Residential Proxy Pricing Comparison 2026: Every Provider Ranked
Residential proxy pricing varies dramatically across providers, from under $3/GB on budget services to over $15/GB on premium platforms. The cheapest option is not always the best value — pool size, success rates, geo-coverage, and support quality all affect the true cost per successful request.
This comparison covers every major residential proxy provider, ranked by price-to-value ratio, to help you choose the right service for your budget and requirements.
Complete Residential Proxy Pricing Table 2026
| Provider | Price/GB (Entry) | Price/GB (Volume) | Min Plan | Pool Size | Geo-Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geonode | $4.00 | $2.50 | $47/mo | 10M+ | 195 countries |
| Webshare | $4.50 | $2.80 | $30/mo | 30M+ | 50+ countries |
| IPRoyal | $5.50 | $3.50 | Pay-as-go | 32M+ | 195 countries |
| Proxy-Cheap | $5.00 | $3.00 | $5/mo | 7M+ | 127 countries |
| NetNut | $6.00 | $3.50 | $300/mo | 85M+ | 200+ countries |
| SOAX | $6.60 | $4.00 | $99/mo | 191M+ | 195 countries |
| Smartproxy | $7.00 | $4.00 | $80/mo | 55M+ | 195 countries |
| Oxylabs | $8.00 | $5.00 | $300/mo | 100M+ | 195 countries |
| Bright Data | $8.40 | $5.20 | $500/mo | 72M+ | 195 countries |
| ProxyEmpire | $9.00 | $5.50 | $30/mo | 9M+ | 170+ countries |
| Nimbleway | $10.00 | $6.00 | Custom | 10M+ | 195 countries |
| PacketStream | $3.00 | $3.00 | $1/mo | Peer-based | Limited |
| Shifter | $5.00 | $3.50 | $75/mo | 30M+ | 130 countries |
Pricing Tier Breakdown
Budget Tier ($2.50-$5.00/GB)
Best for: High-volume scraping, budget-conscious teams, testing and prototyping
Providers: Geonode, Webshare, IPRoyal, Proxy-Cheap, PacketStream
Budget residential proxies work well for scraping targets with moderate anti-bot protection. Expect lower success rates on heavily protected sites like Amazon, LinkedIn, and Google compared to premium providers.
Typical success rates: 70-85% on standard websites, 50-70% on protected targets
Mid-Range Tier ($5.00-$8.00/GB)
Best for: Production scraping, e-commerce monitoring, SEO tracking
Providers: NetNut, SOAX, Smartproxy
Mid-range providers offer a strong balance of pool size, geographic coverage, and reliability. Most include session control features, city-level targeting, and decent API documentation.
Typical success rates: 80-90% on standard websites, 65-80% on protected targets
Premium Tier ($8.00-$15.00/GB)
Best for: Enterprise data collection, mission-critical monitoring, compliance-sensitive projects
Providers: Oxylabs, Bright Data, Nimbleway
Premium providers deliver the largest IP pools, highest success rates, most geographic coverage options, and dedicated account management. They also offer advanced features like web unblockers, SERP APIs, and built-in browser rendering.
Typical success rates: 90-98% on standard websites, 80-95% on protected targets
What Affects Residential Proxy Pricing
Pool Size and Quality
Larger pools with diverse subnet distribution command higher prices. Bright Data’s 72M+ IP pool and Oxylabs’ 100M+ pool provide broader geographic distribution and reduce IP reuse.
Geographic Targeting
Country-level targeting is standard at base prices. City-level and ASN-level targeting costs 10-30% more on most providers. Rare locations (Africa, Middle East, Central Asia) may carry surcharges.
Session Duration
Sticky sessions (maintaining the same IP) typically cost more than rotating sessions. Extended sticky sessions (30+ minutes) may carry a 20-50% premium on some platforms.
Concurrency Limits
Entry plans often limit concurrent connections to 100-500. Higher concurrency requires upgraded plans, increasing the effective per-GB cost.
