Yeezys, Air Jordan’s, Adidas – all well-known brands, and all well known for their limited edition sneakers. These are no regular sneakers you just go to a shop and buy. If you do go to a shop, you’ll stand in lines lasting for hours to get your hands on a pair, if there will be any left.
So what‘s the alternative – simply buying online? Unfortunately not. Most popular shoes sell out in seconds thanks to sneaker bots that buy inventory in bulk.
So what should you do then? Use sneaker proxies and bots yourself to level the playing field. Here are the top sneaker proxy providers that will help you cook those grails.
Quick Summary: The Best Sneaker Proxy Providers
What Are Sneaker Proxies?
Sneaker proxies are intermediary IP addresses optimized for purchasing limited release shoes online. They work with sneaker bots to help you buy inventory before it sells out.
The proxies act as a middleman, routing and masking your requests through external residential IPs or internet service provider networks. This avoids directly connecting from your own IP which is far easier for sites to detect, ban, and flag as suspicious activity.
How to Choose the Best Sneaker Proxies
Here are the key factors to consider when selecting proxies for your sneaker bot:
Location Targeting – Proxies located close to shoe store servers provide the fastest connections critical for beating bots and securing pairs. If the seller is US-based, you‘ll want US proxies.
IP Rotation Settings – Sites now use queue-based systems so proxies that can maintain sticky sessions without rotating are ideal. Sessions lasting 10-30 minutes ensure you maintain your place in line.
Residential or ISP Proxies – Residential IPs from real devices can mimic organic traffic better than datacenters which are now quickly flagged. ISPs are faster than residentials while still mimicking consumers.
Unlimited Bandwidth – Copping shoes takes high traffic so get proxies with 5-10GB+ monthly bandwidth or unlimited plans to avoid needing to continually purchase data.
Residential vs Datacenter Proxies
In the past, datacenter proxies were effective for shoes thanks to their speed and affordability. However, sneaker sites now actively block their easily detectable commercial IP ranges.
Residential proxies use real residential IPs from ISP networks, rotating to avoid patterns. Sites are hesitant to block potential customers making residentials now the go-to choice.
ISP proxies also use consumer IPs but are static, faster, and don‘t rotate. This makes them ideal for shoe sites utilizing queues.
For best results, utilize a mix of residential and ISP proxies based on the release.
How to Use Sneaker Proxies
Follow these tips when using proxies for sneaker sites:
- Use Multiple Proxies – The more proxies you have in rotation, the less likely you‘ll get blocked, maximizing your chances.
- One Proxy Per Task – Some sites allow one IP per checkout. Using multiple proxies in different tasks improves success.
- Gather CAPTCHA Tokens – Bots can automatically fetch CAPTCHA tokens to solve entry quizzes using Gmail accounts watching YouTube videos.
- Monitor Sites – Set some proxies to continually watch for surprise restocks or changing release times.
- Filter Slow Proxies Before Releases – As launch nears, proxy checkers can test and filter IPs, weeding out lagging addresses.
Don‘t Use Free Sneaker Proxies
It‘s extremely unlikely you‘ll find free sneaker proxies that haven‘t already been abused and banned. Even if you do, they will be painfully slow and unreliable compared to paid services. When dealing with limited shoe inventory selling out immediately, proxies need to be robust, responsive and help you beat the competition.
The slight investment is well worth it for the best chance at securing your grails.
Now let‘s explore the top paid sneaker proxy providers available in 2024.
1. Smartproxy
Best residential proxies for sticky sessions to run sneaker bots smoothly
Smartproxy is one of the most popular choices used with sneaker bots thanks to their responsive residential proxies supporting sticky sessions crucial for shoes.
They also offer specialized sneaker ISP proxies in the US. Smartproxy provides extensive location targeting, with their global residential pool containing 55 million IPs spanning over 195 locations.
The residential IPs rotate but can hold sessions from 10 minutes up to 30 minutes, avoiding timeouts in long shop queues. Their 20,000 ISP proxies hold sessions indefinitely for maximum stability.
Extensive targeting, smooth performance and sticky sessions make Smartproxy an ideal pick for serious sneaker cops.
Key Features:
- Proxy pool: 55M residential; 20K ISP addresses
- Locations: 195+ locations (residential); US only (ISP)
- Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5
- Rotation: Customizable sessions up to 30 mins (residential), indefinite (ISP)
- Extras: API, browser extension, configurations library
- Support: 24/7 live chat & email
- Free trial: 100MB for $1
Pricing Estimate:
- Residential – Starts around $8.50 per GB
- ISP – Around $14 per GB
Visit Smartproxy or read Smartproxy Review
2. Oxylabs
Top premium residential & ISP proxies for serious bulk sneaker cops
Oxylabs is the go-to for the largest scale sneaker cops and resellers, providing an enormous pool of over 100 million residential IPs spanning every country.
Their worldwide ISP network contains over 100,000 static US and EU proxies undetectable by retailers.
Both proxy types have impressive targeting and customization, with Oxylabs specializing in mimicking organic users with their proprietary proxy rotation technology. This avoids detection even on the most heavily botted sites.
