9 Best Proxies for Gaming in 2026: Reduce Lag, Bypass Geo-Blocks & Avoid IP Bans

Playing online games without a proxy in 2026 is manageable — until it isn’t. The moment a game’s anti-cheat system flags your IP for unusual activity, a rival reports your account, or you try to access a game server that’s simply not available in your region, you hit a wall.

Whether you are a developer stress-testing game servers from multiple locations, a studio running bot-detection QA, a competitive player bypassing regional matchmaking restrictions, or simply someone who got IP banned from Roblox for something they didn’t do, proxies are the cleanest solution.

Gaming proxies are not just about hiding your IP. They reduce latency by routing your traffic through servers closer to the game’s infrastructure, keep your accounts clean by assigning consistent IPs to each gaming profile, and let you access geo-restricted game content, DLCs, and early releases that haven’t launched in your region yet.

I’ve spent time on each provider’s website verifying current pricing, features, and gaming-specific capabilities. Here is the most accurate and up-to-date guide to the best gaming proxies available right now.

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What Makes a Proxy Actually Good for Gaming?

Most proxy guides skip this part and go straight to the list. They shouldn’t. Gaming is a fundamentally different use case from web scraping or ad verification. Latency matters in milliseconds. A proxy that adds 200ms to your ping will actively make your gaming experience worse, not better.

The best gaming proxies combine low-latency server infrastructure close to popular game server locations (North America, Europe, Southeast Asia), datacenter or ISP proxies for raw speed (residential proxies are cleaner but slower — not always ideal for real-time gaming), sticky session support to keep your account tied to a consistent IP across sessions, clean IP pools that haven’t been flagged by anti-cheat systems like Easy Anti-Cheat or VAC, and geo-targeting precise enough to route your traffic through the right region for matchmaking purposes.

Every provider on this list covers these bases.

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A real frustration from the community worth mentioning:

A user on r/proxyexplained put it bluntly in February 2026: “Free proxies are slow, flagged, and randomly drop connections. Fine for tinkering. If uptime or scale matters, pony up for a real pool.”

That about sums up the free proxy situation for gaming. Another thread on r/FortNiteBR highlighted a common headache — players getting flagged as using a VPN or proxy even when they weren’t, simply because their ISP shared IP ranges with datacenter blocks. Using a dedicated, clean residential or ISP proxy solves this entirely.

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9 Best Proxies for Gaming 2026

#1 — Decodo: Best Overall Gaming Proxy

Website: decodo.com | Starting Price: Residential from $1.50/GB; Datacenter from $0.26/IP

Decodo (formerly Smartproxy, rebranded in 2024) remains the top overall gaming proxy in 2026 for one straightforward reason: it balances IP quality, speed, geo-targeting depth, and price better than anyone else at the mid-market level.

Their 125M+ residential IP pool and dedicated datacenter proxies give you the flexibility to choose the right proxy type for your specific gaming task — residential for account management and anti-ban protection, datacenter for raw speed when latency is the priority.

For gaming studios and SaaS companies building gaming tools, Decodo’s infrastructure is particularly well-suited.

Their city-level targeting across 195+ countries lets you test how your game performs for players in specific cities — São Paulo, Seoul, Lagos — not just broad country-level approximations. The X5 or X10 session options let you hold a sticky session long enough to simulate a full gaming session without the IP changing mid-game, which is exactly what anti-cheat systems look for.

The 14-day money-back guarantee makes the evaluation genuinely risk-free.

Best Gaming Use Case: Game studios running geo-distributed performance testing across 50+ city-level locations can use Decodo’s residential proxies with sticky sessions to simulate real player network conditions in each market — identifying regional lag spikes and server routing issues before launch, not after.

