Visibility in this ranking can be paid for. Payment moves a vendor's position within the
shortlist; it never adds a vendor, and it never changes a word of the review. The largest vendors in residential proxy providers
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 11 tools, reviewed
#1 Decodo
Smartproxy's successor with plain per-GB tiers · Lithuania · decodo.com
Self-serve Per-GB tiers Free geo-targeting
Decodo takes first place because a buyer can learn the whole bill from one page. The residential page prints a ladder from a 3 GB plan up to 1 TB, says that every plan includes the full pool and free advanced targeting, and offers a three-day trial with 100 MB before any money moves.
- Pricing: Per GB / month. Bandwidth-based: pay-as-you-go $4 per GB, monthly plans from $3.75 per GB at 3 GB to $2.75 at 100 GB, enterprise tiers from $2.50 at 250 GB to $2 at 1 TB. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Small teams buying their first proxies
- Strengths: 115M+ residential IPs; 195+ locations; City, state and ASN targeting included.
Where it falls short
The 100 MB trial lasts a few hundred pages at most, so it proves connectivity rather than success on a hard target.
Wrong for
Companies crawling at multi-terabyte scale who want a named account manager and a custom SLA from day one, and buyers who need guaranteed dedicated IPs.
Visit Decodo →
#2 IPRoyal
Residential proxies with traffic that does not expire · United Arab Emirates · iproyal.com
Non-expiring traffic Pay as you go Volume ladder
IPRoyal ranks second because its billing suits the buyer whose usage comes in bursts. Gigabytes bought on pay-as-you-go do not expire, the page says so and compares it against the average provider, and the volume ladder is published down to $1.75 per GB for ten terabytes.
- Pricing: Per GB. Pay-as-you-go from $7.00 per GB at 1 GB, $5.25 at 10 GB, with custom volume plans at $1.75 per GB from 10 TB. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Irregular usage and small monthly volumes
- Strengths: 64M+ residential IPs; 195+ countries; Traffic that never expires.
Where it falls short
The small-volume rates are high: a single gigabyte is $7.00 and the cheap tiers need ten terabytes. Account opening involves a KYC policy, and the company's headquarters is in the UAE, which some procurement teams treat as a question.
Wrong for
Buyers with steady multi-terabyte monthly needs, who should compare committed plans at Decodo or SOAX, and teams that need a contract with a European or US entity.
Visit IPRoyal →
#3 Webshare
Self-serve proxies with a free tier and clear ladders · United States · webshare.io
Free tier Self-serve Datacenter plus residential
Webshare is third because it lets a developer try the product without paying and then prices the next step in the open. Ten proxies with a monthly bandwidth allowance cost nothing and have no time limit, while the residential table runs from 1 GB to the terabyte range with the total shown next to each row.
- Pricing: Per GB / month. Rotating residential billed per GB from $1.40 at the largest tiers (the table shows $3.50 for 1 GB after a 50% discount from $7.00). Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Developers testing before they commit
- Strengths: 80M+ residential IPs; Country, city, state, ZIP and ASN targeting; 10 free proxies, up to 1 GB a month.
Where it falls short
The residential table leans on a struck-through $7.00 list price beside a 50 percent offer, which makes the true list rate harder to read. Datacenter proxies on the free tier are easy to block on difficult sites.
Wrong for
Teams whose targets block datacenter ranges or who need a dedicated account manager and invoices on terms.
Visit Webshare →
#4 Bright Data
Largest residential network with a broad data-access product line · Israel · brightdata.com
Largest pool Unlocker and SERP APIs Enterprise SLA
Bright Data is a major in this market, so it sits at fourth place by rule and by price.
- Pricing: Per GB / monthly commitment. Pay-as-you-go $8 per GB list ($4 with the current 50% code), plans from $499 a month with 141 GB included, up to $1,999 for 798 GB, custom pricing above 1 TB. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Enterprise data teams at high volume
- Strengths: 400M+ residential IPs; 195 countries; Country, state, city and ZIP targeting at no extra cost.
Where it falls short
The headline prices ride on a promotional code, and the list rate is $8 per GB at pay-as-you-go. Plans start at $499 a month, and the product line is wide enough that a small buyer will pay for features it never uses.
Wrong for
Small teams and agencies under a few hundred dollars of monthly spend, and anyone who wants simple per-GB buying.
Visit Bright Data →
#5 Oxylabs
Established proxy vendor with a single subscription for all products · Lithuania · oxylabs.io
Single subscription 175M+ IPs Established vendor
Oxylabs counts as a major, which places it fifth. Its commercial structure is its main argument: one subscription gives access to residential, mobile, ISP and datacenter proxies and the scraping APIs, with a $5 welcome credit to try any of them.
