Best Proxy Providers: 5 Services Compared for Price, Scale, and Reliability
Webshare is the best proxy provider for most first-time and mid-sized buyers because it combines a real free plan, transparent self-service pricing, residential and static options, and a relatively gentle setup. Oxylabs is our enterprise pick, Bright Data has the deepest targeting and data-access toolkit, ProxyShare is the price leader among the established small-volume plans we compared, and IPRoyal stands out when non-expiring residential traffic matters.
A proxy list should not crown one universal winner. A cheap datacenter IP, a rotating residential gateway, a static ISP address, and a managed unblocker solve different problems. We compare entry price, billing model, geography, session control, protocols, operational maturity, and the hidden cost that matters most: how many requests become usable records.
The right provider depends on the proxy type and target
Pick Webshare for an approachable self-service platform and free datacenter testing. Pick Oxylabs for enterprise residential scale and support. Pick Bright Data for granular targeting, compliance controls, Proxy Manager, and managed scraping products. Pick ProxyShare for low-cost residential bandwidth. Pick IPRoyal when unused residential traffic must not expire.
Table of Contents
At a glanceBest Proxy Providers Compared
| Provider | Best for | Residential entry | Other products | Important caveat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Webshare | Best overall self-service pick | 1GB for $3.50 | Shared datacenter, static residential/ISP | Free tier is datacenter only |
| Oxylabs | Enterprise residential scale | 5GB for $30 ($6/GB) | Dedicated/shared DC, ISP, mobile, Web Unblocker | Premium entry price; VAT may apply |
| Bright Data | Targeting and managed access | $4/GB promotional PAYG; normally $8 | ISP, datacenter, Browser API, Web Unlocker, scraper APIs | Promotion can change; KYC for some networks |
| ProxyShare | Low-cost residential bandwidth | 10GB for $9 ($0.90/GB) | Static residential, static DC, long-acting ISP | No-refund policy; test first |
| IPRoyal | Non-expiring residential traffic | PAYG $7.35/GB; subscription $7/GB | ISP, dedicated DC, mobile, unblocker | “From $1.75/GB” requires 10TB |
Prices are public list prices observed on the research date and exclude tax. “From” prices often require volume, a promotion, or bonus traffic. IP-pool figures are vendor-advertised and are not a count of simultaneously available unique IPs.
Shortlist firstOur Category Winners
Webshare
Strong free starting point, transparent controls, and enough product breadth for many small and mid-sized data projects.
Oxylabs
Large advertised networks, 24/7 support, detailed geo controls, and enterprise-friendly proxy and unblocking products.
Bright Data
Deep proxy management, precise targeting, compliance workflow, browser access, unlockers, and scraper APIs.
ProxyShare
A $9, 10GB residential package is unusually accessible when you need bandwidth rather than fixed IPs.
IPRoyal
Residential bandwidth does not expire, which suits irregular jobs that cannot consume a monthly allowance predictably.
Normalize before buyingProxy Pricing Compared
Residential proxy pricing is usually billed by transferred gigabyte; static ISP and datacenter products are often billed per IP and time period. Managed unlockers may bill by successful request. One starting-price chart cannot show total value, but it can reveal the minimum public residential rate attached to each offer.
Advertised residential starting rate per GB
Lower is not automatically better. Minimum order, promotion, volume, protocol, pool quality, and traffic expiry differ.
Bright Data’s $4/GB rate is promotional. ProxyShare requires 10GB ($9); Oxylabs requires 5GB ($30). IPRoyal’s $1.75/GB headline requires 10TB.
