The mid-market proxy space is competitive, and two names that come up repeatedly in developer communities are Thordata and Smartproxy, now rebranding under the name Decodo. Both target a similar audience: developers, agencies, and data teams who want reliable residential proxy access without the overhead of enterprise platforms. But their positioning has diverged in interesting ways.
Smartproxy (Decodo) built its reputation on developer-friendly documentation, a well-structured API, and a solid community around its platform. It’s been a consistent mid-market choice for teams that prioritize integration quality and reliable support. Thordata takes a more direct value proposition: competitive proxy access with pricing that undercuts most alternatives, including Smartproxy’s standard rates.
This comparison looks at both platforms honestly, pricing, pool sizes, API design, use case fit, and where each one earns its spot in your toolkit. If you’re deciding between a developer-friendly incumbent and a value-focused challenger, here’s what the data actually shows.
⚡ Quick Verdict
- →Pick Thordata if you want competitive residential proxy pricing and straightforward access for scraping and data collection without paying mid-market premiums.
- →Pick Smartproxy (Decodo) if you need a well-documented API, strong community support, and one of the most reliable mid-market proxy networks with a proven track record.
📋 Table of Contents
Thordata Overview
Thordata is a proxy network designed for developers, agencies, and data teams who need reliable access to residential, datacenter, and mobile proxies at competitive pricing. Its residential proxies start at approximately $0.75/GB, offering a meaningful cost advantage over most mid-market alternatives. The platform covers 190+ countries with country, state, and city-level geo-targeting.
Thordata supports HTTP/HTTPS and SOCKS5 protocols, integrates with popular scraping frameworks, and offers a free trial for new users, a practical way to validate performance before committing budget. For teams building price monitoring tools, running SERP trackers, or managing multi-geo ad verification campaigns, Thordata delivers the core proxy functionality that most workflows need. You can explore how it compares to the broader market in our guide to the best proxy services for web scraping and data collection.
Smartproxy (Decodo) Overview
Smartproxy, which has been rebranding as Decodo, is one of the most recognized names in the mid-market proxy space. It offers 55M+ residential IPs across 195+ countries, a well-maintained API, and documentation that developers consistently rate highly. Its product line covers residential proxies, datacenter proxies, shared datacenter proxies, mobile proxies, and dedicated scraping APIs for specific use cases like SERP and e-commerce data extraction.
Smartproxy/Decodo’s pricing starts at $2.20/GB for residential proxies on a pay-as-you-go basis, with monthly plans starting around $75/month for 8GB of residential bandwidth. It also offers starter plans for smaller use cases, making it more accessible than enterprise platforms. Its community forums, GitHub integrations, and responsive support team have contributed to a loyal developer user base, which is increasingly valuable as platform stability becomes a selection criterion alongside raw pricing.
Pricing Compared
Thordata’s residential proxy pricing starts at approximately $0.75/GB, making it one of the most affordable residential networks available. Datacenter proxies are priced lower still, and the free trial removes friction for new users evaluating the platform.
Smartproxy (Decodo) starts at $2.20/GB for residential proxies on pay-as-you-go pricing, with monthly plans from $75/month that include a set bandwidth allocation. For teams consuming consistent volumes each month, Smartproxy’s subscription plans offer predictable billing and slightly better per-GB rates than the pay-as-you-go tier.
At equal bandwidth consumption, Thordata is approximately 3x cheaper than Smartproxy at comparable residential proxy tiers. For teams that are price-sensitive, startups, freelancers, agencies managing thin margins, this gap compounds quickly at scale. For teams that value platform stability, documentation quality, and community support above raw cost, Smartproxy’s premium is more defensible.
Proxy Pool Size & Geo Coverage
Smartproxy (Decodo) offers 55M+ residential IPs spanning 195+ countries, with city-level targeting and carrier-level mobile proxy options. Its residential pool has grown significantly over the past few years and covers most major markets with strong IP diversity.
Thordata’s residential pool covers 190+ countries with country, state, and city-level geo-targeting. While exact IP counts aren’t always published by newer networks, the coverage geography is competitive with Smartproxy for the vast majority of use cases. Both platforms are well-suited for global e-commerce scraping, localized SERP monitoring, and geo-specific content access.
Performance, Speed & Reliability
Smartproxy (Decodo) has a multi-year track record of reliable uptime and consistent performance across its proxy types. Its infrastructure handles both high-concurrency scraping workloads and sustained, long-session residential proxy use cases. Developer feedback on forums like GitHub Discussions and Reddit’s r/webscraping consistently rates Smartproxy’s reliability as a core strength.
Thordata performs competitively for standard scraping and data collection workflows, with solid connection speeds and reliable rotation. Its SOCKS5 support and session management tools are functional for most developer use cases. For teams running production-grade pipelines where reliability directly affects business output, Smartproxy’s longer track record is a factor worth weighing. For development, testing, and moderate-volume production use, Thordata’s performance is sufficient.
API, Integration & Use Cases
Smartproxy (Decodo) is consistently praised for its developer experience: clean REST API, detailed documentation, code snippets for Python, Node.js, PHP, and Java, and dedicated scraping APIs for SERP (Google, Bing, Yandex), e-commerce (Amazon, Walmart), and social platforms. Its No-Code Scraper tool lowers the barrier for non-technical users, and its browser extension enables quick proxy switching for manual verification tasks.
