How to Test Proxies Before Buying: A 10-Point Checklist for Speed, Leaks, and Compatibility

Buying proxies blindly is one of the most common ways to lose money in arbitrage, SMM, and scraping. Slow IPs, leaks of the real address, incompatibility with Facebook or Wildberries — all of this is discovered only after payment, when accounts start getting banned. The good news: any proxy package can be tested in 20–30 minutes before purchasing a full volume — if you know what exactly to check.

This article contains a detailed 10-point checklist with specific tools and threshold values. It is suitable for arbitrage specialists, SMM professionals, and marketplace sellers.

Why Testing Proxies is Critical Before Purchase

The proxy market is vast, and the quality of services varies dramatically. The same type of proxy — for example, residential — can differ in speed by 5–10 times among different providers, and the percentage of "dirty" (banned) IPs can vary by 20 times. Providers that sell cheap packages often use overcrowded pools: the same IPs have already been exposed on Facebook, Instagram, or Wildberries by hundreds of other users.

For an arbitrage specialist, this means that a new Facebook Ads account will get banned within hours of operation — not due to creatives or campaign settings, but simply because the IP is already on the blacklist. For an SMM specialist — the loss of a client account. For a Wildberries seller — the inability to gather data on competitors' prices because the scraper gets blocked on the very first request.

Most providers offer trial packages: 100 MB of traffic, 10–50 IPs for 24 hours, or a trial period for a minimal fee. It is at this moment that a full check should be conducted according to all 10 points — and only then should a decision be made about purchasing a large volume.

What Tools are Needed for Testing

For a complete proxy check, you don't need to be a programmer. All tools are web services that open in a browser through a proxy connection. Here’s the basic set:

All checks should be performed while connected through the proxy being tested. If you are working through Dolphin Anty or AdsPower — create a test profile, connect the proxy, and open all services from this profile. This way, you will check the real picture, not abstract parameters.

10-Point Checklist: Complete Proxy Check

Below is a summary table of all 10 points with threshold values. Detailed descriptions of each point can be found in the following sections.

Points 1–2: Speed and Latency (Ping)

Point 1. Download and Upload Speed

The speed of the proxy directly affects work performance. For an arbitrage specialist, a slow proxy means long loading times for the Facebook Ads dashboard, freezes when loading creatives, and overall discomfort when working with 10–20 accounts simultaneously. For a scraper — a reduction in the number of requests per minute and, consequently, a loss of relevance in data on prices for Wildberries or Ozon.

How to Check: Connect through the proxy and open fast.com or speedtest.net. Run the test three times at different times (morning, day, evening) — the speed should not fluctuate significantly.

Normal Indicators:

• For working with social networks (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok): at least 5–10 Mbps
• For scraping marketplaces: 3–5 Mbps is sufficient
• For uploading video creatives in TikTok Ads: preferably 20+ Mbps
• Mobile proxies are inherently slower than residential ones — 5–15 Mbps is considered normal

Point 2. Latency (Ping / Latency)

Latency is the time from sending a request to receiving a response. High ping makes working with the browser feel "fluffy": pages load slowly, and the interface responds with delays. This is especially critical for arbitrage specialists who work in real-time with advertising accounts.

How to Check: Use ping.pe — enter your proxy's IP and check the latency from different points. You can also use the built-in test in speedtest.net.

Guidelines: Up to 100 ms — excellent. 100–200 ms — acceptable. 200–400 ms — workable but uncomfortable. Over 400 ms — the proxy is not suitable for daily work.

Points 3–4: Connection Stability and Uptime

Point 3. Connection Stability (Packet Loss)

An unstable proxy means constant connection drops, which in the worst case can lead to the "exposure" of the real IP. Imagine: you are working in the anti-detect browser Dolphin Anty with 15 Instagram accounts, the proxy suddenly drops, and the browser briefly connects to the internet with your real IP — that's enough to get the accounts banned.