| Provider | Small residential purchase | Example volume tier | Traffic expiry | Datacenter / ISP entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Webshare | 1GB: $3.50 | 100GB: $225 | Monthly allowance | 100 shared DC IPs: $2.99/mo; 20 shared static residential: $6/mo |
| Oxylabs | 5GB: $30 | 125GB: $500; 1TB: $2,500 | Monthly allowance | 3 dedicated DC IPs: $6.75; 10 shared ISP IPs: $16 |
| Bright Data | PAYG: promo $4/GB, reference $8 | 141GB: $499; 332GB: $999; 798GB: $1,999 | Usage/commitment based | 10 shared DC IPs: $14; 10 shared ISP IPs: $18 |
| ProxyShare | 10GB: $9 | 100GB: $85; 1TB: $750 | 30-day package | Static DC: $7.80/IP for 30 days; long-acting ISP 10GB: $8 |
| IPRoyal | PAYG 1GB: $7.35; subscription: $7 | 10GB subscription: $52.50; 10TB: $1.75/GB | Residential traffic does not expire | DC from $1.57/IP for 30 days; ISP from $1.80/IP |
Editorial capability profile
Qualitative selection aid based on documented breadth, targeting, self-service ease, enterprise support, cost access, and managed tooling—not a speed benchmark.
Webshare Oxylabs Bright Data
Buy the right layerResidential, ISP, Datacenter, Mobile, or Unblocker?
Rotating residential
Consumer ISP addresses that rotate per request or session. Use them for public-data collection on targets that reject datacenter ranges, regional price checks, and ad verification.
Static ISP
A stable IP with ISP registration. It suits long sessions, account-based workflows, and targets that need a consistent residential-looking identity.
Datacenter
Fast, inexpensive, and suitable for tolerant targets or your own infrastructure. Cheap IPs become expensive when target success collapses.
Mobile
Carrier-network addresses with high trust but higher cost, relevant to app testing, carrier content, ad verification, and controlled social workflows.
Managed unblocker
An API chooses proxies, retries, fingerprints, and sometimes CAPTCHA/browser handling. Higher request cost may save substantial engineering time.
Scraping browser
A managed browser endpoint for JavaScript-heavy pages. You still own extraction, validation, storage, and lawful data-use controls.
For a tool-focused comparison rather than raw proxy infrastructure, see our best web scraping providers guide.
Detailed reviewsThe 5 Best Proxy Services in Detail
Webshare — the easiest balanced starting point
Webshare wins because it has the lowest-friction path from experiment to production. The free plan includes 10 datacenter proxies and 1GB monthly with no card, so you can validate authentication, location, latency, and application compatibility before paying. The free allowance does not include residential traffic.
Paid options cover shared datacenter, shared static residential/ISP, and rotating residential bandwidth. Residential service advertises 80M+ IPs in 195 countries, while datacenter coverage spans 50+ countries. HTTP/SOCKS5, geo controls, and sticky residential sessions from one minute to 24 hours cover most crawler needs.
A huge pool is not a guarantee that the exact city, ASN, or target you need performs consistently. Webshare’s refund policy is conditional and time-sensitive, so test immediately. Read our Webshare proxy review.
Pros
- Useful no-card free tier
- Clear self-service dashboard
- Multiple proxy types
- Low entry commitments
Cons
- Free tier is not residential
- Monthly allowance does not roll over
- Short conditional refund window
- Target testing still required
Oxylabs — broad networks and enterprise support
Oxylabs fits teams that need conventional proxy networks plus production support. Its residential plans advertise 175M+ IPs, country/city/state/ZIP targeting, rotating or sticky sessions, and HTTP(S), HTTP/3, and SOCKS5. It also offers dedicated/shared datacenter, static ISP, mobile, and Web Unblocker products.
The residential ladder is 5GB/$30, 20GB/$100, 125GB/$500, and 1TB/$2,500. Dedicated datacenter starts with three IPs for $6.75; 10 shared ISP IPs cost $16. Mobile starts at 4GB/$30 and reaches $3.50/GB at 715GB.
Published success and uptime figures are vendor metrics; we did not run a controlled benchmark. See our Oxylabs proxy review.
Pros
- Large product portfolio
- Granular location targeting
- 24/7 support
- Managed unblocking available
Cons
- Higher residential entry cost
- VAT may apply
- More complex evaluation
- Vendor claims need testing
Bright Data — precise controls beyond raw proxies
Bright Data is the most complete platform here for teams that may graduate from raw endpoints into managed access. Residential, ISP, and datacenter networks sit beside Proxy Manager, Web Unlocker, Browser API, SERP tooling, and scraper APIs. Residential advertises 400M+ monthly IPs with country, state, city, ZIP, and ASN targeting.