Pros:

• Excellent balance of price ($1.50/GB residential), speed, and IP quality
• 125M+ residential + dedicated datacenter proxies in one platform
• City-level geo-targeting across 195+ countries
• X5/X10 sticky sessions perfect for realistic gaming sessions
• 14-day money-back guarantee (genuine risk-free trial)

Cons:

• Mid-market pricing (not the cheapest option)
• Less emphasis on mobile proxies compared to competitors

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#2 — Oxylabs: Best Enterprise Gaming Proxy

Website: oxylabs.io | Starting Price: 50% off residential proxies (current promotion), 5 free datacenter IPs

Oxylabs is the enterprise gold standard and the choice for gaming companies and SaaS platforms where proxy reliability is a genuine business dependency.

Named Best Proxy Service of 2025 by PCMag and Best Enterprise Provider by Proxyway, their 175M+ IP residential pool delivers a 99%+ success rate with sub-1-second average response times.

For gaming use cases, their mobile proxy pool is especially valuable — mobile carrier IPs are significantly harder for game anti-cheat systems to flag than standard residential or datacenter IPs.

The Web Unblocker product uses AI to adapt to evolving game platform detection logic in real time — adjusting fingerprints, headers, and request timing so your tooling keeps working even as platforms update their defences.

For QA teams testing anti-bot systems in gaming platforms, or for developers building multi-account gaming management tools, this adaptive resilience is a meaningful operational advantage.

The ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification matters for gaming SaaS companies handling sensitive user data. 24/7 dedicated support and a fully documented API make integration straightforward for engineering teams at any scale.

Best Gaming Use Case: SaaS companies building multi-account gaming management platforms — clan management tools, tournament platforms, esports analytics dashboards — can use Oxylabs’ residential and mobile proxies with AI-powered infrastructure to run sustained account activity across thousands of gaming profiles simultaneously, with automatic adaptation to anti-cheat updates without engineering intervention.

Pros:

• 175M+ residential IP pool with 99%+ success rate
• AI-powered Web Unblocker adapts to anti-cheat updates in real time
• Mobile carrier IPs (hardest for anti-cheat to flag)
• ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified for enterprise security
• 24/7 dedicated support + fully documented API
• Named Best Proxy Service 2025 by PCMag

Cons:

• Overkill for small indie developers or solo players
• Steeper learning curve for non-technical users

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#3 — Webshare: Best Free Gaming Proxy Tier

Website: webshare.io | Starting Price: Free (10 proxies, no credit card required), Rotating Residential from $3.50/month

Webshare processes 650B+ monthly proxy requests across 64,773+ customers — production-scale infrastructure, not a small operation.

Their free tier with 10 proxies and no credit card required is the best zero-risk starting point for developers and indie studios testing proxy setups for gaming tools before investing in paid infrastructure. The quality behind the free tier is legitimately solid: 80M+ IPs across 195 countries and a 99.97% success rate.

For gaming specifically, Webshare’s ISP proxies sourced from major US carriers including Comcast and AT&T are particularly valuable.

ISP proxies combine the trustworthiness of a residential address with the speed of a datacenter connection — exactly what you need for gaming use cases that require both IP reputation and fast response times. At just $6/month for static residential proxies from major US carriers, it’s the most accessible serious gaming proxy option available.

The developer-first documentation includes ready-made integration examples for all standard automation and testing frameworks.

Best Gaming Use Case: Indie developers and small game studios building and testing anti-cheat systems, matchmaking logic, or regional content delivery can use Webshare’s free 10-proxy tier to validate their setup, then move to the $3.50/month rotating residential plan when they need scale — without changing their proxy integration code or switching providers mid-project.

Pros:

• Completely free tier: 10 proxies, no credit card required
• 80M+ IPs across 195 countries with 99.97% success rate
• ISP proxies from major US carriers (speed + trust hybrid)
• Static residential proxies at just $6/month
• 650B+ monthly requests prove production-scale reliability
• Developer-first documentation with ready-made integration examples

Cons:

• Free tier limited to 10 proxies
• Not ideal for large-scale operations

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#4 — SOAX: Best Gaming Proxy for Clean IP Quality

Website: soax.com | Starting Price: Starter $90/month (25GB at $3.60/GB)

SOAX’s 191M+ whitelisted, ethically sourced IP pool is one of the cleanest proxy pools available in 2026. Because every IP is individually verified and actively monitored, SOAX proxies maintain high success rates on gaming platforms that continuously update their IP blocklists.