Cost Per Successful Request Analysis
Raw per-GB pricing does not tell the full story. A provider charging $8/GB with 95% success rate delivers better value than one charging $4/GB with 70% success rate.
| Provider | Price/GB | Success Rate | Effective Cost/1K Pages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bright Data | $8.40 | 95% | $4.42 |
| Oxylabs | $8.00 | 93% | $4.30 |
| Smartproxy | $7.00 | 88% | $3.98 |
| SOAX | $6.60 | 85% | $3.88 |
| Geonode | $4.00 | 78% | $2.56 |
| Webshare | $4.50 | 75% | $3.00 |
| IPRoyal | $5.50 | 80% | $3.44 |
Based on average page size of 0.5 MB and typical success rates for e-commerce scraping
Volume Discount Structures
Most providers offer tiered pricing that decreases as usage increases.
Bright Data Volume Tiers
- 0-50 GB: $8.40/GB
- 50-250 GB: $7.00/GB
- 250-1000 GB: $5.80/GB
- 1000+ GB: Custom pricing
Oxylabs Volume Tiers
- Starter (20 GB): $15.00/GB
- Business (50 GB): $10.00/GB
- Corporate (100 GB): $8.00/GB
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Smartproxy Volume Tiers
- Micro (2 GB): $14.00/GB
- Starter (8 GB): $10.00/GB
- Regular (25 GB): $8.00/GB
- Advanced (50 GB): $7.00/GB
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
How to Choose: Decision Framework
| Your Priority | Recommended Tier | Best Provider |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest possible cost | Budget | Geonode, PacketStream |
| Best value overall | Mid-Range | Smartproxy, SOAX |
| Maximum reliability | Premium | Bright Data, Oxylabs |
| Pay-as-you-go flexibility | Budget | IPRoyal |
| Largest IP pool | Premium | Oxylabs (100M+) |
| Best free trial | Mid-Range | SOAX ($1.99 trial) |
| Easiest to start | Budget | Webshare (free tier) |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the cheapest residential proxy provider?
PacketStream offers the lowest per-GB rate at $3.00/GB with no minimum commitment. For providers with larger pools and better reliability, Geonode at $4.00/GB and Webshare at $4.50/GB are strong budget options.
How much bandwidth do I need for residential proxies?
A typical web page is 0.5-2 MB. If you scrape 10,000 text-heavy pages per month, expect to use 5-20 GB. Block images and scripts to reduce this by 60-80%. Start with a small plan and scale up based on actual usage.
Do residential proxies get cheaper with annual contracts?
Yes, most providers offer 10-30% discounts on annual commitments. Bright Data and Oxylabs both provide significant per-GB reductions for yearly plans. Ask your account manager for custom pricing.
Are cheap residential proxies safe to use?
Budget residential proxies from established providers like Geonode and IPRoyal are safe. Avoid unknown providers with suspiciously low prices (under $1/GB), as they may use unethically sourced IPs or inject malicious content.
Should I choose per-GB or per-request pricing?
Per-GB pricing works best when you control bandwidth consumption through optimization. Per-request pricing (via scraping APIs) is better when you want predictable costs regardless of page size. Calculate your average cost per page under both models to compare.
Internal Resources
- Proxy Pricing Guide 2026 — Compare all proxy types
- What Is a Residential Proxy? — Understand the technology
- Datacenter vs Residential Proxies — Choose the right type
- Best Residential Proxy Providers 2026 — Feature comparison
- How to Reduce Web Scraping Costs — Cost optimization tips
- Anti-Detect Browser Pricing Comparison 2026: Multilogin vs GoLogin vs AdsPower
- Datacenter Proxy Pricing Comparison 2026: Cheapest to Premium
- Free Proxies vs Paid Proxies: Real Performance Comparison 2026
- How Much Do Proxies Cost in 2026? Complete Pricing Guide
- Best 911 S5 Alternatives 2026: Top Residential Proxy Replacements
- AdsPower Review 2026: Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons
Related Reading
- Anti-Detect Browser Pricing Comparison 2026: Multilogin vs GoLogin vs AdsPower
- Datacenter Proxy Pricing Comparison 2026: Cheapest to Premium
- Free Proxies vs Paid Proxies: Real Performance Comparison 2026
- How Much Do Proxies Cost in 2026? Complete Pricing Guide
- Best 911 S5 Alternatives 2026: Top Residential Proxy Replacements
- AdsPower Review 2026: Features, Pricing, Pros & Cons
last updated: March 12, 2026