- Pricing: Subscription + per GB. Subscription from $30 a month (Starter), $100 (Basic), $500 (Flexible), enterprise from $2,500. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Teams that want one invoice for proxies and APIs
- Strengths: 175M+ residential IPs; 195 countries; Country, city, state, ZIP, coordinate and ASN filtering.
Where it falls short
Small-volume gigabytes are expensive at $6, and some filters require a quick KYC check before they work. Three proxy users per account limit team use on lower plans. A $30 monthly fee is a commitment for a project that wants a one-off crawl.
Wrong for
Hobbyists, one-off projects and any buyer who wants pay-as-you-go without a monthly subscription floor or a user cap.
Visit Oxylabs →
#6 SOAX
Credit-based proxy platform with a free sandbox · United Kingdom · soax.com
Free sandbox Credit rollover UK company
SOAX is sixth. It lists a free Sandbox plan beside its paid tiers, and the paid ladder is easy to read: four tiers, a per-GB rate for each, and credits that roll over for sixty days. A UK company number is printed in the privacy policy, which makes the contracting entity easy to check.
- Pricing: Subscription + per GB. Free Sandbox plan. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Mid-size teams that want predictable monthly credits
- Strengths: Residential and mobile proxies; Country, region, city and ISP targeting; ASN and ZIP on higher plans.
Where it falls short
Credits and gigabytes are two units, so planning takes arithmetic. The cheap per-GB tiers need the higher plans, ASN and ZIP targeting wait for Team, and the Sandbox allowance is small.
Wrong for
Buyers who want pure pay-as-you-go with no monthly fee, and those who need the lowest per-GB rate at modest volume.
Visit SOAX →
#7 Rayobyte
US proxy company that owns its residential network · United States · rayobyte.com
US company Owned network Tiered pay-as-you-go
Rayobyte is seventh. Its pitch is control: the pages say the residential network is its own, built from opted-in devices, and the price per gigabyte drops in clear steps from $3.50 to $0.70 at a terabyte. Every tier includes country, city, ZIP and ASN targeting and sticky sessions, so there are no add-ons to find.
- Pricing: Per GB tiers. Premium residential pay-as-you-go: $3.50 per GB for 1 to 49 GB, $2 at 50 GB, $1.50 at 250 GB, $0.70 at 1,000 GB, enterprise from $0.50. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Volume buyers who want a US contract
- Strengths: 50M+ opted-in devices a month; 190+ countries; Country, city, ZIP code and ASN targeting.
Where it falls short
The top of the ladder needs a terabyte before it becomes cheap, the free trial is described only in short button text, and the pool figure is counted in devices per month rather than a fixed number of addresses.
Wrong for
Teams needing a very large pool or the broadest set of SDKs, and anyone buying under 50 GB a month who should compare Decodo's tiers first.
Visit Rayobyte →
#8 Geonode
Wholesale-style residential proxies and a flat-rate scraper · Singapore · geonode.com
Lowest list rate Unlimited plans Singapore company
Geonode is eighth. It advertises the lowest residential rate on the list and a flat $1,800 monthly option for unlimited residential traffic, which is attractive for crawls that would otherwise run into the terabytes. The pricing page lists residential, ISP and datacenter products with a starting rate each, and the company says its network comes from several operators it owns or has acquired.
- Pricing: Per GB / month. Residential proxies from $0.27 per GB, unlimited residential from $1,800 a month, ISP from $1.25 per IP, datacenter from $0.14 per GB. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Cost-focused buyers with technical staff
- Strengths: Residential from $0.27/GB; Unlimited residential plans; ISP and datacenter proxies.
Where it falls short
The $0.27 figure is a starting rate and the page does not show the volume at which it applies, so a buyer must check the checkout.
Wrong for
Buyers who need a track record, named references or help configuring targets.
Visit Geonode →
#9 ProxyEmpire
Rotating residential and mobile proxies with rollover traffic · Bulgaria · proxyempire.io
EU company Rollover traffic Mobile proxies
ProxyEmpire is ninth. The pages are specific about the unit economics: rollover bandwidth that does not expire, a ladder from 1 GB to 1,000 GB, and unlimited residential access from $200 a day for crawls that would otherwise burn terabytes. The Terms of Service name SWIFT SAAS LTD. with a Bulgarian company code and a Burgas address, so the contracting party is verifiable in the EU.
- Pricing: Per GB / month. Rotating residential from $1.50 per GB at 1,000 GB. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Small teams that want rollover bandwidth
- Strengths: 30M+ residential IPs; 4M+ mobile IPs; 170+ countries.
