Best Proxies for Web Scraping (2026): Tested on Targets That Actually Fight Back
The best proxy for web scraping is the one that still returns the page after the site decides it does not like you. For most hard targets — search results, review platforms, e-commerce — that means residential proxies, and the provider we reach for first is Decodo at $2/GB. If your targets are easy and you care most about cost, Webshare starts at $1.40/GB with a genuine free tier. Everything else on this page is about knowing which situation you are in.
We run a scraping pipeline against stubborn targets every day, so this guide is built on what survives contact with real anti-bot defenses, not on spec sheets. Some links here are affiliate links; if you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes the verdict — we recommend free and budget options that pay us little when they are the right call.
The short answer
- Hard targets (search, reviews, e-commerce): Decodo residential, $2/GB. The one provider we have tested first-hand at scale.
- Easy targets and lowest cost: Webshare, $1.40/GB residential or $0.018/IP datacenter, with a free tier to start.
- Residential without a big commit: IPRoyal, $1.75/GB, non-expiring traffic.
- Enterprise scale and managed tooling: Bright Data or Oxylabs, premium price, biggest pools.
If you take one thing from this page: pick your proxy by how hard your target blocks, not by pool-size bragging.
Why residential beats datacenter on hard targets
This is the lesson that reorganized how we scrape. When we measured it on tough targets like Google review pages, datacenter proxies dropped to roughly a fifth of their normal success rate. The IPs were fast and cheap and getting blocked on arrival. When we moved those exact jobs to residential IPs, they became viable again.
The reason is simple. Datacenter IP ranges are easy to identify and many sites block them outright. Residential IPs come from real consumer connections, so they pass the network-level check that kills datacenter traffic. You pay more per gigabyte and accept higher latency, but on a target that fingerprints IPs, that is the difference between collecting data and collecting error pages.
The switch point is empirical, not theoretical. Run datacenter proxies until your success rate falls, then move to residential. Do not pay residential prices for a target that never blocks you.
The IP is necessary, not sufficient
A residential IP gets you past the network check. It does not get you past everything. Modern targets fingerprint the browser, the TLS handshake, and behavioral signals together. We pair residential proxies with a hardened Firefox (Camoufox) running under xvfb, handle consent walls, and replay tokens for deep pagination. We rotate IPs per outlet and pin region-specific ports — Mumbai for India, regional ports for the Gulf — so the pages we collect match what a local user actually sees.
Budget for the browser layer, not just the proxy. A residential IP behind a naive headless browser still gets blocked. This is also why a managed “unblocker” product can be worth it: it bundles the rotation and CAPTCHA handling so you do not build all of it yourself.
The ranked picks
| Provider | Residential from | Pool | Managed scraping API | Best for | Our rating | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decodo | $2.00/GB | 115M+ | Yes — $0.09/1K req | Hard targets, one-vendor stack | 4.6/5 | Tested |
| Webshare | $1.40/GB | 80M+ | No | Cheapest, easy targets | 4.1/5 | Researched |
| IPRoyal | $1.75/GB | Global | Yes (new) | Mid-market, non-expiring traffic | 4.0/5 | Researched |
| Oxylabs | $2.50/GB | 175M+ | Yes — $0.25/1K | Enterprise + scraper APIs | 4.3/5 | Researched |
| Bright Data | $4.00/GB | 400M+ | Yes — full stack | Largest pool, managed tooling | 4.4/5 | Researched |
Prices as of May 2026 from provider pricing pages; confirm before buying. Decodo is tested first-hand; the others are researched from public data and community reports, not yet benchmarked in our pipeline.
1. Decodo — best overall for scraping
Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) is the only provider here we run at scale, and it is the one we reach for when a target fights back. Residential starts at $2/GB across 115M+ IPs in 195+ locations, and when we tested it the per-outlet rotation held up under real load. It has also grown into a full platform: a Web Scraping API at $0.09/1K requests — the cheapest scraping-API entry of any provider on this page — plus a Site Unblocker at $0.95/1K requests, ISP proxies at $0.27/IP, and datacenter at $0.02/IP. You can run hard and easy targets from one vendor instead of juggling accounts. A 3-day free trial covers residential.