How to Check: The simplest way is to run a long ping through the command line (ping -n 100 proxy_address) and check the percentage of lost packets. A normal indicator is less than 1%. More than 5% loss means the proxy is unstable.

Additionally: open any website through the proxy and refresh the page 20–30 times in a row. If you receive a connection error even once — that’s a warning sign.

Point 4. Uptime (Proxy Server Availability)

Uptime is the percentage of time the proxy server is available. Providers usually claim 99–99.9%, but the reality often differs. For testing over 24–48 hours, you can use free monitoring services: UptimeRobot or StatusCake — set up checks every 5 minutes to get the real picture.

For SMM specialists managing client accounts 24/7, uptime below 99% is unacceptable: a proxy drop during nighttime can lead to scheduled posts not working or the account being blocked due to IP change.

Points 5–6: Checking for IP, DNS, and WebRTC Leaks

Point 5. Real IP Address Leak

This is the most critical check. An IP leak means that despite connecting through a proxy, the target site sees your real IP address. This occurs due to incorrect proxy settings in the browser or anti-detect tool, as well as when using certain protocols.

How to Check:

1. Note your real IP without the proxy (open 2ip.ru or whatismyip.com)
2. Connect through the proxy
3. Open ipleak.net or whoer.net
4. Ensure that the displayed IP differs from your real one and matches the proxy's IP

If you see your real IP on the ipleak.net page in any of the blocks — the proxy is incorrectly configured or the provider is using a transparent proxy that does not hide the real address.

Point 6. DNS and WebRTC Leaks

DNS Leak is a situation where DNS requests (converting domain names to IPs) go not through the proxy server, but directly through your provider. This allows your real country to be determined even if the proxy's IP is hidden. This is particularly relevant for arbitrage specialists using proxies from the USA to work with American Facebook Ads accounts — a DNS leak will reveal a Russian server and raise suspicions.

WebRTC Leak — the WebRTC technology built into browsers can reveal the real IP even when using a proxy. This happens because WebRTC operates at the browser level, not the system level, and bypasses proxy settings.

How to Check: Open browserleaks.com/webrtc and browserleaks.com/dns through the proxy. All displayed IPs and DNS servers should belong to the proxy, not your provider.

Solution: If you are working through Dolphin Anty, AdsPower, or GoLogin — WebRTC in these browsers is usually blocked automatically. If you are using regular Chrome with a proxy extension — additionally install the WebRTC Leak Prevent extension.

Point 7: Checking Geolocation and IP Type

The provider claims to sell proxies from the USA, Germany, or the UK — but this is not always true. Some providers use VPN tunnels that are physically located in one country but have IPs from another country. This creates a discrepancy between the IP geolocation and the data about the time zone, browser language, which is easily detected by anti-fraud systems of Facebook and TikTok.

What to Check:

• Country and City: Should match those declared by the provider. Check through ipinfo.io and ip-api.com — they use different geolocation databases, and discrepancies between them are normal within the city.
• IP Type (ISP/Residential/Datacenter): A residential proxy should be identified as belonging to a home internet provider (e.g., Comcast, Deutsche Telekom), not a datacenter (Amazon AWS, DigitalOcean). Check through ipinfo.io in the "org" field.
• ASN (Autonomous System Number): If the proxy is declared as residential, but the ASN belongs to a hosting company — this is a scam. Facebook and other platforms can determine this.

For working with Facebook Ads in specific countries, it is critical that the IP actually belongs to the required region. An American account with a Russian IP will trigger an immediate security check. Residential proxies with real IPs from home providers solve this problem — they are identified as regular users from the required country.

Points 8–9: IP Reputation and Compatibility with Platforms

Point 8. IP Reputation and Fraud Score

Every IP address has a history. If this IP was used for spam, click fraud, or mass registrations before you — it is already in the databases of anti-fraud systems. Facebook, Google, TikTok, and major marketplaces use these databases for automatic blocking of suspicious IPs.