Where it falls short
Every plan row shows a 50 percent discount from a higher struck-through price, so the real list rate is unclear.
Wrong for
Buyers who need a vendor with certifications, an SLA and an account team.
Visit ProxyEmpire →
#10 Infatica
Proxy and scraping suite from a UK and Singapore company · United Kingdom · infatica.io
IPv6 residential Scraper API UK and Singapore
Infatica is tenth. The product list is broad: residential, IPv6 residential, static ISP, mobile and datacenter lines, a Web Scraper API and a SERP scraper, with an annual billing option that takes 20 percent off. The company discloses two legal entities in the footer, INFATICA LTD. in Mildenhall in the United Kingdom and INFATICA PTE. LTD. in Singapore, with registration numbers.
- Pricing: Per GB tiers. Residential from $0.3 per GB at the top of the range; pay-as-you-go $4 per GB with larger packages priced lower; a 7-day trial costs $4. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Developers needing IPv6 and mobile lines
- Strengths: 45M+ proxy pool; Residential IPv6 from $0.6/GB; Mobile IPs from $1/GB.
Where it falls short
The cheapest rate is a top-of-range figure that most buyers will not reach, the pool is mid-sized against the largest vendors, and the trial is paid rather than free.
Wrong for
Teams that want a free test, flat-rate unlimited plans, or the top-tier success rates on heavily protected targets.
Visit Infatica →
#11 Proxy-Seller
Marketplace-style proxy store with many proxy types · Cyprus · proxy-seller.com
Many proxy types Per-IP pricing Cyprus company
Proxy-Seller is last of eleven. It is a store for many proxy types more than a residential specialist, which is useful for a buyer who needs static IPv4 or IPv6 addresses beside a few gigabytes of rotating traffic.
- Pricing: Per GB / per IP. Residential: $3.50 per GB test pack valid for 30 days, volume plans from $1.45 per GB, enterprise from $0.3 per GB. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Buyers mixing static IPs and residential traffic
- Strengths: 47M+ residential IP pool; 220+ locations; City and ISP-level targeting.
Where it falls short
Traffic expires after 30 days, there is no free trial for residential traffic on the pages we fetched, and the cheapest per-GB figure sits behind enterprise terms.
Wrong for
Anyone with irregular usage, because purchased traffic expires.
Visit Proxy-Seller →
Questions and answers
What is the best residential proxy provider in 2026?
Decodo ranks first of 11, best for small teams buying their first proxies. IPRoyal is second (irregular usage and small monthly volumes) and Webshare third (developers testing before they commit). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
How much do residential proxies cost per gigabyte?
For the first gigabytes, expect between $3.50 and $8 per GB at the eleven vendors we read. Decodo lists $4 pay-as-you-go, IPRoyal $7.00 for 1 GB, Oxylabs $6 and Rayobyte $3.50.
Are residential proxies legal to use for web scraping?
The proxies themselves are legal products, but legality depends on what you collect, where, and under which terms.
What is the difference between residential, ISP and datacenter proxies?
Residential proxies use addresses assigned to home connections and rotate through a large pool, which makes them harder for sites to block and more expensive per gigabyte.
How much bandwidth does a scraping project use?
Measure it, because pages vary from a few kilobytes of JSON to several megabytes of images and scripts.
Do unused gigabytes roll over to the next month?
It depends on the vendor. IPRoyal says traffic never expires, ProxyEmpire rolls unused gigabytes over, and SOAX credits roll over for 60 days.
Should I buy proxies or a scraping API?
Buy proxies if you already run scrapers and browsers and need many addresses; buy a scraping API if you would rather pay for a returned page and let the vendor handle blocks, retries and rendering.
Do residential proxy providers verify who their customers are?
Increasingly yes. Oxylabs says some advanced filters need a quick KYC check, IPRoyal links a KYC policy from its footer, Decodo's privacy policy describes identity verification through Stripe, and Webshare lists ID, payment and proxy-use verification on its compliance page.
Which providers are based in the EU?
Four of the eleven: Decodo and Oxylabs in Vilnius, Lithuania, ProxyEmpire (SWIFT SAAS LTD.) in Burgas, Bulgaria, and Proxy-Seller in Larnaca, Cyprus.
Can I try a residential proxy provider before paying?
Five vendors advertise a free trial or credit: Decodo (3 days, 100 MB), Oxylabs ($5 welcome credit), Bright Data and Rayobyte (a free trial button), and IPRoyal (a Start Free Trial button, terms not shown on the page we fetched).
How do I switch providers without breaking my scrapers?
Keep the proxy host, port, username and password in configuration, never in code, and avoid vendor-specific headers or SDK calls unless they pay for themselves.
