Best residential proxies in 2026: real per-GB prices, compared
Best residential proxies in 2026: real per-GB prices, compared
How we make money: if you buy a plan for ProxyScrape through our links, ProxyScrape pays us a commission. You pay the same price. None of the other five providers pay us, and those links go straight to their official pricing pages.
Residential proxy pricing is per gigabyte, but the advertised “from” price usually needs a terabyte-a-month commitment. We compared six providers developers actually use at two realistic volumes, 5 GB to test and 100 GB a month in production, using each provider’s live pricing page. This guide is written for people building scrapers, price monitors, and QA tooling. Read the responsible-use note before you buy.
Our picks at a glance
Prices from live pricing pages, Oct 5, 2026ProxyScrape
The lowest entry price per GB among the providers here: $2.85/GB at 5 GB, falling to $1.50/GB at 1 TB, with a 1 GB trial for $1. 120M+ residential IPs, country and city targeting, HTTP and SOCKS5 with UDP, and unlimited concurrent connections.
Comparison: pool, entry price, and trial
Pool sizes are each provider’s own claim and can’t be independently verified. Real-world success rates depend far more on your targets and settings than on the headline number.
| Provider | Claimed pool | Smallest plan | Trial | Protocols |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ProxyScrape | 120M+ IPs | 5 GB, $2.85/GB | 1 GB for $1 | HTTP, SOCKS5 + UDP |
| Decodo | 115M+ IPs | 3 GB, $3.75/GB | 3-day free trial | HTTP(S), SOCKS5 |
| Bright Data | 400M+ IPs | Pay as you go, $8/GB | Free trial | Not listed on page |
| Oxylabs | 175M+ IPs | 5 GB, $6/GB | 3-day refund window | Not listed on page |
| IPRoyal | 64M+ IPs | 1 GB, $7/GB | None listed | HTTP(S), SOCKS5 |
| SOAX | Not stated on page | Pay per use, $5/GB (Tier 1) | Not answered on page | Not listed on page |
What 5 GB and 100 GB a month cost
The two volumes most buyers start with. “Not shown” means the pricing page didn’t offer that volume as a standard option.
| Provider | Around 5 GB | 100 GB/mo | Best rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| ProxyScrape | $2.85/GB ($14.25) | $2.20/GB ($220) | $1.50/GB at 1 TB |
| Decodo | $3.75/GB (3 GB) | $2.75/GB ($275) | $2/GB at 1 TB |
| Bright Data | $8/GB pay as you go | Not shown | $5/GB at 798 GB (regular) |
| Oxylabs | $6/GB ($30) | Not shown | $2.50/GB at 1 TB |
| IPRoyal | $5.95/GB (2 GB) | Not shown | $1.75/GB from 10 TB |
| SOAX | $5/GB (Tier 1, pay per use) | $3/GB ($300, US) | $0.85/GB on top plan |
Bright Data was running a 50%-off code for the first 3 months when we checked (pay as you go $4/GB instead of $8; its 141 GB plan $499 a month instead of about $987). We list regular prices. Oxylabs’ plans are 5, 20, 125 GB and 1 TB, so 100 GB falls between its $5/GB and $4/GB tiers. ProxyScrape’s prices are for 30-day bundles; non-expiring traffic costs more ($3.80/GB at 5 GB).
Responsible use
Proxies don’t change what you’re allowed to do. Follow each website’s terms of service and robots.txt, respect rate limits, and don’t collect personal data without a lawful basis under laws like GDPR and CCPA. Never use proxies for fraud, account takeover, credential stuffing, ad fraud, ticket scalping, or getting around bans. Providers run compliance checks (Oxylabs, for example, publishes a KYC policy and blocks some targets) and will suspend accounts that break their rules. Residential IPs belong to real people’s devices, so choose providers that say their IPs come from users who agreed to share them.
The 6 residential proxy providers, reviewed
Each review covers what the tool is best at, the limits that matter, and who should skip it.
