Who Are the Best Proxy Providers? Comparing 7 Companies Across Proxy Types

Proxy providers used to specialize: one sold datacenter IPs, another residential, a third mobile. Today most of them sell several types, and the real differences have moved into pricing models. Some charge per gigabyte, some per IP, some per day, and some by monthly credit. Some keep unused traffic, others let it lapse.

That shift matters most if your workload is uneven. When scraping or verification work comes in bursts, the right provider is the one whose billing bends with you, across whichever proxy types you need. This comparison covers seven companies with that in mind, starting with quick picks and a table of how each one bills, then a closer look at each.

Picked for Budgets That Change Month to Month

1) ProxyEmpire

If your scraping comes in bursts, ProxyEmpire gives you a way to pay for a peak without committing to it every month. Its unlimited residential plans can be bought by the day, starting at $200 for a day at 100 Mbit, so a launch-week crawl can run without metering gigabytes, then stop when the rush is over. The monthly unlimited plan reaches $5,400 at 1,000 Mbit for sustained heavy use.

For normal weeks, you can pay per GB instead, or pick a monthly tier starting at 7 GB for $20: $3.50 for rotating residential and $4.50 for rotating mobile, with no contract. Unused GB on GB plans roll over and never expire, so overbuying in a quiet month costs nothing. Static ISP, dedicated mobile and datacenter sit on the same account, and targeting down to ZIP, ASN and carrier is free.

Key features:

• Day-length unlimited residential plans for bursts
• Per-GB plans with rollover for normal weeks
• No contracts
• Every proxy type on one account

Pricing: Unlimited residential from $200/day; residential $3.50/GB; mobile $4.50/GB; $1.97 trial.

2) Proxy-Seller

Proxy-Seller covers the widest range of proxy types here, including IPv4 and IPv6, and its residential volume plans start from $1.45 per GB with no monthly lock-in. Enterprise residential pricing begins at $0.30 per GB for larger, steadier buyers.

The catch for irregular budgets is validity: residential traffic must be used within 30 days. If your bursts are predictable and short, that works; if they're spread out, you may lose some traffic. Refunds or replacements must be requested within 24 hours, so test right after buying.

Key features:

• Residential, IPv4, IPv6, ISP, mobile and datacenter
• Unlimited concurrent sessions
• Free proof of concept for enterprise

Pricing: Residential from $1.45/GB; mobile from $10/proxy; IPv4 from $0.49.

3) Webshare

Webshare lets you start on 10 free datacenter proxies, no credit card required, and scale to paid plans billed monthly or yearly. Residential traffic starts at $3.50 for 1 GB.

Plans can be customized by proxy count, bandwidth and location, which helps if your needs change. There's no mobile product, and residential expiry rules aren't stated. Rates fall to $1.40 per GB once you buy 250 GB, which rewards larger one-off purchases.

Key features:

• Permanent free datacenter plan
• Monthly or yearly billing
• Static residential from $6.00/month for 20 IPs

Pricing: Datacenter from $2.99/month; residential from $3.50 (1 GB).

4) NodeMaven

NodeMaven suits uneven usage with rollover on both monthly and pay-as-you-go plans. Residential and mobile share one balance, so you don't have to predict how much of each you'll need.

Monthly plans start at $8.50 for 2 GB and can earn up to 10% cashback on used traffic. ISP proxies with unlimited traffic start from $2.33 per IP for 30 days. A $3.50 trial for 750 MB lets you test before committing.

Key features:

• Shared residential and mobile balance
• Rollover on all plans
• IP Quality Filter

Pricing: From $2.20/GB monthly; $4.50/GB pay as you go.

5) Bright Data

Bright Data offers residential, ISP and datacenter at enterprise scale, with a free trial and a first deposit match up to $500.

Unused monthly commitments don't roll over, so it fits steady programs better than bursty ones. Residential pay as you go, at $4 per GB with code RESIGB50, is the more flexible route. Expect a KYC check before residential use, which may include a video call.

Key features:

• 400M+ residential IPs, per the company
• Daily spend limits per zone
• AWS Marketplace and Azure billing

Pricing: Residential $4/GB with code; ISP from $18/month; datacenter from $14/month.

6) IPRoyal

IPRoyal keeps residential traffic indefinitely with no monthly minimum, which makes it friendly to irregular use. Sticky sessions can last up to 7 days.

The trade-off is entry price: $7 per GB on a 1 GB subscription. Mobile is billed per day from $10.11, which suits short, defined projects. Registration needs no credit card, and the support team answers in 58 seconds on average, according to its docs.

Key features:

• Non-expiring residential traffic
• Per-day mobile access
• Datacenter from $1.39/proxy

Pricing: Residential from $7/GB; ISP from $1.80; mobile from $10.11/day.

7) SOAX

SOAX handles budget swings by letting you cap traffic per package rather than carrying balances forward. Residential and mobile share one credit-based price.

Upgrades take effect immediately and downgrades at the next billing cycle, so you can scale up for a busy month and back down afterward. Rates vary by country tier, and analytics show how much traffic was delivered versus blocked.

Key features:

• Per-package traffic caps
• Residential and mobile at one price
• Free Sandbox account

Pricing: Credits; example of $3.00/GB for 100 GB of US traffic.

What Does a Proxy Provider Do?

A proxy provider routes your internet traffic through IP addresses it controls, so websites see the provider's IP and location instead of yours. That lets you collect public data, check ads and search results from other locations, and manage accounts without every request coming from one address.

Providers differ in where their IPs come from. Residential IPs belong to home connections, mobile IPs to phone carriers, ISP proxies are fixed addresses registered to internet providers, and datacenter IPs come from hosting companies. Most providers now sell several of these types.

They also differ in how they charge and what they include: targeting options, session control, APIs, support and the rules for unused traffic. For uneven workloads, those rules often matter more than the headline price.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which proxy provider is best for irregular usage?

Look for traffic that rolls over or never expires. ProxyEmpire, NodeMaven and IPRoyal all keep unused residential traffic, and ProxyEmpire adds day-length unlimited plans for short bursts.

Can I buy different proxy types from one provider?

Yes. ProxyEmpire, Proxy-Seller and IPRoyal sell residential, mobile, ISP and datacenter proxies, while others cover fewer types. Keeping everything on one account simplifies billing and lets you switch types as targets change.

Do unused proxy gigabytes expire?

It depends. Some providers keep them indefinitely, Proxy-Seller gives residential traffic 30 days, and Bright Data's unused monthly commitments don't roll over. Check this before buying a large plan.

Conclusion

When your workload rises and falls, billing flexibility is the feature to compare first. ProxyEmpire gives you several ways to match spend to demand: per-GB plans that roll over, day-length unlimited residential for bursts and every proxy type on one account. Proxy-Seller suits short, predictable bursts, Webshare suits free starts, NodeMaven suits shared residential and mobile balances, Bright Data suits steady enterprise programs, IPRoyal suits non-expiring residential and SOAX suits capped budgets.