G2
4.7/5
TrustpilotPacket loss is the share of data packets that are sent but never reach their destination, given as a percentage. Even a few percent makes downloads slower, video calls choppy and web requests time out.
Data crosses the internet in small packets, and any hop can drop one: a congested router with a full queue, a noisy Wi-Fi link, a damaged cable or an overloaded device. TCP notices the gap and retransmits, so web pages still arrive complete but more slowly, because TCP also cuts its sending rate when it sees loss. Real-time traffic over UDP, such as calls and games, usually cannot wait for a resend, so the loss shows up as glitches.
As a rough rule of thumb, under 1% is fine for most work, 1% to 2.5% starts to hurt calls and games, and anything higher makes even browsing and scraping unreliable.
ping reports loss over a run of probes. mtr (or pathping on Windows) shows loss at each hop. Loss that appears at one middle hop but not at the hops after it is usually that router deprioritising ping replies, not real loss.
ping -c 100 example.com
# 100 packets transmitted, 99 received, 1% packet loss
mtr --report --report-cycles 100 example.com
# Windows
pathping example.comThrough a proxy there are two paths that can lose packets: yours to the proxy and the proxy's to the website. Loss on either looks the same from your code: slow responses, connection resets and timeouts. Test your own line first, without the proxy, on a wired connection if you can. If your line is clean and errors persist, compare exits: residential and mobile exits ride on consumer connections and vary, while static ISP proxies sit on data-centre networks.
CleanProxies static ISP proxies are dedicated IPs hosted in US data centres, with unlimited bandwidth. Set sensible timeouts and retries in your client whichever proxy you use.
The CleanProxies proxy that fits best here, with a $4.99 trial to test it first.
Dedicated IPs on US carrier ASNs with unlimited bandwidth and threads, never shared.
Dedicated static IPs registered to US and Canadian ISPs. The address stays the same for as long as you hold it, with unlimited bandwidth and HTTP(S) or SOCKS5 access.
Setup guides and best practices from the CleanProxies blog.
Shared vs dedicated ISP proxies explained: what each model means, what providers publish about sharing, when shared is enough, cost per successful request, and a tested Python script to audit your proxy list.
A step-by-step guide to testing proxy quality before you use it: connectivity, exit IP, ASN, blacklists, fraud score, speed and WebRTC/DNS leaks, with free tools, cURL commands and what good results look like.
Oxylabs' best rates need a $2,500/month enterprise plan. We priced five workloads on Oxylabs and five alternatives on 1 November 2026, with screenshots. CleanProxies ranks #1: dedicated US ISP proxies as low as $0.75/IP, residential from $0.63/GB that never expires.
Smartproxy is now Decodo. We priced the same workloads on Decodo and six alternatives on 1 November 2026, with screenshots. CleanProxies ranks #1: residential as low as $0.63/GB that never expires, US ISP proxies as low as $0.75/IP, mobile from $0.79/GB.
The best IPRoyal alternatives in 2026, compared on prices read from each provider's pricing page on 31 October with screenshots. CleanProxies ranks #1: residential as low as $0.63/GB that never expires, US ISP proxies as low as $0.75/IP with unlimited bandwidth, mobile from $0.79/GB.
A /24 subnet has 256 IPv4 addresses: 254 usable on a LAN, 251 in AWS or Azure, and 255 dedicated proxy IPs per block at CleanProxies. CIDR cheat sheet, Python examples and a tested script that audits your proxy list by /24.
Terms that come up alongside Packet loss.
Straight answers about Packet loss.
Ideally 0%. Under 1% is generally fine; from 1% to 2.5% calls and games start to suffer; above that, browsing and data collection become unreliable.