We've tested and reviewed the leading proxy and web scraping providers on real-world targets. Below is our independent ranking for 2026 — based on success rates, network size, features, pricing, and value. Bright Data takes the top spot as the industry gold standard, but every provider here is one we actively recommend.
Bright Data
★ Top PickThe industry gold standard. 400M+ residential IPs across 195 countries, plus the Web Unlocker, Scraping Browser, and SERP API for the toughest targets.
Oxylabs
AI-powered scraper APIs backed by a 100M+ proxy network, built for large-scale, enterprise data collection.
Scrape.do
A scraping API with a dedicated Google Search endpoint that returns parsed JSON, success-only billing, and a free plan. Our first pick for Google SERP scraping.
DataImpulse
Among the most affordable residential proxies available — pay-as-you-go with no monthly commitment, ideal for indie devs and startups.
IPRoyal
Flexible, affordable proxies with non-expiring residential traffic and every proxy type — residential, ISP, datacenter, mobile, and sneaker.
HydraProxy
Micro-budget residential and mobile proxies with very low minimum top-ups and non-expiring traffic — great for social tasks and small projects.
ZenRows
Anti-bot-first scraping API that bypasses Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX, and Akamai in a single call — JS rendering, residential proxies, and clean HTML/JSON/Markdown output.
Prefer an all-in-one scraping API?
If you'd rather skip proxy management entirely, these scraping APIs wrap proxy rotation, CAPTCHA handling, and JavaScript rendering behind a single endpoint:
- ZenRows (ranked #7 above) — anti-bot-first API that bypasses Cloudflare, DataDome, and friends, with residential proxies and HTML/JSON/Markdown output. Read our ZenRows review.
- ScraperAPI — simple, scalable API with a generous free tier and pre-built structured data endpoints. Read our ScraperAPI review.
Not sure which? See ZenRows vs ScraperAPI.
Best Proxy Service by Use Case
The ranking above is the overall order. The right pick depends on what you're scraping and how much of it:
| Need | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Best overall | Bright Data | Largest network, every proxy type, unblocking tools for the hardest targets |
| Best for enterprise scraper APIs | Oxylabs | AI-powered Web Scraper API plus SERP and e-commerce scrapers on a 100M+ IP network |
| Best residential proxies | Bright Data Residential | 400M+ IPs with city, ZIP and ASN targeting |
| Best ISP (static residential) proxies | Bright Data ISP | Datacenter speed with residential trust for long sessions |
| Best mobile proxies | Bright Data Mobile | Real 3G/4G IPs for social platforms and the toughest anti-bot targets |
| Best for Google SERP scraping | Scrape.do | Google Search endpoint with parsed JSON, ads as separate blocks, success-only billing |
| Best scraping API for hard targets | ZenRows | Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX and Akamai bypass behind one endpoint |
| Easiest scraping API | ScraperAPI | One GET request, structured data endpoints, free credits every month |
| Best budget proxies | DataImpulse | Among the cheapest pay-as-you-go residential proxies available |
| Best for occasional scraping | IPRoyal | Residential traffic that never expires |
| Best for tiny projects | HydraProxy | Low minimum top-ups, nothing wasted |
Best Proxy API for Web Scraping
"Proxy API" means different things to different people, so here's how the options split:
- Unblocking proxy. You keep your own scraper and route it through a proxy that solves blocks for you. Bright Data's Web Unlocker is the reference product: proxy-style integration, success-based billing from $3/CPM.
- Scraping API. You send a URL to an endpoint and get the page (or parsed JSON) back. ZenRows leads on anti-bot bypass; ScraperAPI leads on simplicity and has a real free tier; Oxylabs' Web Scraper API is the enterprise option with parsed output for search and e-commerce.
- Search-specific API. For Google and other engines, a purpose-built product such as the Bright Data SERP API returns parsed results from any location and bills only on success.
If you're not sure whether you need an API at all, our proxy types guide covers where raw proxies stop being enough.
How to Choose a Proxy Service for Scraping
Five questions settle most decisions:
- What do your targets block? Sites with no real defenses are fine on datacenter proxies. Anything that blocks datacenter traffic needs residential or ISP IPs, and bot-managed sites (Cloudflare, DataDome, PerimeterX) usually need an unblocking tool or a scraping API on top of any proxy.
- How much traffic, how often? Per-GB pricing favors light pages at high volume; per-request billing favors heavy pages and hard targets, because failed attempts cost nothing. Bursty or seasonal work favors non-expiring traffic.
- Where do you need to appear from? Country targeting is universal; city, state and ASN targeting are not. Check before you buy if local results matter.
- Rotating or sticky? Crawling wants a new IP per request; anything with a login or a multi-step flow wants a session that holds an IP.
- How much do you want to build? Raw proxies are cheapest per request and most flexible, but you own the browser automation, retries and CAPTCHA handling. If that's not where you want to spend engineering time, pay for an API.
Our guide to avoiding blocks while scraping covers the request-side hygiene that matters whichever provider you pick, and the proxy types guide goes deeper on the residential vs datacenter vs ISP vs mobile decision.
How we rank providers
Our rankings weigh success rate on real anti-bot targets, network size and quality, breadth of proxy types and tools, pricing and value, and ease of use. We re-test periodically and update the order as providers improve. Want the methodology behind a specific score? Each provider links to its full hands-on review.
FAQ
What is the best proxy service for web scraping?
Bright Data is our top-ranked proxy service for web scraping: the largest network (400M+ residential IPs across 195 countries), every proxy type, and unblocking tools like the Web Unlocker for the hardest targets. Oxylabs is the closest alternative, and budget providers such as DataImpulse and IPRoyal are better value for mainstream targets at small scale.
Should I use residential or datacenter proxies for scraping?
Residential proxies for any target with real anti-bot protection, because the traffic looks like a home user; datacenter proxies for fast, cheap scraping of sites that don't fight back. ISP proxies sit in between (datacenter speed, residential trust) and mobile proxies are the last resort for the most aggressive targets. The proxy types guide has the full breakdown.
Is a scraping API better than a proxy service?
A scraping API such as ZenRows or ScraperAPI bundles proxies, browser rendering, retries and CAPTCHA handling behind one endpoint, so it's the faster path if you don't want to run that infrastructure. Raw proxies are cheaper per request at volume and give you full control, but you build and maintain the scraper yourself.
How are these proxy services ranked?
Rankings weigh success rate on real anti-bot targets, network size and quality, breadth of proxy types and tools, pricing and value, and ease of use, based on our own testing — see how we test. Scores are recorded before affiliate links are added, and no provider can pay to change its position.
Disclosure: the "Visit" links above are affiliate links. If you sign up through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you — it helps keep our testing independent and free to read.