For those buying sneaker inventory at scale, Oxylabs proxies consistently perform at the highest level while avoiding bans. Their premium pricing reflects their quality infrastructure catered towards serious resellers.
Key Features:
- Proxy pool: 100M+ residential; 100K+ ISP addresses
- Locations: Every country (residential); US & EU (ISP)
- Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5
- Rotation: Custom sessions up to 30 mins (residential), 5 hrs (ISP)
- Extras: API, browser extension, configs library
- Support: 24/7 live chat, dedicated account manager
- Free trial: 7-day trial
Pricing Estimate:
- Residential plans start around $10 per GB
- ISP plans start around $17 per GB
Visit Oxylabs or read Oxylabs Review
3. Bright Data
High-performing residential and ISP proxies for seasoned sneaker cooks
Bright Data is a consistently top choice among cook groups thanks to their smooth-running residential and ISP proxy networks.
Their 72 million residential IPs span every country with advanced targeting including cities, states, ZIP codes, ASNs and more. Over 700,000 ISP proxies across 50+ countries offer blazing speeds.
While more complex to use than competitors, Bright Data proxies are finely tuned for automation. Their advanced proxy manager lets you customize sessions, backconnects, chained proxy chains and more.
For veterans running mature sneaker bots, Bright Data offers some of the most polished proxies available. The premium quality and complexity comes at a steep price however.
Key Features:
- Proxy pool: 72M residential; 700K ISP
- Locations: Global (residential); 50+ countries (ISP)
- Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5
- Rotation: Custom sessions with backconnects
- Extras: API, browser extension, advanced proxy manager
- Support: 24/7 live chat, account manager
- Free trial: 7-day
Pricing Estimate:
- Residential plans start around $10.50 per GB
- ISP plans start around $15 per GB + $0.50 per IP
Visit Bright Data or read Bright Data Review
4. SOAX
Reliable & customized sneaker proxies for smooth performance
SOAX is known for their easy-to-use dashboard letting you finely customize proxies for your specific sneaker tasks.
Their global residential proxy pool spans over 150 locations while their ISP network focuses solely on US locations ideal for stateside shops.
Both proxy types have granular rotation settings, letting you set static sessions from 1 minute up to 24 hours based on the site‘s queue system.
For cooks wanting convenient customization without dealing with code, SOAX proxies consistently provide smooth performance.
Key Features:
- Proxy pool: 5M residential; 100K ISP (US only)
- Locations: 150+ countries (residential); US only (ISP)
- Protocols: HTTP(S)
- Rotation: Custom sessions from 1 min to 24 hrs
- Extras: Node access for direct IP connection
- Support: 24/7 live chat & ticket
- Free trial: 3-day $1.99 trial
Pricing Estimate:
- Starts around $6 per GB
Visit SOAX or read SOAX Review
5. Webshare
Lightning-fast ISP proxies for blazing checkout speeds
Webshare stands out by providing extremely responsive ISP proxies reaching speeds rivaling dedicated connections.
Their ISP plans come with 100,000 proxies in 5 countries including the US. You can choose between shared, semi-dedicated and full private proxy plans catering from small to large tasks.
For cooks where every millisecond matters, Webshare‘s ISP proxies offer the performance needed to beat out bots. Their network customization options also impress, letting you control aspects like threads, bandwidth pools and more.
Key Features:
- Proxy pool: 100K ISP (US, EU)
- Locations: US, 4 EU countries
- Protocols: HTTP(S), SOCKS5
- Rotation: Custom static sessions
- Extras: Advanced network settings customization
- Support: Email support (Mon-Fri)
- Free trial: N/A
Pricing Estimate:
- Shared ISP plans start around $0.30 per proxy
types of sneaker proxies
While often discussed as one entity, sub-types of sneaker proxies exist catering to specific sites:
Nike SNKRS Proxies require residential IPs and good bots as Nike has strict anti-bot measures.
Supreme Proxies emphasize speed so ISPs or the fastest residentials you can obtain are necessary.
Yeezy / Adidas Proxies benefit from sticky sessions and static ISP IPs for queue holds.
Footsite Proxies also rely on long sessions with bot queues making residentials and ISPs ideal.
Whenever possible, experiment with proxies on sites before releases to determine what works best.
frequently asked questions
Do sneaker proxies work?
Yes, proxies are essential for many successful sneaker cops against bots. However outcomes still rely heavily on site security, bot coding, and user knowledge.
Are sneaker proxies illegal?
Sneaker proxies themselves simply facilitate access and are legal. However usage policies prohibit bottling which some sites forbid in their terms and conditions.
How many proxies do I need?
The more proxies you have in rotation, the more tasks you can run and less likely an IP will get banned. The exact amount depends on your cop scale – small cops can start with 5-10 proxies while resellers use hundreds.
What is the best sneaker bot?
Top bots in 2024 include Ganesh Bot, Kodai Bot, Balko Bot, Cyber Bot AIO, and more. New bots and site updates shift the landscape though so do research on the latest successes per site.
The Author
Mark Richards has over 10 years of experience using proxies and web data extraction tools. He specializes in helping Footlocker customers across North America cop the most coveted sneaker releases.