The pricing page displayed a 50% promotion: $4/GB PAYG with code RESIGB50, versus an $8 reference rate. Commitments were $499/141GB, $999/332GB, and $1,999/798GB. Confirm promotion duration and eligibility.
Bright Data says residential/mobile access requires KYC. That can reassure procurement teams and inconvenience hobbyists. Web Unlocker was listed with 5,000 free requests monthly, then $1.50 per 1,000 successful requests. Read our Bright Data proxy review.
Pros
- Deep geo/ASN targeting
- Proxy Manager and APIs
- Raw and managed products
- Enterprise controls
Cons
- Complex pricing surface
- Promotion may expire
- KYC for some networks
- Commitments rise quickly
Raw proxy or API? If rotation, CAPTCHA handling, retries, and browser fingerprints dominate engineering time, price an unblocker against your full labor cost.
ProxyShare — aggressive prices with a strict buying decision
ProxyShare offers the lowest verified non-launch small package here: 10GB residential for $9 over 30 days. The ladder is $52/60GB, $85/100GB, $240/300GB, $750/1TB, and $2,000/3TB. It advertises country/city targeting, HTTP/SOCKS5, sticky sessions up to 24 hours, and unlimited concurrent sessions.
Static residential costs $10/IP for 30 days; static datacenter is $7.80/IP for 30 days. “Long Acting ISP” starts at 10GB/$8. Confirm whether you need a stable assigned IP or a long-session rotating pool.
Public terms say payments are non-refundable, and no general self-service trial was verified. Buy the smallest package first. See our ProxyShare review.
Pros
- Low residential price
- Wide advertised coverage
- Rotating and static choices
- Long sticky sessions
Cons
- No-refund policy
- No general trial verified
- 30-day packages expire
- No current mobile plan verified
IPRoyal — flexible products for uneven workloads
IPRoyal suits intermittent residential jobs because purchased traffic does not expire. Residential includes rotating/sticky sessions, SOCKS5, country/city/state targeting, and an advertised 64M+ pool.
Headline pricing needs context. PAYG costs $7.35/GB at 1GB, $6.25 at 2GB, and $5.51 at 10GB. Subscription equivalents are $7, $5.95, and $5.25. The “from $1.75/GB” rate requires 10TB.
Datacenter and ISP plans have a fair-use pool rather than literal unlimited full-speed traffic: current help docs describe 100GB per proxy per 30-day cycle. IPRoyal also sells rotating/dedicated mobile and a Web Unblocker from $1/1,000 requests. See our IPRoyal review.
Pros
- Residential traffic does not expire
- Broad product lineup
- SOCKS5 and granular targeting
- 1GB purchase available
Cons
- Expensive small residential orders
- $1.75 requires 10TB
- Fair-use on DC/ISP
- Mobile models need care
Capability matrixFeatures That Change the Buying Decision
| Feature | Webshare | Oxylabs | Bright Data | ProxyShare | IPRoyal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free entry | 10 DC IPs + 1GB/mo | Trial/contact dependent | Product-dependent allowances | Sales-arranged only | No general tier verified |
| Residential | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Static ISP | Shared static residential | Yes | Shared/dedicated | Static/long-acting | Dedicated |
| Datacenter | Shared/dedicated | Shared/dedicated | Shared/dedicated/pay-GB | Static | Dedicated |
| Mobile | Not a core public plan | Yes | Yes | No current plan verified | Rotating/dedicated |
| SOCKS5 | Yes | Yes | Supported configurations | Yes | Yes |
| Managed unblocker | No comparable flagship | Web Unblocker | Web Unlocker + Browser API | No | Web Unblocker |
Match the workloadBest Proxy Provider by Use Case
Learning and small scripts
Webshare. Test authentication, rotation, and failure handling free before deciding whether residential is necessary.
