Advantage #1
Pool qualityAethyn
Premium 99.2% / Elite 99.9%IPRoyalBudget-pool variance
Aethyn vs IPRoyal
IPRoyal is a popular budget residential provider known for self-serve checkout and traffic that never expires. Aethyn competes on dual Premium/Elite pools, username-encoded targeting, and published Euro per-GB rates built for automation-first teams.
€2.00 / GB Volume Rates
0 Minimum Commitments
Instant Self-Serve
Aethyn is our product. Competitor claims were last verified against IPRoyal's public pricing.
WHY TEAMS SWITCH
Where Aethyn wins against IPRoyal
The core architecture & pricing decisions that make engineering teams switch.
Advantage #2
TargetingAethyn
City + ISP in usernameIPRoyalCity; ISP varies
Advantage #3
MeteringAethyn
Per-byte liveIPRoyalPrepaid blocks
Advantage #4
PoolsAethyn
Dual explicit tiersIPRoyalSingle residential
01
Quick verdict
IPRoyal wins on cheap entry and non-expiring residential bandwidth — if your primary constraint is getting started with the lowest prepaid block and holding leftover traffic indefinitely, it is a fair budget pick and we concede that. Aethyn is not trying to undercut every budget sticker. We publish Premium from €2.90/GB entry (€2.00/GB at volume; 10 GB = €29) and Elite from €6.50/GB down to €4.50/GB, with PAYG at +10% that never expires, plus two explicit success-rate pools (99.2% Premium / 99.9% Elite) and country, city, ISP, and session targeting encoded in the username. Teams that outgrow budget-pool variance on protected targets — or who want credentials that are the whole config — typically land here.
02
Feature matrix
How Aethyn and IPRoyal line up on the decisions that matter at purchase time.
| Feature | AethynOUR CHOICE | IPRoyal |
|---|---|---|
| Product focus | Residential Premium + Elite | Budget residential + multi-product catalog |
| Billing model | Per-GB sub or PAYG (+10%) | Per-GB blocks; traffic never expires |
| Entry posture | €29 for 10 GB Premium | Cheaper small-block entry (see their pricing) |
| Pool tiers | Premium 99.2% / Elite 99.9% | Single rotating residential pool + other products |
| Targeting | Country, city, ISP, session in username | Country/state/city; flags vary by product |
| Sticky sessions | 30 min default, up to 24h | Sticky supported; long windows on some plans |
| Protocols | HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5 | HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5 |
| Best fit | Automation-first engineers | Budget self-serve buyers |
03
Pricing models
As of August 14, 2026. We compare structure — expiry, multipliers, minimums — not a unit-price scoreboard. Aethyn pricing · IPRoyal pricing
AethynRECOMMENDED FOR ENGINEERS
Per-GB, subscription or pay-as-you-go, all public
- Premium residential from €2.90/GB entry down to €2.00/GB at 90+ GB/month — 10 GB subscription is €29
- Elite residential from €6.50/GB down to €4.50/GB at volume, for hardened anti-bot targets
- Pay-as-you-go is a flat +10% over subscription rates, and PAYG bandwidth never expires
- Per-byte metering with live usage in the dashboard; unlimited concurrent threads on every plan
- No sales call, no minimum commit, one credential format across HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS5
IPRoyal
Per-GB residential blocks; traffic never expires
- Cheaper entry on small prepaid residential blocks than most mid-market and Premium-tier providers — verify live tiers on their pricing page
- Purchased residential traffic never expires (a real flexibility win for uneven workloads)
- Subscription and pay-as-you-go style blocks with volume discounts advertised at bulk scale
- Also sells datacenter, ISP/static residential, and mobile lines as separate products
- Self-serve checkout with browser extensions and a consumer-friendly dashboard
Methodology: Aethyn figures are from our published pricing page. Competitor claims reflect their public materials as of August 14, 2026 (source). Where a public rate is not verifiable we say so. See also how we measure quality.
