Is this IP really residential?
Instant verdict for any IPv4/IPv6 address — residential, mobile, datacenter, or proxy — backed by ASN, registry, and threat evidence. Free. No signup.
What is a residential IP?
A residential IP address is assigned by a consumer internet service provider to a home connection. Websites treat residential IPs as real-visitor traffic. Datacenter IPs belong to hosting providers, are publicly documented as infrastructure, and are the first thing anti-bot systems filter out. The difference is not technical quality — it's who the address is registered to, and that registration is public.
▸ Residential vs datacenter — the five network types, side by side
| Type | Registered to | How sites see it | Block behavior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Residential | Consumer ISPs (Comcast, Deutsche Telekom…) | Real visitor | Rarely — unless burned by abuse history |
| Mobile | Mobile carriers (T-Mobile, Vodafone…) | Real visitor on CGNAT — thousands share one IP | Almost never outright; too much collateral |
| Business | Enterprises, offices, institutions | Legitimate but non-consumer | Middle tier — often challenged, rarely blocked |
| Datacenter | AWS, Google Cloud, Hetzner, OVH… | Machine infrastructure | First thing anti-bot systems filter |
| Tor / known proxy | Anonymizing networks, public proxy lists | Anonymized traffic | Flagged or challenged on sight |
▸ Where residential proxies fit — and why "100% residential" is half the story
A residential proxy routes traffic through a real consumer connection, so the exit IP is genuinely residential at the network level. Detection therefore shifts to proxy intelligence: known proxy ranges, abuse history, session behavior. "Is the IP residential?" and "is it a known proxy?" are separate questions — this checker answers both.
The network type can be perfect while the specific address is burned — listed in abuse feeds from previous tenants of the same proxy pool. That's why the usability score and its deductions matter more than the type alone. Mobile IPs are the strongest residential-family signal: carriers put thousands of real devices behind one CGNAT address, so blocking one means blocking them all.
What you get on every check
A verdict, not a guess
Residential, mobile, business, datacenter, proxy, or Tor — with a confidence tier that tells you how many independent signals agree.
Usability, scenario by scenario
A 0–100 usability score with its exact deductions, plus a six-scenario matrix — sign-up, login, payment, browsing, API, scraping — showing where the address passes, gets monitored, or gets challenged.
A shareable link
Every verdict has a permanent URL — drop it in a ticket, a chat, or a dispute with your proxy vendor.
Frequently asked
Do residential proxies show up as residential IPs?
Usually yes at the network level — the exit IP belongs to a real ISP. Detection instead relies on proxy intelligence: known proxy ranges, abuse history, and behavior. An IP can be genuinely residential and still carry proxy evidence; the verdict shows both sides.
Can a residential IP still be blocked?
Yes. If it appears in spam, botnet, or abuse feeds it is effectively burned — anti-fraud systems flag it despite the network type. The risk score surfaces this next to the verdict.
Where does the data come from?
The IPBot API: IP2Location databases, RIR registry allocations, provider-published ranges, and live threat feeds. See how it works.
Try it on known addresses
See how different network types read: