Key takeaways:
- NetNut was taken down on July 2, 2026, by Google and the FBI, which rendered their entire proxy network useless.
- Bright Data provides a massive IP pool with reliable enterprise-grade infrastructure, but comes at a steeper cost.
- MarsProxies offers more affordable rates, non-expiring residential traffic for irregular workloads, and unlimited bandwidth on ISP, datacenter, and mobile proxies.
NetNut’s network was found to have ties to the “Popa” botnet, which led to the joint action of the FBI and Google. On July 2, 2026, NetNut was taken down, leaving all its customers stranded. This left customers looking for NetNut alternatives.
NetNut previously held a large share of the enterprise space using millions of residential IP addresses sourced from consumer devices. Bright Data, on the other hand, has a massive infrastructure with hundreds of millions of IPs and enterprise tools.
Bright Data vs NetNut: Quick comparison
NetNut used to provide datacenter, residential, mobile, and ISP proxies at a premium price point. While Bright Data’s pricing is similar, they back it up with a massive 400M+ IP pool built for granular targeting and high concurrent request volumes.
Residential proxies
Yes
Yes
ISP proxies
Yes
Yes
Datacenter proxies
Yes
Yes
Mobile proxies
No
Yes
IP pool
400M+ residential
85M+ residential
Countries
195
195
Geo-targeting
Country, state, city, ZIP, carrier, ASN
Global, country, state, city, ASN
IP rotation
Every request
Every request
Sticky sessions
Kept while active (released after 5–7 idle minutes)
Until the IP goes offline (long sessions up to 1 hour)
API
Unlocker, SERP, and Scraper APIs
Web scraping APIs
Authentication
User and password, IP whitelist
User and password, IP whitelist
Setup
Gateway with username parameters; KYC for residential
Gateway with username parameters
Support
Tiered 24/7 support
Account managers
Bright Data vs NetNut: Pricing
Data extraction pipelines consume massive bandwidth, which makes pricing models a deciding factor. NetNut offered bulk bandwidth plans that attracted heavy users, while Bright Data offers both pay-as-you-go and monthly plans.
Pay-as-you-go
Available
Unavailable
Monthly plans
Starts at $499 for 141 GB with a 50% promo ($7/GB at list price)
Started around $99 for 28 GB
Volume discounts
Available
Available
Enterprise pricing
Custom negotiation
Custom negotiation
Trial
7 days
7 days
Traffic expiry
Monthly basis
Monthly basis
Value for money
High for enterprise scale
Strong for massive traffic
Replace Your NetNut Proxies After the 2026 Shutdown
Get residential IPsBright Data vs NetNut: Performance
While NetNut claimed its fast response times came from direct ISP connections, Google and the FBI linked its network to compromised consumer devices, such as smart TVs and streaming boxes. Bright Data, by contrast, uses an optimized gateway architecture built to maintain stable connections under high load.
Speed
Fast (~0.7 s claimed)
Fast (ISP-direct routing claimed)
Response time
~1.12 s (Proxyway, March 2024)
~1.22 s (Proxyway, April 2025)
Success rate
98.96% (Proxyway, March 2024)
98.40% (Proxyway, April 2025)
Uptime
99.99%
24/7 availability
Reliability
Enterprise grade
High reliability
Scraping stability
Excellent
Solid
Connection quality
Highly stable
Gateway dependent
Bright Data vs NetNut vs MarsProxies
To find a proper alternative for a platform that’s no longer operational, you need to look at your needs and pricing. Bright Data, for example, provides massive global reach and advanced APIs for enterprise-scale operations, but comes at a heavy price tag.
Alternatively, MarsProxies offers a highly capable and affordable option for smaller teams. We deliver unlimited bandwidth on our ISP, datacenter, and mobile proxies, while the residential plans use a straightforward pay-per-gigabyte model with non-expiring data.
MarsProxies doesn’t, however, match Bright Data’s enterprise infrastructure, so if your business has enterprise needs, you’d be better off using it. But if you don’t need a massive infrastructure, MarsProxies is the better choice due to its pricing and traffic flexibility.
Final verdict
For former NetNut customers, Bright Data is the better choice if you’re looking for enterprise features, a massive IP pool, and are prepared to pay an enterprise price.
But for casual or irregular users, MarsProxies offers exceptional value for money with unlimited bandwidth and non-expiring traffic on select proxy types.
Frequently asked questions
Is NetNut still operating?
No. The FBI seized NetNut’s domains on July 2, 2026, and its parent company, Alarum, paused NetNut’s services. As of October 2026, netnut.io still shows the FBI seizure notice, so you can’t purchase or access NetNut proxies.
Is Bright Data a good alternative to NetNut?
Yes. It has a pool of 400M+ residential IPs and provides a range of enterprise features, but it no longer sells mobile proxies. If you need mobile proxies, you’ll have to find an additional provider, and MarsProxies may be one of them.
How do I migrate from NetNut to another proxy provider?
Replace the NetNut gateway addresses and credentials with your new provider’s, and test the connection to make sure everything works as intended.
Does Bright Data require KYC?
Yes. It requires manual KYC approval for all new residential proxy service access. They only approve registered businesses with corporate email domains.