04
Network & pool
Aethyn
- 85M+ residential IPs across 195+ countries, sourced from consented, KYC-verified peers
- Two explicit pools: Premium (99.2% success rate) and Elite (99.9%, curated high-reputation ISP exits)
- Country targeting on both tiers; city, ISP, and ASN targeting on Elite
- HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 on dedicated ports from one credential set
IPRoyal
- Large rotating residential pool with country, state, and city targeting
- Separate datacenter, ISP/static residential, and mobile product lines
- Rotating and sticky sessions on residential; long sticky windows advertised on some plans
- Ethically marketed sourcing narrative aimed at budget and SMB buyers
05
Sessions & targeting
Every request rotates by default. Append session-<id> to pin one sticky residential IP — 30 minutes by default, up to 1440 minutes (24 hours) with lifetime-<minutes>. Geography and sticky TTL live in the same username string, so fleets never sync dashboard state mid-run.
IPRoyal supports rotating exits and sticky sessions via username or dashboard options, with sticky durations that can run longer than many mid-market peers. Capability is solid for budget automation; Aethyn's distinction is that Premium vs Elite pool choice, country/city/ISP, and sticky lifetime are all one credential grammar.
Aethyn username — targeting in the credential
aethyn-d9e2c-country-us-session-a3xq-lifetime-30See authentication docs and targeting for the full grammar.
06
Integration
Both providers speak standard HTTP proxy auth, so Python requests looks similar. IPRoyal leans on geo.iproyal.com with password-side flags in common recipes; Aethyn puts country, session, and lifetime in the username on proxy.aethyn.io.
Aethyn — Python requests
import requests
username = "aethyn-d9e2c-country-us-session-a3xq-lifetime-30"
proxy = "http://" + username + ":YOUR_PROXY_PASSWORD@proxy.aethyn.io:2099"
resp = requests.get(
"https://example.com/products",
proxies={"http": proxy, "https": proxy},
timeout=30,
)
print(resp.status_code)IPRoyal (per public docs)
import requests
# Common pattern — flags often live in the password segment
username = "YOUR_USERNAME"
password = "YOUR_PASSWORD_country-us_session-a3xq"
proxy = "http://" + username + ":" + password + "@geo.iproyal.com:12321"
resp = requests.get(
"https://example.com/products",
proxies={"http": proxy, "https": proxy},
timeout=30,
)
print(resp.status_code)Prefer a typed helper? See the official SDK or Python requests setup.
Where Aethyn stands out
- Two explicit pools with published success rates (Premium 99.2% / Elite 99.9%)
- Username-encoded country, city, ISP, and session targeting
- Published Euro per-GB ladder with PAYG that never expires
- One endpoint grammar across HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5
- Unlimited concurrent threads on every plan
Where IPRoyal is strong
- Cheaper entry on small residential blocks than Premium-tier providers
- Non-expiring purchased traffic — strong for uneven monthly usage
- Self-serve checkout and approachable tooling (including browser extensions)
- Broad product menu: residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile
07
Trade-offs with IPRoyal
- Budget pools trade price for higher variance on hardened anti-bot targets
- Credential flag placement (password vs username) differs from engineer-first providers
- Quality and success rates are less explicitly tiered than Premium vs Elite splits
- Enterprise compliance and account-manager workflows are thinner than full platforms
Choose IPRoyal if
Teams and solo builders who need the cheapest self-serve residential entry and value non-expiring prepaid traffic more than dual-tier pool quality.
Choose Aethyn ifENGINEER CHOICE
Engineering teams that want predictable Premium/Elite success rates, username-encoded targeting, and transparent €/GB pricing for sustained automation.
EASY SETUP
08
Switch from IPRoyal in three steps
Get started in minutes with a straightforward setup and clear documentation.
Create account / credentials
Create an Aethyn account and generate Premium credentials — Elite if budget-pool success rates on your targets are already failing.
