lock-in

✕ Documented Limitations (Cons)

The headline $0.78/GB residential rate is a volume-discounted tier requiring a 51+ GB commitment ($39.78 min); entry volume (3 GB) is billed at $1.50/GB
Datacenter and Static ISP IPv6 products require multi-IP bulk bundle purchases rather than single-IP micro-orders
Unlimited bandwidth claims on Static ISP and Mobile products remain subject to fair usage, bandwidth throttling, and single-port concurrency limits
Vendor performance statistics (e.g., 99.9% uptime, sub-second latency) represent self-reported marketing claims rather than third-party verified benchmarks

Selection Verdict

How to Choose Between PacketStream and Proxy-Cheap

Selecting between PacketStream and Proxy-Cheap depends on the proxy network types, billing model, and session duration required by your workflow:

When to Choose PacketStream

Developers and scraping teams seeking flat-rate, low-cost residential bandwidth ($1.00/GB) with non-expiring balances and 60-minute sticky sessions without recurring monthly fees.

Look elsewhere if: You need granular city/ASN targeting, require IP whitelisting instead of username/password, want a micro-purchase under $50, or need dedicated Datacenter/ISP/Mobile IP pools.

Read PacketStream Review →

When to Choose Proxy-Cheap

Developers and small-to-medium teams looking for budget-friendly residential bandwidth ($1.50–$0.78/GB) or dedicated static ISP/datacenter IPv4/IPv6 addresses with HTTP/SOCKS5 support and non-expiring credits.

Look elsewhere if: You expect the advertised $0.78/GB rate on 1–2 GB micro-purchases, need dedicated enterprise SLAs with custom subnet delegation, or require zero-fair-usage unmetered multi-gigabit streaming.

Read Proxy-Cheap Review →

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