Where it gives ground: residential GB pricing still adds up on very high-volume jobs, and Bright Data’s pool is larger. For our pipeline, the success rate and the single-vendor breadth matter more.
2. Webshare — best value, best place to start
Webshare’s story changed: it now undercuts everyone on residential at $1.40/GB and on datacenter at $0.018/IP, the lowest of the group on both. The free tier gives you 10 proxies and up to 1GB a month with no credit card, which makes it the easiest way to start scraping today. The dashboard is fast and developer-friendly.
The catch: there is no managed unblocker or scraping API. On easy targets, datacenter proxies at $0.018/IP are excellent value and Webshare is hard to beat. On hard targets, you bring your own anti-block stack. Consent walls, CAPTCHAs, and token replay are on you. Know the ceiling before you scale into it.
3. IPRoyal — flexible mid-market
IPRoyal sits between budget and enterprise. Residential is $1.75/GB and the pay-as-you-go traffic does not expire, which suits bursty workloads that do not justify a monthly commit. The lineup has broadened to ISP at $2/IP, datacenter at $1.39/IP, mobile, and a newer Web Unblocker at $1/1K requests. Pool and tooling are smaller than the enterprise tier, and success on the very hardest targets trails the premium providers, but the value floor is good.
4. Oxylabs — enterprise scraper APIs
Oxylabs is the polished enterprise option. Its Web Scraper API at $0.25/1K results is well-documented and ergonomic, backed by 175M+ residential IPs and newer AI-workflow tools like Fast Search API. Residential lists at $2.50/GB but that floor needs a 1TB commit; at low volume expect closer to $5–6/GB. It is built for teams with budgets and compliance needs, not hobby projects.
5. Bright Data — biggest pool, deepest stack
Bright Data has the largest pool at 400M+ IPs and the broadest managed toolchain: Web Unlocker, SERP API, Scraping Browser, and ready-made datasets. Residential runs $4/GB on a current promotion (regularly $8), the most expensive here even discounted. If your organization needs that scale, compliance paperwork, and a complete managed stack, it earns the price. For most scrapers it is more provider, and more cost, than the job needs.
How to choose in practice
- Start cheap. Put easy targets on Webshare datacenter at $0.018/IP. Pay nothing to find out a site does not block you.
- Watch your success rate. When it falls (blocks, CAPTCHAs, empty pages), that is your signal to switch, not before.
- Move hard targets to residential. Decodo at $2/GB is our default. Add the browser layer; the IP alone will not save you.
- Consider a managed unblocker if you do not want to build rotation and CAPTCHA handling yourself.
- Match commitment to volume. Non-expiring traffic (IPRoyal) suits bursty jobs; volume commits (Oxylabs) only pay off at terabyte scale.
Frequently asked
What is the best proxy for web scraping in 2026?
For hard targets that block datacenter IPs, Decodo residential at $2/GB is our top pick and the one provider we have tested first-hand. For easy targets and the lowest cost, Webshare’s datacenter proxies at $0.018/IP and residential at $1.40/GB are the best value, with a free tier to start. Choose based on how aggressively your target blocks.
Do I need residential or datacenter proxies for scraping?
Use datacenter proxies on sites that do not actively block them — they are faster and far cheaper. Switch to residential when you see blocks, CAPTCHAs, or falling success rates. In our own work, datacenter success on hard review pages dropped to roughly a fifth, while residential restored it to a usable level.
Why do my datacenter proxies keep getting blocked?
Datacenter IP ranges are easy to identify and many sites block them on sight. Hard targets also fingerprint the browser and TLS handshake, not just the IP. A residential IP passes the network check, but you still need a credible browser and proper session handling to avoid blocks.
How much do scraping proxies cost?
Datacenter proxies range from free (Webshare’s tier) to a few dollars a month. Residential is priced per gigabyte — roughly $1.40 to $4 per GB across the providers here as of May 2026. Budget by total traffic, not by proxy count.
Are proxies legal for web scraping?
Using proxies is legal. The legal questions are about what you scrape and how you use it — respect terms of service, avoid personal data you should not collect, and rate-limit politely. A proxy is a networking tool; responsibility lies in how you scrape.