Configure targeting
Replace the gateway with proxy.aethyn.io HTTP 2099 / SOCKS5 1099 (Elite 5499/3499). Map geo and sticky flags into username suffixes: country-us, session-<id>, lifetime-<minutes>; city/ISP on Elite.
Connect & cut over
Pilot a fixed 100-URL basket and compare success rate and cost per successful request. Keep leftover non-expiring IPRoyal traffic for long-tail experiments until the Aethyn pilot closes the gap.
Ready to Get StartedTry Free Now
Premium · Elite · Quickstart
09
Alternatives to IPRoyal
Best for: Premium/Elite qualityAethynPremium/Elite residential pools, username-encoded targeting, published €/GB rates.Best for: free/budget entryWebshareAnother budget self-serve option with a free tier for light testing.Best for: free lists / experimentsProxyScrapeBudget-oriented residential and free lists for early experiments.Best for: mid-market dashboardSmartproxy (Decodo)Mid-market polish if you want a dashboard-first generalist.
10
The verdict
IPRoyal is a strong budget residential choice with non-expiring traffic and cheap entry. Aethyn wins when you need explicit Premium/Elite pool quality, username-encoded targeting, and published Euro per-GB pricing for production automation — not when the only goal is the lowest sticker on a 1 GB block.
11
Frequently asked questions
Is Aethyn a good IPRoyal alternative?
Yes when you care more about pool quality and credential-level control than about the absolute cheapest prepaid block. IPRoyal is a fair budget pick for entry and non-expiring traffic; Aethyn is built for teams that need Premium/Elite success rates and username-encoded targeting.
Which is cheaper, Aethyn or IPRoyal?
IPRoyal typically wins on cheaper entry for small residential blocks — we concede that. Aethyn publishes Premium from €2.90/GB (€29 for 10 GB) and Elite from €6.50/GB; compare live IPRoyal tiers on their pricing page rather than treating either side as a static unit-price scoreboard.
Does Aethyn bandwidth expire?
Pay-as-you-go bandwidth never expires. Subscription bandwidth follows the plan you buy; PAYG is a flat +10% over subscription rates.
When should I stay on IPRoyal?
Stay if you are still validating a workflow on unprotected targets, you need the lowest prepaid entry, and leftover non-expiring traffic is more valuable than dual-tier pool guarantees.
Related guides
Residential Proxy Pricing in 2026: What You Actually Pay per GBResidential proxy pricing is the published euros or dollars you pay per gigabyte of household-ISP traffic. Here is a dated 10 / 50 / 100 GB sticker table — then why sticker is not the bill.Best SOCKS5 Proxy Providers in 2026 (Comparison)SOCKS5 proxies power scrapers, bots, and tunnel tools that do not speak HTTP CONNECT. We ranked 10 providers on protocol support, residential reputation, and pricing for 2026.Best Datacenter Proxy Providers (2026) — When to Switch to ResidentialDatacenter proxies are still the fastest, cheapest option for open APIs and unprotected sites. We compared Webshare, Bright Data, Oxylabs, and others — plus when to upgrade to Aethyn residential.Best Residential Proxies for Web Scraping in 2026 (Tested Criteria, Published Sources)Nine residential proxy vendors ranked for web-scraping buyers on pricing transparency, documented targeting, session control, and self-serve access — every competitor fact linked and dated.
Products & learning
Premium residential proxiesCost-efficient rotating residential pool from €2.00/GB for bulk scraping and monitoring.Elite residential proxiesCurated high-trust pool with city and ISP targeting for hard anti-bot targets.Proxy glossaryPlain-English definitions for residential proxies, rotation, anti-bot, and scraping terms.Best proxies for scrapingDeveloper-focused residential proxy comparison for 2026.
More comparisons
“IPRoyal” and related marks are trademarks of their respective owners. Comparisons on this page are for informational purposes only and do not imply affiliation, endorsement, or partnership.