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Choose PacketStream if…
Choose PacketStream over IPRoyal for
- Non-expiring traffic for less per GB — $1.00 at every volume, against $7.35 (1 GB), $5.51 (10 GB) and $1.84 (10 TB+) at IPRoyal.
- Paying by PayPal from the start — PacketStream takes card or PayPal, and its terms describe no up-front identity check. IPRoyal requires KYC to unlock PayPal.
- One flat price — No tiers: the published rate is the same for a $50 top-up and a large one.
- Proxies and agent tools on one balance — Search, Fetch and MCP draw on the same balance as the proxies, at $0.0025 per successful call, with no subscription.
IPRoyal sells pay-as-you-go residential traffic that never expires, from $7.35/GB for 1 GB down to $1.84/GB at 10 TB+ (subscriptions 5% less). Proxyway notes that its prices rose after long-running coupons were dropped.
PacketStream also never expires and charges $1.00/GB at any volume: less than IPRoyal even at IPRoyal’s top tier, and about a fifth of its price per GB at 10 GB. IPRoyal requires KYC to unlock more ports, PayPal and some domains.
Reasons by use case, not an overall ranking. Both providers’ published facts are in the side-by-side table.
Spec sheets
PacketStream
- Entry price
- $1.00/GB [VERIFIED 2026-10-17]
- Volume price
- $1.00/GB (no tiers)
- Minimum
- $50
- PAYG
- Yes
- Expiry
- Never
- Targeting
- Country
- Sticky
- Included; rolling 60-min idle
- SOCKS5
- Yes
IPRoyal
- Entry price
- $7.35/GB (1 GB PAYG) [VERIFIED 2026-10-17]
- Volume price
- $5.51/GB at 10 GB; $1.84/GB PAYG or $1.75 subscription at 10 TB+
- Minimum
- 1 GB ($7.35)
- PAYG
- Yes
- Expiry
- Never
- Targeting
- Country, city, ISP
- Sticky
- 7 days
- SOCKS5
- Yes (TCP only)
Prices as of October 2026 from the PacketStream and IPRoyal pricing pages. “n/v” = not verified on the official page.
Side by side
| Criterion | PacketStream | IPRoyal |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $1.00/GB | $7.35/GB (1 GB) |
| Price at 10 GB | $1.00/GB | $5.51/GB |
| Price at 10 TB+ | $1.00/GB | $1.84 PAYG / $1.75 subscription |
| Minimum spend | $50 | 1 GB ($7.35) |
| Traffic expiry | Never | Never |
| Targeting | Country | Country, city, ISP |
| Sticky sessions | Included; rolling 60-min idle timeout | Up to 7 days |
| SOCKS5 | Yes (port 31113) | Yes, TCP only |
| Measured pool | — | 2,330,578 unique IPs measured (Proxyway); 64M+ claimed |
| Measured performance | — | 96.11% success, P95 4.13 s (Proxyway, Apr 2026 test) |
| Identity checks | No up-front verification in the terms; may “require additional information” when investigating (ToS §7) | KYC to unlock more ports, PayPal and some domains |
Third-party measurements are Proxyway’s, with test dates where our sources give them. “—” means there is no current figure for PacketStream. See the methodology.
Cost at different volumes
| Scenario | PacketStream | IPRoyal |
|---|---|---|
| 1 GB test | $50 up front (49 GB stays) | $7.35 |
| 10 GB | $50 up front ($10 used) | $55.10 |
| 100 GB | $100 | Tier not captured in our data (between $5.51 and $1.84/GB) |
| 10 TB | $10,000 | $18,400 PAYG / $17,500 subscription |
Both providers’ traffic never expires, so the comparison is price per GB once you are past PacketStream’s $50 minimum purchase.
For cost per page at different page weights, use the bandwidth calculator.
Bottom line
Both providers offer traffic that never expires. PacketStream costs less per GB at every published IPRoyal tier: about a fifth of IPRoyal’s price at 10 GB, and $10,000 against $18,400 at 10 TB.
For PacketStream’s full review and ratings, read the PacketStream review. Other head-to-heads: vs Evomi , vs Decodo , vs Webshare , vs Bright Data , vs Oxylabs .
Sources
- PacketStream pricing and terms of service (checked 17 Oct 2026)
- IPRoyal pricing (checked 17 Oct 2026)
- Proxyway on IPRoyal: Proxyway, April 2026 test: 96.11% success, P95 4.13 s
- Proxyway Proxy Market Research 2026
- Synthient PacketStream profile