Their strict KYC sourcing policy means the pool is never diluted by grey-market IPs that other users have already burned through on the same game platform.

For gaming account management, SOAX’s 60-minute sticky sessions are exactly the right duration — long enough to simulate a realistic play session without triggering the session-length anomalies that anti-cheat systems flag.

The ability to access residential, mobile, and datacenter proxies under a single subscription with unlimited concurrent connections gives you the flexibility to match proxy type to task without paying for separate products.

Every SOAX plan includes their Web Data API, which is useful for gaming SaaS tools that need to scrape public leaderboard data, tournament brackets, or player statistics from game platform websites.

Best Gaming Use Case: Gaming analytics platforms that track player performance, leaderboard rankings, and match history across titles like Fortnite, Valorant, and Call of Duty can use SOAX’s residential proxies with sticky sessions and city-level targeting to pull consistent, clean data without triggering rate limits or IP blocks on game publisher APIs.

Pros:

• 191M+ whitelisted, ethically sourced IPs (actively monitored)
• 60-minute sticky sessions (perfect for realistic gaming sessions)
• Unlimited concurrent connections across all proxy types
• One subscription covers residential + mobile + datacenter
• Strict KYC sourcing prevents “burned” IPs in pool
• Includes Web Data API for leaderboard/tournament scraping

Cons:

• Less flexible pricing for small startups
• No free trial mentioned (unlike competitors)

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#5 — IPRoyal: Best Gaming Proxy for Non-Expiring Bandwidth

Website: iproyal.com | Starting Price: Rotating residential from $1.75/GB (bulk)

IPRoyal stands out for a reason that matters deeply to game studios and agencies with variable workloads: bandwidth never expires. Purchase traffic in bulk at $1.75/GB and it stays in your account until you use it — no monthly reset penalties, no wasted allocation after a game launch campaign ends.

A thread on r/PrivatePackets in January 2026 called out this specific feature: “IPRoyal solves the biggest financial drain in the proxy world: monthly data expiration.”

For gaming account management, IPRoyal’s sticky sessions keep each account tied to a consistent IP across sessions. Their 650+ tool integrations mean IPRoyal works natively with virtually every gaming automation tool, browser anti-detect profile manager, and multi-account platform on the market.

City and state-level geo-targeting lets you assign each account an IP that precisely matches its expected regional location.

The security-first architecture — KYC verification, IP whitelisting, and 2FA — keeps the proxy pool clean. With 99.9% uptime and no reliance on third-party infrastructure, IPRoyal proxies stay available exactly when your game launches need them.

Best Gaming Use Case: Game publishers and marketing agencies running multi-region launch campaigns — managing separate accounts, testing regional content, verifying geo-specific ad delivery — can use IPRoyal’s bulk bandwidth at $1.75/GB to cover peak activity periods without paying for idle proxy capacity between campaigns.

Pros:

• Bandwidth never expires (huge advantage for campaign-driven workloads)
• $1.75/GB bulk pricing is highly competitive
• 650+ native tool integrations (works with all standard platforms)
• Sticky sessions keep each account on consistent IP
• 99.9% uptime + no third-party infrastructure dependency
• 2FA + IP whitelisting ensures pool cleanliness

Cons:

• Higher minimum bulk purchase required for best pricing
• Less emphasis on mobile proxies

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#6 — Proxy-Cheap: Best Budget Gaming Proxy

Website: proxy-cheap.com | Starting Price: Up to 40% off rotating residential and mobile proxies

Proxy-Cheap delivers genuine gaming proxy capability at prices that work for bootstrapped studios, solo developers, and competitive players who need proxy infrastructure without the enterprise price tag.

