East Asia residential proxy index 2026: entry price, expiry, crypto and KYC

Finding 1: Japan is not a premium market for most providers

Nine of the 10 providers whose prices we could read sell one residential pool at one price, whatever the country, so Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and Hong Kong IPs cost the same as US or European ones. SOAX is the exception: it "groups countries into three geo tiers based on the cost of serving each market", charging $2.00 to $5.00 per GB on its Sandbox plan, and its pricing page did not say which tier Japan belongs to on 13 October 2026.

Finding 2: low rates usually come in larger blocks

The smallest paid purchase ranges from $3.50 (Webshare's 1 GB monthly plan, at a sale price) to $50 (Shifter's 50 GB plan, and DataImpulse after its one-time intro pack). Low per-GB rates usually come in larger blocks: Geonode from 10 GB ($7.92), Databay Flex from 25 GB ($13.75), Shifter from 50 GB ($50).

At JapanProxies the minimum cash outlay is the $25 top-up (1 GB costs $2.62; the rest stays on the balance, never expires and is not refundable): more than Webshare, Decodo, IPRoyal, Geonode, NodeMaven or Databay, less than Oxylabs, Shifter or DataImpulse after its intro pack.

Finding 3: six of the 11 providers let traffic expire

Four providers say traffic does not expire or rolls over: DataImpulse, Geonode, IPRoyal and NodeMaven, as at JapanProxies. Four sell monthly plans that reset each billing period (Webshare, Decodo, Oxylabs, Shifter), Databay Flex traffic lasts 31 days, and SOAX credits last 60 days on monthly plans. For occasional checks, expiry can double the real cost per GB used.

Finding 4: crypto and identity checks split the market

Six of the 11 other providers accept crypto according to their own pages: DataImpulse, Shifter, Decodo, IPRoyal, NodeMaven and SOAX, which accepts it only after KYC. Webshare and Oxylabs do not accept crypto; Geonode, Databay and Bright Data do not state it on the pages we read.

Identity checks vary just as much. Oxylabs writes that "every customer has to answer a KYC questionnaire"; Bright Data requires company KYC for Residential zones created after 7 July 2026; IPRoyal uses identity verification for unrestricted access; Webshare asks for KYC to unblock certain targets. JapanProxies asks for none: no ID, no selfie, no documents.

Finding 5: where to get city targeting inside Japan

Nine of the 11 other providers list city targeting, on their own pages or in 2026 reviews; Shifter lists it on its Full Geo pool. For Japan specifically, reviews confirm Decodo (ZIP level, per AIMultiple), Oxylabs (several Japanese cities, per Proxyway) and SOAX (city and ASN, per Proxyway). JapanProxies offers country and city targeting (city availability varies); Databay Flex targets countries only, and one provider (Geonode) was not checked. We did not check which Japanese cities each provider covers: if your work depends on Tokyo or Osaka, test that city first.

How this index was built

• Providers: those cited in 2026 guides to Japanese and Korean proxies (AIMultiple, Proxyway, DataImpulse's Japan guide), plus Geonode, Shifter, Databay and NodeMaven, which publish low per-GB rates or East Asian location pages. NetNut, disrupted in July 2026, and brands named in Google's January 2026 IPIDEA action are excluded.
• Date: pricing, KYC and help pages read on 13 October 2026; Bright Data's KYC rule on 5 October 2026.
• Rules: the smallest purchase a new customer can make without a coupon; sale prices shown without an end date are marked.
• Limits: we did not test speed or success rates. Performance figures elsewhere on this site are quoted from AIMultiple.
• Reuse: free to quote and reuse with a link to this page.