How to Check Fraud Score:

1. Go to scamalytics.com and enter your proxy's IP
2. Check on ipqualityscore.com — there is a more detailed analysis
3. Check for presence in email blacklists at mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx

Interpreting Results:

• Fraud Score 0–25: Excellent, IP is clean
• Fraud Score 25–50: Acceptable for most tasks
• Fraud Score 50–75: Caution, possible issues with demanding platforms
• Fraud Score 75–100: High risk of blocks, better not to use such a proxy

If the provider offers a test package of 10 IPs — check all 10. It is considered normal if 1–2 IPs out of 10 have a high fraud score: this is acceptable for residential proxies with a large pool. If 5 out of 10 IPs are "dirty" — the provider does not monitor the quality of the pool.

Point 9. Compatibility with Target Platforms

This is the most practical check: just try to open the platforms you plan to work with. Each platform has its own signs of blocking or distrust:

Test the exact platforms you will be working with. Proxies that work excellently for scraping Wildberries may be blocked by Facebook — and vice versa. For working with advertising platforms (Facebook Ads, TikTok Ads, Google Ads), use a test account instead of a working one — in case the IP turns out to be problematic.

Point 10: Rotation and Working with the IP Pool

IP rotation is the automatic change of the IP address at set intervals or with each new request. This is critically important for scraping marketplaces and mass account management. If the proxy server does not change the IP — the Wildberries or Ozon scraper will be blocked after 50–100 requests from one address.

What to Check When Testing Rotation:

1. Real IP Change: Make 10 consecutive requests to ipinfo.io and ensure that the IP actually changes (for rotating proxies) or remains stable (for static ones).
2. Pool Size: Ask the provider or check the documentation — how many unique IPs are in the pool for your region. For scraping, at least 1000+ IPs are needed; for account management, 10–50 stable ones are sufficient.
3. Sticky Sessions: For working with Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok accounts, the ability to "stick" to one IP for 10–30 minutes is needed. Check whether the provider supports sticky sessions and how long they last.
4. IP Change Time: How quickly does the rotation occur? If the IP change takes 5–10 seconds — that’s normal. If it takes 30+ seconds — the scraper will work slowly.

For scraping marketplace tasks (Wildberries, Ozon, Avito), datacenter proxies with rotation are optimal — they provide high speed and a large pool of IPs at an affordable price. For working with social networks, rotation should be managed: one account — one IP for the entire session.

How to Interpret Results and Make a Decision to Purchase

After going through all 10 points of the checklist, you will have a clear picture of the proxy's quality. Here’s how to make a decision:

Additional Questions to Ask the Provider Before Purchase

Besides technical tests, clarify the following with the provider:

• How often is the IP pool updated? (A good answer: weekly or more often)
• Is there an option to replace "dirty" IPs for free?
• How many users share one IP? (The fewer, the better)
• Is SOCKS5 protocol supported? (Needed for anti-detect browsers)
• Is there an API for managing rotation and sessions?
• What is the SLA (uptime guarantee) and is there compensation for downtime?

Conclusion

Properly testing proxies before purchase is not paranoia, but a necessity. 30 minutes spent checking all 10 points of the checklist can save you hours of work recovering banned accounts and money on repeat purchases of poor-quality IPs. The key parameters to pay attention to first are the absence of leaks, matching geolocation, and the cleanliness of IPs based on fraud score.

For arbitrage specialists working with Facebook Ads and TikTok Ads, the priority is a clean IP with a low fraud score and correct geolocation. For SMM specialists — connection stability and support for sticky sessions. For sellers scraping Wildberries and Ozon — speed and a large rotating pool.

If you plan to work with accounts on social networks or advertising platforms — pay attention to residential proxies: they typically perform better on all checklist points by default than other types, as they use real IPs from home users and rarely raise suspicions with the platforms' anti-fraud systems.