With 45,000+ satisfied customers, 99%+ uptime, and a 4.5/5 G2 rating, the reliability track record is real. HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 protocol support covers all standard gaming tools and automation configurations, and both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are available.

The current 40% discount on rotating residential and mobile proxies makes this the best-value entry point for gaming projects that don’t need enterprise-level scale.

Country-level targeting, multiple authentication methods, and configurable concurrent sessions provide enough flexibility for serious gaming use cases — account management, geo-unblocking, and lag reduction through regional routing.

Best Gaming Use Case: Competitive players and small esports teams managing multiple accounts across titles like Roblox, Valorant, or CS2 can use Proxy-Cheap’s discounted rotating residential proxies to keep each account on a clean, consistent IP — reducing ban risk from shared IP detection — at a cost that doesn’t require a team budget to justify.

Pros:

• Up to 40% discount on rotating residential and mobile proxies
• 45,000+ satisfied customers with 99%+ uptime
• 4.5/5 G2 rating confirms reliability
• HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5 protocol support (covers all gaming tools)
• Both IPv4 and IPv6 available
• Configurable concurrent sessions for flexible setups

Cons:

• Smallest pool size among recommendations (exact number undisclosed)
• Limited geo-targeting depth compared to premium providers

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7. Bright Data — Best Gaming Proxy for Enterprise Anti-Bot QA

Website: brightdata.com | Starting Price: $2.50/GB residential (promotional)

Bright Data’s enterprise-grade infrastructure, 150M+ IP pool, and AI-powered Web Unlocker make it the benchmark choice for gaming studios and SaaS companies building anti-cheat systems, bot detection QA environments, and multi-region game server performance testing infrastructure.

The depth and cleanliness of their US and global residential IP pools ensure that game anti-cheat systems like Easy Anti-Cheat and VAC are effectively unable to distinguish Bright Data-routed connections from genuine player traffic — which is precisely what enterprise QA testing environments require to generate meaningful test results.

The 7-day free trial and comprehensive API documentation make integration into existing gaming infrastructure straightforward for engineering teams at any scale.

• Best for: Gaming studio QA, anti-cheat system testing, enterprise multi-region game performance testing, gaming SaaS platforms

• Pool: 150M+ residential IPs, 7M+ mobile IPs

• Uptime: 99.99%

• Residential pricing: $2.50/GB (promo) / $4.00/GB PAYG

• Mobile pricing: From ~$8/GB

• Sticky sessions: Up to 30 minutes

• Protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5

• Geo-targeting: Country, city, ZIP, ASN, carrier-level

• Countries: 195

• Free option: 7-day free trial

Pros:

• 150M+ IP pool with AI-powered Web Unlocker
• 7M+ dedicated mobile IPs (highest quality)
• 99.99% uptime (enterprise-grade reliability)
• Sub-second average response times
• City, ZIP, ASN, carrier-level geo-targeting
• 7-day free trial + comprehensive API documentation

Cons:

• Premium pricing ($2.50/GB promo, $4.00/GB PAYG)
• Mobile proxies expensive (~$8/GB)

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8. ProxyEmpire — Best Gaming Proxy for Rollover Bandwidth

Website: proxyempire.io | Starting Price: $1.97 trial / Residential from $9/GB

ProxyEmpire’s unlimited data rollover is a meaningful advantage for gaming proxy use cases that are inherently campaign-driven — game launch testing periods, tournament management windows, and limited-time in-game event automation that cluster proxy usage into intense bursts with quieter periods in between.

The 30M+ residential and 4M+ dedicated mobile IPs provide clean, platform-trusted access for game account management, geo-unblocking regional game content, and social media integrations that accompany major gaming operations.

For gaming operators who want to pre-purchase bandwidth before a major launch and use it across the entire campaign window without monthly expiry penalties, ProxyEmpire’s model is the most financially efficient option on this list.

