PacketStream is one of the original names in cheap residential proxies, the flat one dollar per GB that made "pay as you go residential" a normal thing to expect from a proxy vendor. We run a competing network and price the same product lower, so this is a close comparison rather than a lopsided one, and we are going to keep it honest about where PacketStream is still a perfectly reasonable pick.
Is HProxy a good PacketStream alternative?
Yes, and on the same model. Both sell rotating residential IPs pay as you go with no monthly commitment. HProxy is $0.65/GB against PacketStream's $1.00/GB, so you pay less per gigabyte for the same kind of traffic, and HProxy also sells ISP, datacenter, and mobile on one balance where PacketStream centers on rotating residential. PacketStream keeps the edge of a long track record and a bandwidth-sharing program that can offset your bill. If you want the lower flat rate and more proxy types on one account, HProxy is the closer fit.
The short version
- Price: HProxy is $0.65/GB flat, PacketStream is $1.00/GB flat. Both pay as you go, so HProxy is about 35 percent cheaper per gigabyte on the same no-commitment model.
- Model: Nearly identical. Both are flat-rate, pay as you go, no subscription. This is the rare comparison where the billing philosophy actually matches.
- Range: PacketStream is built around rotating residential. HProxy sells residential, ISP, datacenter, and mobile on one balance.
- Sourcing: PacketStream runs a peer-to-peer network (PacketShare) where users share bandwidth for $0.10/GB. That earn program is something HProxy does not offer.
Because the models line up, this one comes down to the number and the range, not to untangling a plan. The pricing section below is most of the story.
PacketStream pricing vs HProxy: the part that decides it
| HProxy | PacketStream | |
|---|---|---|
| Residential per GB | $0.65 | $1.00 |
| Billing model | Pay as you go | Pay as you go |
| Monthly commitment | None | None |
| Balance expiry | Never expires | Not published |
| Proxy types | Residential, ISP, datacenter, mobile | Rotating residential |
| Geo-targeting | Country and city | 190+ countries, city level |
| Onboarding | Self-serve, no KYC | Self-serve |
This is not a case of a competitor hiding its real price behind a plan. PacketStream's one dollar per GB is a genuine flat pay-as-you-go rate, the same honest structure we use, which is exactly why the comparison comes down to the number itself. At $0.65 against $1.00 you are paying about a third less per gigabyte for traffic that does the same job. On a 50 GB month that is roughly $33 at HProxy against $50 at PacketStream. Not a chasm, and we are not going to inflate it into one, but a steady saving on every gigabyte with nothing given up on the model.
The part that compounds the gap is what you pay per successful request. HProxy does not charge for blocked or errored requests, so a proxy that fails on your target does not still bill you for the bandwidth of the failure. On a defended site, where a share of every batch gets blocked, that removes the hidden retry multiplier that quietly raises the real cost of any per-GB rate. Add a balance that never expires, so a paused project keeps its credit, and the lower sticker is not the only thing working in your favour here.
Where PacketStream genuinely wins
This is the part a marketing comparison skips, so here it is straight.
A proven, simple flat rate. PacketStream helped set the expectation that residential proxies can be bought like credit at a flat per-GB price, and it has run that model for years. If you want a name with a long track record and pricing you can explain in one sentence, that reputation is real and it is earned.
The bandwidth-sharing program. Through PacketShare, PacketStream sources part of its network from users who share unused bandwidth and earn $0.10/GB for it. If you want to offset your proxy spend by contributing bandwidth, that earn side is a feature HProxy does not offer.
It is a fellow budget option, not a markup. The honest framing is that PacketStream sits on the same side of the market as us. At one dollar per GB flat it is one of the cheaper residential networks around, so this is a close race, not a rescue mission. We are cheaper, and we are not going to pretend the gap is larger than it is.
Where HProxy wins as a PacketStream alternative
A lower flat rate. $0.65/GB against $1.00/GB, both pay as you go, is roughly 35 percent less per gigabyte with no change to how you buy.
Four proxy types on one balance. PacketStream centers on rotating residential. HProxy sells residential, ISP, datacenter, and mobile on the same account, so a job that needs a static ISP IP or a mobile IP does not send you to a second vendor. The differences between those types are in what is a residential proxy and the pieces around it.
Billing that ignores failures. HProxy does not charge for blocked or errored requests, so the metric that actually decides your bill, cost per successful request, stays low. A cheap sticker still costs you on every retry if you are paying for the failures too.
A non-expiring balance, and a free way to test first. Top up, use it at $0.65/GB, and what you do not spend stays there. You can also check the network on the free proxy checker and the live free proxy list before you spend anything.
Who should pick which
Pick PacketStream if you specifically want its long-standing flat-rate residential service, or you want to take part in its bandwidth-sharing earn program, and rotating residential is all you need.
Pick HProxy if you want the lower flat rate ($0.65/GB against $1.00), the same pay-as-you-go model with a balance that never expires, four proxy types on one account, and no charge for failed requests. For most people buying cheap residential by the gigabyte, that is the better version of the same idea.
The two of us agree on the thing most vendors get wrong, which is that residential should be sold like credit at a flat rate with nothing to sign. On that shared ground, the deciding factors are price and range, and both of those point the same way.
Try it before you decide
You do not have to take our word on the network. Test HProxy's free proxy checker and the live free proxy list to see the infrastructure, then start on residential at $0.65/GB pay as you go when you are ready. If you are weighing the budget field as a whole, our cheapest residential proxies in 2026 breakdown puts PacketStream and the rest side by side on the price a new customer actually pays, and our full pricing lays out every per-GB rate with nothing to sign.