ProxyScrape: best price per GB for small and mid volumes
- Price$2.85/GB (5 GB) · $2.20 (100 GB) · $2.00 (250 GB) · $1.50 (1 TB)
- Trial1 GB for $1
- Pool120M+ IPs; country, state, city, OS, and ASN targeting
ProxyScrape’s residential network claims 120M+ IPs in 195 countries, with country, state, city, OS, and ASN targeting, rotating or sticky sessions, and HTTP or SOCKS5 with UDP. Concurrent connections are unlimited, and it says its IPs come from transparent partnerships with user consent.
Pricing is the reason it’s our top pick for most buyers. A 5 GB, 30-day bundle is $14.25 ($2.85/GB), and bulk discounts start at 20 GB: $2.65/GB, then $2.20 at 100 GB and $1.50 at 1 TB. You can test 1 GB for $1. The trade-offs: bundles expire after 30 to 90 days unless you pay more for non-expiring traffic, and its pool is smaller than Bright Data’s or Oxylabs’ claims. Enterprise compliance tooling is also less extensive than theirs.
Pros
- Lowest per-GB price here at 5 GB and 100 GB
- 1 GB trial for $1
- SOCKS5 with UDP, unlimited concurrency
- Fine-grained targeting included
Cons
- Standard bundles expire (30 to 90 days)
- Non-expiring traffic costs more
- Smaller claimed pool than Bright Data or Oxylabs
- Less enterprise compliance tooling
Skip it if you need enterprise contracts, SLAs, and dedicated account management. Look at Oxylabs or Bright Data.
Decodo: best all-rounder with a free trial
- Price$3.75/GB (3 GB) to $2.75 (100 GB); Enterprise $2.50 to $2/GB
- Pay as you go$4/GB
- Trial3 days free
Decodo is the new name for Smartproxy. Its residential network claims 115M+ IPs in 195+ locations, with targeting down to ZIP code and ASN, HTTP(S) and SOCKS5, rotating or sticky sessions, and a published 99.92% success rate.
It’s a little more expensive than ProxyScrape at every volume ($2.75 vs $2.20 per GB at 100 GB), but offers a genuinely free 3-day trial and a straightforward dashboard. Pay as you go is $4/GB for one-off projects.
Pros
- 3-day free trial
- ZIP and ASN targeting included
- Clear, simple plans
Cons
- Pricier than ProxyScrape per GB
- Best prices need 250 GB+
- Subscriptions billed monthly
Skip it if price per GB is your only criterion.
Bright Data: largest pool and the most tooling
- Pay as you go$8/GB ($4 with a 3-month promo code)
- Plans141 GB / 332 GB / 798 GB at $7 / $6 / $5 per GB regular
- Pool400M+ IPs, ZIP-level targeting free
Bright Data claims the biggest residential pool (400M+ IPs in 195 countries) and sells a full data platform around it: scraper APIs, a browser API, datasets, and SERP APIs. Country, state, city, and ZIP targeting are free, and it matches first deposits up to $500 for new signups.
Regular prices are high ($8/GB pay as you go), and the attractive numbers on the page depend on a 50%-off code that lasts 3 months. It’s the right choice for teams that will use the wider tooling.
Pros
- Largest claimed pool
- Full scraping and data toolset
- Free ZIP-level targeting
Cons
- Expensive at regular prices
- Promo pricing ends after 3 months
- Complex product range
Skip it if you just need affordable rotating IPs.
Oxylabs: enterprise-grade with strict compliance
- Plans5 GB $6/GB · 20 GB $5 · 125 GB $4 · 1 TB $2.50
- Pool175M+ IPs, 195 locations
- RefundsWithin 3 days, if under 20% used
Oxylabs is a large enterprise provider with ISO/IEC 27001-certified proxy products, a published KYC policy, and some targets blocked to prevent abuse. It claims 175M+ residential IPs across 195 locations with ZIP-level targeting and unlimited concurrent sessions.
Plans start at 5 GB for $30 ($6/GB). Self-service refunds are possible within 3 calendar days if you’ve used less than 20% of the traffic.
Pros
- Strong compliance and certifications
- Large claimed pool
- 24/7 support
Cons
- $6/GB at the smallest plan
- Tight refund conditions
- Some targets blocked
Skip it if you’re price-sensitive at small volumes.