Enterprise collection
Oxylabs or Bright Data. Oxylabs suits proxy-first deployments; Bright Data wins when managed tools reduce engineering load.
Lowest small residential bill
ProxyShare. The 10GB/$9 standard package leads here, but the no-refund rule makes a pilot essential.
Seasonal scraping
IPRoyal. Non-expiring bandwidth can beat a cheaper monthly plan when traffic is uneven.
Protected JavaScript sites
Bright Data or Oxylabs. Compare managed success billing with raw proxy, browser, retry, and CAPTCHA costs.
What we do not rank by
We do not rank by advertised pool count alone. Pools are dynamic, definitions differ, and monthly-seen IPs are not simultaneous IPs. We removed the old article’s unsupported market-share and response-time claims. Without identical targets, geography, concurrency, retries, and content validation, a universal speed score is misleading.
Proxies do not create permission to collect or use data. Follow applicable law, privacy obligations, contracts, and target rules. The Robots Exclusion Protocol specification explains standardized robots.txt, while the MDN guide to proxies and tunneling provides neutral technical background. Neither grants legal authorization.
Evidence over marketingHow to Test a Proxy Provider Properly
- Define the outputCount a request only when its body passes schema, block-page, duplicate, and freshness checks.
- Build representative URLsInclude easy, protected, JavaScript, paginated, geo-specific, and known-failure pages.
- Use identical controlsMatch timeouts, concurrency, retries, headers, sessions, parser, and geography.
- Measure tail latency and successRecord median/P95 time, errors, HTTP status, content blocks, bandwidth, and accepted records.
- Calculate effective costAdd fees, retries, browser compute, CAPTCHAs, storage, monitoring, and developer time.
- Test support and controlsOpen one ticket, set a spend cap, rotate credentials, and document the emergency stop.
- Keep a backup warmRe-test a small monthly sample through a second provider because networks change.
FAQFrequently Asked Questions
What is the best proxy provider overall?
Which proxy provider is cheapest?
Which provider has a free plan?
Are residential proxies better?
Can I trust advertised IP-pool size?
Do I need SOCKS5?
Raw proxies or a web unblocker?
Final verdictChoose for Your Targets, Not the Biggest Headline
Webshare is the best default start. It lets you validate a datacenter workflow free, then move into residential or static products without an enterprise commitment.
Oxylabs and Bright Data are the strongest production shortlists. Oxylabs is our enterprise proxy-network pick; Bright Data wins when targeting, Proxy Manager, managed browsing, and unlockers justify complexity.
ProxyShare and IPRoyal solve specific budget problems. ProxyShare is compelling for inexpensive monthly traffic, while IPRoyal’s non-expiring bandwidth fits uneven use.
Run the same target set through two finalists and buy the lowest cost per validated record.
Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Rankings are editorial and do not replace a target-specific test. Prices, promotions, pool claims, and availability can change; verify checkout and terms.
Sources & comparison methodology
Research checked September 17, 2026. We reviewed public pricing, product pages, documentation, refund/FAQ material. We normalized only comparable units, labeled promotions, and distinguished per-GB, per-IP, per-request, and time-limited plans. We did not buy every plan or conduct a controlled cross-provider benchmark, so provider network, uptime, and success claims remain vendor-reported.
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Webshare: pricing, residential, proxy-server, and refund pages at
webshare.io. -
Oxylabs: residential, mobile, ISP, datacenter, unblocker, and pricing pages at
oxylabs.io. -
Bright Data: proxy, Web Unlocker, Browser API, pricing, and KYC pages at
brightdata.com. -
ProxyShare: residential, static, ISP, pricing, and terms pages at
proxyshare.com. -
IPRoyal: pricing, FAQ, fair-use, and documentation at
iproyal.com,help.iproyal.com, anddocs.iproyal.com.
The bar chart visualizes advertised entry rates, not performance. The radar is an editorial fit aid. We removed unsupported market-size, market-share, response-time, and universal-success claims from the previous version.