• Best for: Game launch campaigns, tournament operations, gaming account management with rollover flexibility

• Pool: 30M+ residential IPs, 4M+ dedicated mobile IPs

• Unique feature: Unlimited data rollover

• Residential pricing: From $9/GB

• Mobile pricing: From $20/GB

• Sticky sessions: Yes

• Protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5

• Geo-targeting: Country, city-level across 170+ countries

• Countries: 170+

• Free option: $1.97 trial

Pros:

• Unlimited data rollover (never lose prepaid bandwidth)
• 30M+ residential + 4M+ dedicated mobile IPs
• Financially efficient for campaign-driven use cases
• Sticky sessions + city-level geo-targeting
• HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5 support
• $1.97 trial entry point

Cons:

• Higher per-GB pricing ($9/GB residential) than bulk competitors
• Smaller IP pool than Decodo or Oxylabs

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9. Rayobyte — Best Gaming Proxy for Ethical Multi-Platform Operations

Website: rayobyte.com | Starting Price: Residential from $3.50/GB / Datacenter from $2.50/IP

Rayobyte’s combination of residential, ISP, datacenter, and mobile proxy types under a single ethically sourced infrastructure makes it particularly well-suited for gaming operators who need different proxy types for different tasks — residential for account management and anti-ban protection, datacenter for raw speed in latency-sensitive game interactions, and ISP for the trust-speed hybrid that demanding gaming platform detection requires.

The 40M+ IP pool with a 97%+ clean IP rate and 24-hour sticky sessions covers the full range of gaming proxy use cases without forcing operators into a multi-provider setup.

The transparent ethical sourcing model and Trustpilot rating of 4.1/5 reflect the reliability that gaming operators have come to associate with Rayobyte’s infrastructure across its 100+ country coverage.

• Best for: Multi-proxy-type gaming operations, ethical sourcing requirements, datacenter+residential hybrid gaming setups

• Pool: 40M+ IPs (residential, ISP, datacenter, mobile)

• Clean IP rate: 97%+

• Residential pricing: From $3.50/GB

• Datacenter pricing: From $2.50/IP

• ISP pricing: From $4.60/IP/month

• Sticky sessions: Up to 24 hours

• Protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5

• Geo-targeting: Country, city-level

• Countries: 100+

• Free option: Free trial available

Pros:

• All four proxy types under one ethically sourced platform (residential, ISP, datacenter, mobile)
• 40M+ IP pool with 97%+ clean IP rate
• 24-hour sticky sessions (longest duration on list)
• Transparent ethical sourcing + 4.1/5 Trustpilot rating
• 100+ country coverage
• Hybrid residential+datacenter speed-trust advantage

Cons:

• Smaller overall pool than Oxylabs or SOAX
• Less emphasis on mobile proxy quality vs. desktop proxies

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Best Proxies for Gaming 2026: Quick Comparison Table

Provider	IP Pool	Best Gaming Feature	Mobile Proxies	Starting Price	Sticky Sessions	Protocols	Key Advantage
Decodo	125M+	Datacenter speed + residential quality	Yes	$1.50/GB	X5/X10	HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5	Best price-to-performance ratio
Oxylabs	175M+	AI Web Unblocker + enterprise uptime	Yes (7M+)	50% off / 5 free IPs	Up to 30 min	HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5	Enterprise reliability + AI adaptation
Webshare	80M+	Free tier + ISP proxies	Yes	Free / $3.50/mo	Yes	HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5	Zero-risk entry point
SOAX	191M+	60-min sticky sessions + clean pool	Yes	$90/month	Up to 60 min	HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5	Highest IP cleanliness rating
IPRoyal	32M+	Non-expiring bulk bandwidth	Yes	$1.75/GB bulk	Yes	HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5	No bandwidth expiration
Proxy-Cheap	Large	Budget rotating proxies	Yes	Up to 40% off	Yes	HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5	Most affordable option
Bright Data	150M+	AI Web Unblocker + 99.99% uptime	Yes (7M+)	$2.50/GB promo	Up to 30 min	HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5	Highest uptime guarantee
ProxyEmpire	30M+	Unlimited data rollover	Yes (4M+)	$1.97 trial / $9/GB	Yes	HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5	Campaign-friendly pricing
Rayobyte	40M+	Multi-proxy-type operations	Yes	From $3.50/GB	Up to 24 hr	HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5	All four proxy types in one

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FAQs: Best Proxies for Gaming 2026

What type of proxy is best for gaming?

