Best proxy providers for web scraping in 2026

The best proxy provider depends on scale and budget. Bright Data and Oxylabs are the enterprise choices, with the largest pools and the highest success rates. Decodo and SOAX sit in the middle. Thordata, IPRoyal and Webshare are the budget options, with residential traffic from under $2 per GB at volume. Industry-wide, residential proxies cost roughly $3 to $15 per GB, so compare at the volume you'll actually use.

TL;DR

• Enterprise: Bright Data ($4/GB pay as you go, promotional off an $8 list) and Oxylabs (from $30 for 5 GB).

• Mid-market: Decodo (about $55 for 10 GB) and SOAX (from $90 for 25 GB).

• Budget: Thordata ($2/GB at 1 GB, falling to $0.65/GB at 5 TB), IPRoyal and Webshare.

• Use proxies only for lawful, terms-compliant collection. Personal data still falls under the GDPR.

Proxy providers by entry price

Prices from vendor pages as reported in 2026 comparisons. Proxy pricing changes often and promotions are common, so check the current rate.

Residential, datacenter, ISP or mobile?

• Residential: IPs from real household connections. Hardest to block, priced per GB.

• Datacenter: IPs from servers. Fast and cheap, often priced per IP, but easier to detect.

• ISP (static residential): residential-class trust with server stability, good for long sessions.

• Mobile: IPs from mobile carriers. The most expensive, used where mobile traffic is expected.

On average, residential proxies range from about $3 to $15 per GB, while datacenter proxies can start at around $0.50 per IP (AIMultiple).

The best proxy providers

Enterprise

Bright Data. The broadest platform: residential, datacenter, ISP and mobile proxies plus scraping tools. Residential pay as you go was listed at $4.00/GB in August 2026, a promotional rate off an $8.00 list, with tiered plans down to about $2.50/GB (CASRAI). Bright Data and Oxylabs consistently held success rates above 99% in AIMultiple's benchmark (AIMultiple). See our Bright Data review.

Oxylabs. Published residential tiers start at $30 for 5 GB ($6/GB), $100 for 20 GB and $500 for 125 GB ($4/GB) (CASRAI). Best for large, high-concurrency data pipelines.

Mid-market

Decodo (formerly Smartproxy). At the 10 GB entry level, Decodo cost about $55 in AIMultiple's comparison, 45% less than Oxylabs at the same volume (AIMultiple). Best for price-to-performance.

SOAX. Monthly plans from $90 for 25 GB of residential traffic (same source). Best for teams that need carrier and city-level targeting.

Budget

Thordata. Residential from $2.00/GB at 1 GB, $1.80/GB at 10 GB and $1.00/GB at 150 GB, falling to $0.65/GB at 5 TB (Hack'celeration). Static ISP and datacenter IPs from $0.75 each.

NetNut. Rotating residential plus static residential IPs from ISPs, built for low latency. Its static residential network is reported at 1 million IPs across 30 countries (AIMultiple).

IPRoyal. One of the more affordable residential providers, with non-expiring traffic, reported from about $1.75/GB, though with a smaller pool than premium networks (AIMultiple).

Webshare. Popular with solo developers, with a free tier and low-cost subscriptions.

What 50 GB a month costs

Price per GB only matters at your volume. At 50 GB a month, Thordata's published tiers come to about $75 ($1.50/GB), Bright Data's pay-as-you-go rate to about $200, and Oxylabs would need its $500 Advanced plan because its tiers come in fixed buckets (CASRAI).

Using proxies responsibly

Proxies are infrastructure. What matters legally is what you collect and how:

• Respect site terms. Many sites restrict automated access.

• Prefer company data. Firmographics carry far less risk than personal data.

• Follow the GDPR for personal data. If you collect data about people in the EU, you need a lawful basis and must tell them where you got it (GDPR Article 14).

• Ask about IP sourcing. Choose providers that explain how residential IPs are obtained.

This isn't legal advice. For lead generation workflows, see best web scraping tools for lead generation and how to scrape a website for emails.

FAQ

What is the best proxy provider for web scraping?

Bright Data and Oxylabs for enterprise scale and reliability, Decodo and SOAX for mid-market value, and Thordata, IPRoyal or Webshare for tight budgets.

How much do residential proxies cost?

Roughly $3 to $15 per GB industry-wide, with budget providers under $2 per GB at volume and enterprise providers higher at small volumes.

What's the cheapest residential proxy?

Thordata's published tiers fall to $0.65 per GB at 5 TB. At small volumes, compare entry plans, because fixed buckets change the real cost.

Are datacenter proxies good enough?

For sites that don't block them, yes, and they're much cheaper. For harder targets, residential or ISP proxies work better.

Is using proxies legal?

Proxies themselves are legal in most places. What you collect, and whether it breaks site terms or data protection law, is what matters.

About this listicle

We are GROU, a B2B pipeline agency that runs lead generation, outbound, and LinkedIn content for clients across manufacturing, fintech, iGaming, software, and professional services. Pricing comes from the comparisons and vendor pages linked inline, checked September 2026.

Some links in this article are affiliate. We may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.