Today’s businesses looking to scale and regular internet users seeking greater online freedom know that proxy servers are essential. But with so many options on the market, choosing one can be quite a challenge. This is why we suggest the five best proxy services currently available right after explaining how they work.
Proxies are third-party servers that route your internet connection through themselves. The goal is to hide your genuine IP address by using their own when connecting you to the target server, whether a business website, a shopping site, or a gaming platform.
The IP addresses proxies use can be sourced from residential users and ISPs, data centers, or mobile carriers, depending on the proxy type. They can spoof your location to make it seem as if you’re somewhere else, providing you with ultimate privacy and freedom online.
While VPNs are another popular option for internet privacy and unrestricted web access, proxies are useful for many other reasons. They help in sneaker botting, buying tickets, SEO, market research, web scraping, social media management, and even gaming by ensuring multi-accounting and automation tool usage without detections and bans.
Here are our quick reviews of the top proxy services available today, along with their biggest pros and cons, to help you find the right option for your needs and budget.
Best for budget-conscious users with small to medium-sized projects
Why We Picked It
If you’re looking for fast and reliable IPs without overpaying, MarsProxies might be just what you need. This provider offers high-quality IP addresses with all the essential features in flexible plans, letting you order as many GBs or proxies as you need at some of the most affordable prices on the market. You can find pay-as-you-go plans with non-expiring traffic, and daily, weekly, and monthly options with discounts.
Who It’s For
MarsProxies’ offerings and plans are tailored for individuals, self-employed, and businesses with small to medium-sized projects looking for budget-friendly solutions. The proxies are easy to set up and great for anything requiring high anonymity, bot protection, and speeds, including web scraping, sneaker copping, bypassing geo-restrictions, web testing, streaming, gaming, and more.
Pros
High-speed IPs in 190+ locations
Non-expiring residential traffic
Highly customizable plans and affordable prices
Sneaker and mobile proxies with unlimited bandwidth
Cons
Fairly limited IP pool size
Mobile IPs in 2 locations
No free trial
2. IPRoyal
Best for enterprise clients looking to scale without overpaying
Why We Picked It
IPRoyal offers everything enterprise and business clients need – a large, global network of ethically sourced proxies compliant with the latest data protection standards, and professional customer service. The company offers some of the most cost-efficient solutions for these users with flexible plans, reasonable prices, and great bulk discounts.
Who It’s For
This proxy provider is a great choice for enterprise and business clients who want to scale without breaking the bank. Whether you’re looking for uninterrupted web scraping, market research, or social media management, IPRoyal’s high-performance proxies won’t let you down.
Best for enterprise clients looking for web scraping solutions
Why We Picked It
Bright Data offers web scraping solutions beyond proxies, so you can also find multiple web scraping APIs and business-ready datasets for download. It has one of the largest proxy pools with over 72 million IPs and plenty of useful features if you’re willing to pay above-average prices.
Who It’s For
The company has a suite of products tailored-made for business and enterprise clients looking to scrape global data from websites. That’s why Bright Data’s plans and prices might not be the best choice for individuals or small businesses.
Pros
Pool of over 72M+ IPs worldwide
Multiple web scraping solutions
Free trial
Dashboard available in 8 languages
Cons
High prices and extra costs
Complex dashboard
No crypto payments
Limited SOCKS5 support (with proxy manager)
4. Oxylabs
Best for enterprises with data collection needs
Why We Picked It
Over 100 million IP addresses can’t go unnoticed, especially if you value IP variety. Besides the massive proxy pool, Oxylabs offers various web scraping APIs and no-code datasets, letting you get everything you need for efficient data scraping from one place.
Who It’s For
Oxylabs’ products, plans, and pricing are all tailored for enterprises with bigger budgets. It’s a great option for those who want to scrape massive amounts of data from various web sources across the world.
Pros
Massive pool of 100M+ IPs
Advanced web scraping tools
Free trial
Ethical proxy network
Cons
Pay-as-you-go plan with traffic order limit
No wallet functionality
Fixed plans with high prices
Self-service not available for some products
5. NetNut
Best for experienced users and businesses with big needs
Why We Picked It
NetNut is another well-known provider with one of the largest IP networks in the industry. Just like some of the other companies on our list, it offers web scrapers and datasets for data extraction needs. Having been around for quite a while, it has made a name for itself in the business.
Who It’s For
Although NetNut started as a proxy service for general uses, it’s now geared toward web scraping professionals with large needs. The fixed plans with high starting prices make it a costly option for regular online users, self-employed, or anyone else on a budget.
Pros
Large pool of 84M+ IPs
Various web scraping tools
Free trial
Self-service for all products
Cons
Confusing dashboard and poor user experience
No option to set usage limits or top up a plan
Slow customer support
Fixed plans with high prices
Conclusion
While there are so many proxy services out there, we’re sure our top picks will help you make the right choice. Each of these providers comes with its own sets of pros and cons, so think about what you need and want from a proxy service before making your final decision.