It depends on your use case. For raw speed and low latency in real-time gameplay, datacenter or ISP proxies are fastest. For account management and anti-ban protection, residential or mobile proxies carry higher trust scores with game platform detection systems. Most serious gaming setups use both — datacenter for speed-sensitive tasks, residential for account health.

Will a proxy reduce my ping?

A proxy can reduce ping if it routes your traffic through a server geographically closer to the game’s infrastructure than your current ISP route. This is particularly effective for players in regions with poor direct routing to North American or European game servers. However, a poorly chosen proxy server that’s farther away from the game server will increase ping, not reduce it. Always test with a server location close to the game’s data centre.

Can game anti-cheat systems detect proxies?

Anti-cheat systems like Easy Anti-Cheat, VAC, and BattlEye primarily look for behavioural anomalies — not proxy usage itself. A clean residential or mobile proxy that maintains a consistent, single IP across a session is effectively indistinguishable from a regular player connection. What gets flagged is sudden IP changes mid-session, multiple accounts sharing the same IP, or IPs with pre-existing poor reputation scores from other users who abused them.

How many gaming accounts can I safely run per proxy?

One dedicated IP per account is the safest approach. With sticky sessions from residential or mobile proxies, each account maintains a consistent single-IP identity across all sessions. Providers like Decodo, SOAX, and IPRoyal all support the sticky session configuration needed for proper per-account IP dedication.

Do I need a proxy or a VPN for gaming?

For individual players wanting to bypass a single geo-restriction, a VPN is simpler. For managing multiple accounts, running gaming automation tools, doing QA testing across regions, or building gaming SaaS products, you need proxies. VPNs route all traffic through a single shared IP which immediately triggers multi-account detection. Proxies give you individually assignable IPs — one per account — which is what game platform detection systems expect from legitimate players.

Which provider is best for bypassing regional game bans?

Decodo and IPRoyal are the top choices for bypassing regional IP bans. Both offer city-level geo-targeting and sticky sessions that let you maintain a consistent regional identity. Oxylabs is the premium option if you need the highest IP quality and AI-powered adaptation to platform detection changes.

Are gaming proxies legal?

Proxies are a neutral networking tool. Using them to access geo-restricted game content, manage multiple legitimate accounts, or reduce latency is generally acceptable. Using them to cheat, exploit game economies, or violate a game publisher’s terms of service is a separate issue that depends entirely on what you are doing. Always review the specific game’s ToS and your jurisdiction’s laws for your particular use case.

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Conclusion: Best Proxies for Gaming 2026

In 2026, running gaming operations at any meaningful scale — whether you’re a developer, a studio, an esports organisation, or a SaaS company building gaming tools — without the right proxy infrastructure means IP bans, geo-blocks, failed automation, and degraded performance.

The seven providers on this list solve every gaming proxy challenge from individual account management to enterprise-scale geo-distributed testing.

Start with the Webshare’s free tier to test your gaming proxy setup with zero financial risk. Use Decodo at $1.50/GB when you need residential proxy scale at a reasonable cost, paired with their datacenter proxies for speed-sensitive use cases.

Use IPRoyal’s non-expiring bulk bandwidth at $1.75/GB when your workload is campaign-driven and unpredictable. Invest in Oxylabs or SOAX when your gaming platform, SaaS product, or studio operation depends on proxy reliability as a core business requirement. Choose NetNut when mobile proxy quality and IP cleanliness are non-negotiable for sustained large-scale account management.

Whatever your gaming proxy use case — performance testing, account management, geo-unblocking, anti-cheat QA, or analytics scraping — there is a provider on this list that fits your budget, your stack, and where you are in your growth.