Choose a proxy service for your crawler, compare current catalog offers and plan a small target-specific trial before buying a larger plan.
A scraping proxy changes the network route used by your HTTP client or browser. Your crawler still owns parsing, validation and scheduling. Start with the target, required fields and permitted collection rate; then compare the services below. The catalog cards show the published service information. Their order is an editorial selection, not measured performance on your target.
| Workload | Starting option | Check before buying |
|---|---|---|
| Public HTML, modest volume | Datacenter proxy trial | Target acceptance, country, authentication and request limits |
| A workflow needs one stable address | Dedicated datacenter or an explicitly stable ISP product | Exclusivity, IP replacement rules and retention period |
| Multiple locations or a rotating pool | Residential proxy trial | Country availability, billable traffic and session behaviour |
| JavaScript pages and browser interactions | Browser crawler with a compatible proxy | Rendering cost, context isolation and concurrent sessions |
| You want HTML or extracted data without operating a browser fleet | Managed scraping API | Supported output, target restrictions, rendering and billing |
These are starting points for a trial, not universal winners. A residential IP is not a guarantee of access. A stable address does not by itself preserve cookies or an application login. Mobile proxies deserve a separate comparison only when a mobile network exit is part of the requirement.
Datacenter and residential are catalog classifications. “Python proxy” and “Playwright proxy” describe integrations, not separate IP origins. Playwright documents browser-wide and per-context proxy settings.
With a raw proxy, you operate fetching, retries, browser execution and extraction. With an API, inspect what the service actually returns and which parts it manages. For example, Zyte describes rendering and extraction in its API. An API response is useful only if it contains the fields and freshness your workload requires.
Compare both approaches on the same permitted sample URLs and output schema. Count a correct usable record, not just HTTP 200: a challenge page, empty product field or stale page can return a successful status. Keep provider claims separate from your own trial results.
Choose a new IP between independent tasks; keep the same session through a multi-step workflow when the target requires continuity. Confirm the provider's actual session lifetime and what happens if an exit disappears. Apify documents a session parameter and product-specific behaviour; other services need their own checks.
Before choosing a plan, ask about simultaneous connections, request-rate limits, country targeting, authentication, permitted targets and timeout handling. A large advertised IP pool does not tell you how many usable exits are available in your required location. Distinguish a proxy authentication failure from target rejection; for HTTP 429, respect the target's rate guidance rather than repeatedly changing IPs.
Use cost per 1,000 usable records = total workload cost ÷ usable records × 1,000. Include billed traffic from retries, browser assets, proxy or API fees and any minimum commitment. Compare GB and per-IP plans using your actual payload size and request count. Record browser compute and maintenance separately if they are outside the provider invoice. Recheck pricing and trial terms in the service details before purchase; this page does not freeze a price or promise a success rate.
For Python HTTP fetching, use the Requests guide; for browser tasks, use the Playwright guide. Check the exit with the proxy checker, then trial the actual target. Record country, connection errors, latency, usable fields, billed bytes and session continuity. An IP check alone does not prove target compatibility.
Use authorized targets, respect applicable collection rules and store only the data your task needs. Once the small trial is reproducible, compare the current service cards below and scale within the tested limits.
Technical sources checked on 14 October 2026. Provider pools, terms and product limits can change.
Bright Data is a large proxy network for data collection: residential, mobile, ISP and datacenter IPs in about 195 countries. Residential traffic can be paid as you go with no subscription, and datacenter and ISP addresses come in packs from 10 IPs. Residential and mobile access requires identity verification.
Oxylabs sells residential, mobile, ISP and datacenter proxies under one monthly subscription from $30. Buyer payments: cards, wire transfer, AliPay, PayPal.
Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) sells residential and datacenter proxies. Residential: $4/GB without a monthly plan, or monthly packs from $3.75/GB for 3 GB. Payments: cards, PayPal, Alipay, Google/Apple Pay, crypto (with limits).
SOAX sells rotating residential and mobile proxies on a shared credit pool, with datacenter and ISP in the same plans. Builder starts at $200/mo + VAT (200 credits); Tier 1 traffic is $3/GB on Builder.
IPRoyal offers rotating residential traffic that does not expire, dedicated ISP and datacenter IPs, plus mobile proxies. Volume discounts apply on residential; ISP and datacenter are leased per IP.
Webshare sells datacenter, static residential (ISP) and rotating residential proxies, with a permanent free plan of 10 datacenter proxies. Paid datacenter plans start at $2.99 a month for 100 proxies; rotating residential costs $3.50 per GB on the 1 GB plan.
Rayobyte sells residential, ISP, datacenter, and mobile proxies. Marketing floors about $0.50/GB residential and $1/IP static DC. Buyer payments: cards, PayPal; Apple/Google Pay except on residential.