Best Proxy Providers (2025)
We tested the top proxy services and compared real pricing, IP counts, and use cases. Links marked (*) are affiliate links — see our disclosure.
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2. Bright Data *
Largest NetworkThe world's largest proxy network. Enterprise-grade, enterprise-priced.
Bright Data (formerly Luminati) runs the biggest residential proxy network on the planet with 72 million+ IPs across every country. They're the choice of Fortune 500 companies for large-scale data collection, ad verification, and market research. With that scale comes complexity and cost — this is not a beginner tool.
- ✓Largest residential IP pool in the world (72M+)
- ✓Granular targeting — country, city, ISP, ASN
- ✓Mobile proxies for mobile-specific testing
- ✓Excellent reliability and 99.9%+ uptime
- ✓SOC2 Type II certified
- ✓Dedicated account managers on higher plans
- ✓Scraping Browser (real browser with proxy built in)
- ✗Very expensive — minimum spend $500/month
- ✗Complex pricing model (pay per GB)
- ✗Steep learning curve for the dashboard
- ✗Overkill for most individual developers
- ✗Contract requirements on some plans
- → Enterprise data collection
- → Ad verification at scale
- → Fortune 500 / agencies
- → Market research platforms
- ✗ Individual developers
- ✗ Budget-conscious teams
- ✗ Simple scraping tasks
Bright Data is the industry benchmark for scale and reliability. If you're processing billions of requests and need city-level targeting across 72M+ IPs, nothing else comes close. If you're not at that scale, the cost is hard to justify.
3. Oxylabs *
PremiumEnterprise residential proxies with the best support in the industry.
Oxylabs is the premium alternative to Bright Data — similarly large network (100M+ residential IPs), but with a reputation for better customer support and a slightly more approachable pricing structure for mid-market teams. Their Scraper APIs abstract away proxy management entirely.
- ✓100M+ residential IPs — largest pool available
- ✓Industry-leading customer support (24/7)
- ✓Scraper APIs handle JS rendering + CAPTCHAs
- ✓Ethically sourced residential IPs
- ✓Good documentation and onboarding
- ✓Lower entry price than Bright Data
- ✗Still expensive for small teams ($99+/mo)
- ✗Pay-per-GB residential is costly at scale
- ✗Some features only on higher-tier plans
- → Mid-market to enterprise scraping
- → Teams needing reliable support
- → E-commerce data collection
- → Price monitoring at scale
- ✗ Hobbyists
- ✗ Very small budgets
Oxylabs is the best enterprise option if you need the scale of Bright Data but want better support and slightly lower entry costs. Their Scraper APIs are excellent if you want to avoid managing proxy infrastructure entirely.
4. Smartproxy *
Most PopularThe sweet spot between price and performance for growing teams.
Smartproxy has established itself as the most popular mid-tier proxy provider. At $75/mo with 55M+ residential IPs and 195+ locations, it bridges the gap between Webshare's budget tier and Bright Data's enterprise pricing. Their Chrome extension and clean dashboard make it accessible to non-developers.
- ✓Strong residential pool (55M+ IPs)
- ✓195+ country coverage
- ✓Very clean, user-friendly dashboard
- ✓Chrome extension for non-technical users
- ✓Good price-to-quality ratio
- ✓24/7 live chat support
- ✗Residential is pay-per-GB — costs add up
- ✗Smaller pool than Bright Data / Oxylabs
- ✗Some users report speed inconsistency on residential
- → Growing teams
- → Social media management
- → Market research
- → Users wanting a clean UX
- ✗ Very large-scale enterprise use
- ✗ Tight budgets
Smartproxy is the best choice for teams that have outgrown Webshare but don't need Bright Data pricing. The dashboard and Chrome extension make it accessible to anyone, and the residential pool is large enough for most use cases.
5. SOAX *
Highest QualitySmaller pool, cleaner IPs — the quality-over-quantity choice.
SOAX takes a different philosophy to most providers: instead of maximizing raw IP count, they focus on maintaining a clean, verified pool of residential and mobile proxies. Their 155M+ IPs are actively monitored for health. This makes them the go-to for use cases where IP quality matters more than having the most IPs.
- ✓Verified, clean proxy pool — less dead IPs
- ✓Mobile proxies (4G/5G) — hardest to block
- ✓Granular ISP and carrier targeting
- ✓Real residential IPs ethically sourced
- ✓Excellent for ad verification and brand protection
- ✗Smaller active pool than Bright Data
- ✗No datacenter proxy option
- ✗Higher per-GB cost than competitors
- ✗Less brand recognition than Bright Data / Oxylabs
- → Ad verification
- → Brand protection
- → Mobile app testing
- → Use cases needing verified clean IPs
- ✗ High-volume datacenter proxy needs
- ✗ Tight budgets
SOAX is the best choice when IP quality matters more than raw volume. Their mobile proxy offering is particularly strong for use cases that require mobile carrier IPs. Not the cheapest, but you get what you pay for.
Full Feature Comparison
Side-by-side comparison of key features across all five providers.
| Feature | Webshare | Bright Data | Oxylabs | Smartproxy | SOAX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | ✓ 10 proxies | 7-day trial | 7-day trial | 3-day trial | Trial |
| Starting price | $2.99/mo | $500/mo | $99/mo | $75/mo | $99/mo |
| Residential IPs | 30M+ | 72M+ | 100M+ | 55M+ | 155M+ |
| Mobile proxies | — | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| ISP proxies | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| SOCKS5 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| City-level targeting | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scraper API | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited (DC) | Pay/GB | Pay/GB | Pay/GB (Res) | Pay/GB |
| 24/7 support | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
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Test Your Proxies Free →Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best proxy provider in 2025?
For most users, Webshare offers the best value — they even offer 10 free proxies with no credit card required. For enterprise use cases requiring millions of residential IPs, Bright Data and Oxylabs are the industry leaders. Smartproxy is the best mid-tier option for growing teams.
What's the difference between residential and datacenter proxies?
Datacenter proxies are hosted in commercial data centers. They're fast, cheap, and have unlimited bandwidth, but websites can often detect and block them. Residential proxies route through real home IP addresses, making them much harder to detect — but they're sold per GB, making large-scale usage expensive.
Do I need to test my proxies before using them?
Yes, always. Even proxies from paid providers can have dead IPs in their pool. Use the ProxyThis checker to verify which proxies are working before running any jobs — you'll save time and avoid burning bandwidth on dead connections.
What does proxy anonymity level mean?
Elite proxies hide your IP and don't reveal that you're using a proxy at all. Anonymous proxies hide your IP but tell the server a proxy is being used. Transparent proxies leak your real IP and are essentially useless for privacy. Always aim for elite proxies for serious use cases.