CloudProxy

Best Proxy Providers, Compared

A straightforward comparison of well-known proxy providers, so you can pick one that fits your use case and budget. This page may contain affiliate links — see our note below.

Provider Rating Starting Price Proxy Types
Bright Data 4.6 / 5 Custom / usage-based Residential, Datacenter, ISP, Mobile Visit Site
Oxylabs 4.5 / 5 Custom / usage-based Residential, Datacenter, ISP, Mobile Visit Site
Smartproxy 4.4 / 5 From ~$7/GB Residential, Datacenter, Mobile Visit Site
IPRoyal 4.3 / 5 From ~$1.75/GB Residential, Datacenter, ISP, Mobile Visit Site
Webshare 4.2 / 5 Free tier available Datacenter, Residential Visit Site

Pros

  • Very large IP pool
  • Enterprise-grade tooling and compliance
  • Granular geo-targeting

Cons

  • Pricing skews toward larger budgets
  • Steeper learning curve for beginners

Pros

  • Strong reliability and uptime
  • Dedicated account support at scale
  • Good documentation

Cons

  • Primarily aimed at business/enterprise use
  • Free trial is limited

Pros

  • Beginner-friendly dashboard
  • Competitive entry-level pricing
  • Responsive support

Cons

  • Smaller IP pool than the largest providers
  • Advanced features cost extra

Pros

  • Pay-as-you-go option, no subscription required
  • Good value for smaller projects

Cons

  • Smaller network than top-tier providers
  • UI is more basic

Pros

  • Free plan for testing
  • Simple, developer-friendly API
  • Low entry price for datacenter proxies

Cons

  • Residential pool is smaller
  • Free tier has tight limits

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between residential and datacenter proxies?

Residential proxies route traffic through real ISP-assigned IP addresses, making them harder to detect and block, but typically slower and more expensive. Datacenter proxies come from cloud/hosting providers — faster and cheaper, but easier for sites to flag.

Which proxy type is best for web scraping?

It depends on the target site. Rotating residential proxies work best against sites with strong anti-bot protection; datacenter proxies are fine for less-protected targets and cost less at scale.

Are proxy services legal to use?

Using a proxy is legal in most jurisdictions. What you do with it matters — respect target sites' terms of service and applicable laws, especially around personal data.

Disclosure: this page may contain affiliate links. If you sign up through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We only list providers we believe are genuinely useful; ratings and pros/cons reflect our own assessment.