Thordata offers standard proxy integration support, HTTP/HTTPS and SOCKS5, API-based session management, and documentation for common frameworks. It doesn’t yet match Smartproxy’s breadth of dedicated scraping APIs or no-code tools, but for the core use case of proxying requests through residential or datacenter IPs, the integration experience is straightforward. Teams focused on ethical proxy networks for business intelligence will find both platforms adequate, with Smartproxy offering more out-of-the-box tooling and Thordata offering lower operational cost.
Side-by-Side Comparison Table
| Feature | Thordata | Smartproxy (Decodo) |
|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Yes | 3-day money-back |
| Residential IPs | 190+ countries | 55M+ IPs, 195+ countries |
| Datacenter IPs | Yes | Yes (shared + dedicated) |
| Mobile Proxies | Yes | Yes |
| SERP API | No | Yes |
| Scraping API | Via standard proxy | Yes (e-commerce, SERP, social) |
| Geo Targeting | Country, state, city | Country, state, city, carrier |
| Pay-as-You-Go | Yes | Yes |
| No-Code Scraper | No | Yes |
| Compliance Tools | Standard | Standard + GDPR docs |
| Starting Price (Residential) | ~$0.75/GB | ~$2.20/GB (or from $75/mo) |
Which Should You Choose?
Pick Thordata if: you’re primarily driven by cost efficiency and need reliable residential or datacenter proxy access for scraping, price monitoring, or ad verification. The free trial and competitive $0.75/GB pricing make it accessible for startups and agencies that can’t justify Smartproxy’s higher rates for equivalent bandwidth.
Pick Smartproxy (Decodo) if: you value a polished developer experience, need dedicated scraping APIs for SERP or e-commerce targets, or want the confidence of a platform with an established track record and an active community. Smartproxy’s documentation quality and no-code tools also make it a better fit for mixed technical teams where not everyone is writing raw proxy integrations.
🎯 Start Scraping Smarter with Thordata
Get residential proxy access from ~$0.75/GB. Free trial available, no enterprise contract, no minimum commitment.
Try Thordata Free →FAQs
Is Thordata cheaper than Smartproxy?
Yes. Thordata’s residential proxies start at around $0.75/GB compared to Smartproxy’s ~$2.20/GB on a pay-as-you-go basis, roughly 3x cheaper at comparable tiers. For bandwidth-heavy workflows, that difference adds up quickly.
What is Decodo?
Decodo is the new brand name for Smartproxy. The company is in the process of rebranding its products under the Decodo name, though the underlying infrastructure, API, and platform remain the same. Existing Smartproxy accounts continue to work through the transition.
Does Smartproxy (Decodo) offer a free trial?
Smartproxy offers a 3-day money-back guarantee rather than a traditional free trial. Thordata offers a free trial for new users, which is a lower-friction way to test the network before committing payment details.
Which has a better API, Thordata or Smartproxy?
Smartproxy (Decodo) has a more mature and extensively documented API with dedicated scraping endpoints for SERP, e-commerce, and social platforms. Thordata’s API covers the standard proxy use cases well but doesn’t yet offer the same breadth of specialized scraping endpoints.
Can I use Thordata for SERP tracking?
Yes, Thordata’s residential proxies work well for SERP tracking workflows by routing requests through residential IPs to capture localized search results. For a dedicated SERP API with built-in parsing, Smartproxy’s offering is more complete.
Does Smartproxy support mobile proxies?
Yes. Smartproxy (Decodo) offers mobile proxies with carrier-level targeting across major operators. Thordata also offers mobile proxies as part of its proxy product lineup.
Which is better for e-commerce price scraping?
Both platforms work for e-commerce price scraping. Smartproxy’s dedicated e-commerce scraping API simplifies Amazon and Walmart data extraction with built-in parsing. Thordata’s residential proxies provide the IP diversity needed for price scraping workflows at a lower cost per GB.
Is Smartproxy good for beginners?
Yes. Smartproxy (Decodo) is consistently rated highly for its documentation quality and onboarding experience. The no-code scraper tool and browser extension make it accessible for non-technical users. Thordata’s setup is straightforward but geared more toward developers comfortable with proxy integration.
Does Thordata offer session control?
Yes. Thordata supports both rotating and sticky (persistent) sessions, which is important for workflows that require maintaining the same IP across multiple requests, such as login-based scraping or session-dependent data collection.
How many residential IPs does Smartproxy have?
Smartproxy (Decodo) operates a pool of 55M+ residential IPs across 195+ countries, with city-level and carrier-level targeting options. It’s one of the larger residential pools in the mid-market proxy space.
Is Thordata suitable for production workloads?
Thordata is suitable for production scraping and data collection workloads at moderate to high volumes. For mission-critical pipelines with strict SLA requirements, comparing uptime track records between the two platforms is worthwhile before committing.
Which proxy network is better for agencies?
Both work well for agencies. Thordata’s lower pricing makes it easier to maintain profitability on client projects. Smartproxy’s sub-account management and API quality are useful for agencies managing multiple client integrations with varying technical requirements.
Final Word
Thordata and Smartproxy (Decodo) are genuinely comparable for core residential proxy use cases, the main differentiators are price and developer tooling depth. If cost efficiency is your primary driver, Thordata is the obvious choice at roughly 3x cheaper for residential bandwidth. If you want a richer API ecosystem, dedicated scraping endpoints, and a platform with an established community, Smartproxy’s premium is justifiable.
For most development teams and agencies, the proxy network that wins is the one that keeps costs manageable without compromising on core functionality. See the full landscape in our best proxy services for web scraping and data collection guide, and explore our ethical proxy networks for business intelligence roundup for more context on choosing responsibly.