Best for
Best proxies for web scraping
General web scraping is the core case, and the right pick depends on how hard your targets fight back and whether you want to run rotation yourself. Below are the providers worth using, from the best everyday value to the heaviest unblocking.
1. 
Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) Best value for most scrapingOur pick
For everyday scraping Decodo is the pick: the fastest network measured in 2026 at 0.53s, 99.92% on the easy test, and $4/GB dropping to $2.75 by 100 GB. Fast, well-priced, and easy to run.
2. 
Bright Data Best for the hard targets
When sites block aggressively, Bright Data's 400M+ pool and Web Unlocker do the work the cheaper pools cannot. It is the priciest at list and skipped 2026 testing, so test first, but it finishes the jobs others stall on.
3. 
Webshare Cheapest for easy targets at volume
If your targets are not heavily defended, Webshare is the cheapest way to run volume, from $3.50/GB down to $1.40 at 3000 GB, with a free tier to start. Slower at 0.86s but 99.28% success on the easy test.
4. 
ScraperAPI When you would rather not run proxies
ScraperAPI is a managed API at $49/month that handles rotation, retries and CAPTCHAs for you. Useful if you want results without maintaining infrastructure, though its 33.8% on the hardest anti-bot targets means it is not for the worst sites.
The call
For most web scraping, start on Decodo for the best mix of speed and price.
Keep Bright Data for the targets that block everything, drop to Webshare when the targets are easy and volume is high, and reach for ScraperAPI when you would rather not run the proxies at all.
FAQ
What is the best proxy for web scraping?
Decodo for general use on speed and price, Bright Data for the hardest targets, Webshare for cheap volume on easy targets.
Residential or datacenter for scraping?
Residential survives blocks far better and is what these picks use. Datacenter is cheaper but flagged quickly on defended sites.
Proxies or a scraping API?
Run proxies when you want control and a lower cost. Use a scraping API like ScraperAPI when you would rather not maintain rotation and retries.
Other use cases
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