IPRoyal: simple pay-as-you-go top-ups
- Pay as you go1 GB $7 · 2 GB $5.95/GB · 10 GB $5.25/GB
- Volume$1.75/GB from 10 TB
- Pool64M+ IPs, 195+ countries
IPRoyal sells residential traffic in small pay-as-you-go packs and advertises never-expiring traffic, which suits occasional or bursty jobs. It supports HTTP(S) and SOCKS5, sticky sessions up to 7 days, and country, state, and city targeting.
Per-GB prices are high at small volumes ($5.25 to $7/GB) and its claimed pool is the smallest here, but there’s no monthly commitment.
Pros
- No subscription needed
- Sticky sessions up to 7 days
- Advertises never-expiring traffic
Cons
- $5.25 to $7/GB at small volumes
- Smallest claimed pool here
- No trial listed
Skip it if you’ll use 100 GB+ every month.
SOAX: country-tiered pricing
- Pay per use$5/GB for Tier 1 countries
- Builder$200/mo; US traffic $3/GB
- TargetingCountry, region, city, ISP
SOAX prices traffic by country tier: Tier 1 countries cost more per GB than Tier 2 or 3. Its calculator showed 100 GB of US traffic on the Builder plan at $300 ($3/GB), and per-GB rates fall to $0.85 on its largest plan.
The tiered model can be cheap if your targets are in lower-tier countries, but it’s harder to predict. Its pricing FAQ lists a free-trial question, but the answer wasn’t shown in our capture.
Pros
- Cheap for lower-tier countries
- ISP-level targeting
- Usage calculator on the pricing page
Cons
- Pricing varies by country tier
- Plans start at $200/mo for discounts
- Trial terms unclear on the page
Skip it if you want one simple per-GB price.
How we picked
To be clear about our method: this guide is based on research, not a months-long hands-on test of every tool. Here’s what went into it:
- Live pricing pagesWe loaded each pricing page on October 5, 2026, stepped through volume sliders, and recorded per-GB prices at each tier.
- Docs and policiesTargeting options, protocols, refund rules, KYC and acceptable-use policies.
- Published reviewsIndependent benchmarks and developer feedback on success rates, speed, and support.
- Realistic volumesTesting (about 5 GB) and steady production (100 GB a month).
Commissions don’t decide the ranking, and we’ve said plainly where our top pick is weaker. ProxyScrape is first because it has the lowest per-GB price here at both test and production volumes, with a $1 trial and the targeting and protocols most projects need. If you need enterprise contracts and the largest pools, Bright Data or Oxylabs is the better fit. If you want a free trial, try Decodo. We say so above. We didn’t run our own success-rate benchmark; pool sizes are each provider’s claim.
Frequently asked questions
What are residential proxies?
Proxies that route your requests through IP addresses assigned by consumer internet providers to real devices, so traffic looks like it comes from ordinary users. They're used for price monitoring, ad verification, SEO rank checks, and public-data collection.
What's the cheapest residential proxy?
Of the providers here, ProxyScrape has the lowest per-GB price at small and mid volumes: $2.85/GB at 5 GB and $2.20/GB at 100 GB. At 10 TB and above, IPRoyal lists $1.75/GB.
Is there a free trial?
Decodo offers a 3-day free trial and Bright Data offers a free trial. ProxyScrape sells a 1 GB trial for $1. Oxylabs offers refunds within 3 days if you've used less than 20% of your traffic.
Are residential proxies legal?
Using a proxy is legal in most countries. What you do with it is what matters: follow each site's terms and robots.txt, respect rate limits, and comply with data-protection laws. Fraud, account takeover, and evading bans are illegal or against every provider's terms.
Do proxy plans expire?
Often, yes. ProxyScrape's standard bundles last 30, 60, or 90 days, with a pricier non-expiring option. Subscriptions at Decodo and Oxylabs are monthly. IPRoyal advertises never-expiring traffic.
Rotating or sticky sessions?
Rotating sessions give a new IP for each request, which is best for large-scale collection. Sticky sessions keep the same IP for a set time, which is needed for multi-step flows like carts or logins you're authorized to use.