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SaaSTweaks Benchmark · 2026

Best Residential Proxy

Our top residential proxy pick for 2026 is Bright Data with a SaaSTweaks Score of 68/100 (Solid — with caveats). Bright Data offers leading capability and reliability with a modest first-month discount, but pricing requires careful management to maintain value.

How we score → six pillars, no pay-to-rank
# Tool Score From The deal
1 Bright Data 68 Custom 20% off first month + $5 free trial credit
2 Webshare 65 Custom Verified deal
3 SOAX 65 Custom Verified deal
4 Rayobyte 65 Custom Verified deal
5 Decodo 65 Custom Verified deal
6 IPRoyal 64 Custom Verified deal
7 Thordata 61 Custom Verified deal
8 DataImpulse 58 Custom Verified deal
9 NodeMaven 56 Custom Verified deal
10 ProxyEmpire 56 Custom Verified deal
11 Scraper API 56 Custom Verified deal
12 Oxylabs 55 Custom 15% off annual plan with code OXY15
#1 68/100 Solid — with caveats
Bright Data logo

Bright Data

Bright Data residential proxies — Starter at $499/mo (141 GB, $3.50/GB), Advanced at $999/mo (332 GB, $3/GB), and PAYG at $4/GB. 150M+ IPs, MCP for AI agents.

Bright Data offers leading capability and reliability with a modest first-month discount, but pricing requires careful management to maintain value.

Capability 10.0Time to Value 8.0Trust & Reliability 8.0
20% off first month + $5 free trial credit · from Custom Get Bright Data deal →
#2 65/100 Solid — with caveats
Webshare logo

Webshare

Webshare delivers dirt-cheap datacenter proxies with a generous free tier—perfect for devs and small scraping jobs on a budget.

Webshare offers exceptional ease of entry and strong value for budget-conscious developers, though its affiliate-only deal limits immediate savings.

Time to Value 9.0Value for Money 8.0Flexibility & Exit 8.0
Verified deal · from Custom Get Webshare deal →
#3 65/100 Solid — with caveats
SOAX logo

SOAX

Business-grade residential and mobile proxy network with 195+ country coverage — reliable IPs for scraping, ad verification, and market intelligence at scale.

SOAX offers strong capability and value in the residential proxy category, though its deal is access-only and exit terms are not detailed.

Value for Money 8.0Capability 8.0Time to Value 8.0
Verified deal · from Custom Get SOAX deal →
#4 65/100 Solid — with caveats
Rayobyte logo

Rayobyte

Full-stack proxy network (formerly Blazing SEO) — datacenter, residential, ISP, and mobile proxies with some of the most competitive high-volume residential rates in the market.

A competitively priced, ethics-focused proxy provider with strong US coverage and good trust signals, though lacking a public discount.

Value for Money 8.0Capability 8.0Time to Value 8.0
Verified deal · from Custom Get Rayobyte deal →
#5 65/100 Solid — with caveats
Decodo logo

Decodo

Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) — 115M+ ethically sourced residential proxies with 99.86% success rate, city-level targeting, and sub-600ms response times.

Decodo is a capable, value-focused residential proxy provider with strong reliability and a clean dashboard, though its affiliate-only deal limits immediate savings.

Value for Money 8.0Capability 8.0Time to Value 8.0
Verified deal · from Custom Get Decodo deal →
#6 64/100 Solid — with caveats
IPRoyal logo

IPRoyal

Ethically sourced proxy network with 32M+ residential IPs — pay-as-you-go pricing from $1.75/GB residential, no subscription lock-in, and traffic that never expires.

IPRoyal offers exceptional pay-as-you-go value for small-scale residential proxy needs, but its smaller pool and lack of compliance certifications limit reliability for production use.

Value for Money 9.0Time to Value 8.0Flexibility & Exit 8.0
Verified deal · from Custom Get IPRoyal deal →
#7 61/100 Solid — with caveats
Thordata logo

Thordata

Affordable residential and mobile proxy network with 110M+ IPs — pay-as-you-go pricing from $1.05/GB for high-volume scraping and data collection.

A capable mid-market proxy provider with strong value versus premium brands, but the deal is access-only and pool claims require verification.

Capability 8.0Time to Value 8.0Value for Money 7.0
Verified deal · from Custom Get Thordata deal →
#8 58/100 Situational
DataImpulse logo

DataImpulse

Pay-as-you-go residential and mobile proxy network — start from $5 with traffic that never expires and the most competitive per-GB rates in the market.

A budget-friendly, flexible proxy service ideal for small to mid-sized scrapers, though with a smaller IP pool and less enterprise tooling than major competitors.

Value for Money 8.0Time to Value 8.0Flexibility & Exit 8.0
Verified deal · from Custom Get DataImpulse deal →
#9 56/100 Situational
NodeMaven logo

NodeMaven

Premium residential and mobile proxy network with financial guarantees — 99.54% success rate, cashback on unused bandwidth, and quality-guaranteed ISP proxies.

A quality-focused residential proxy with strong capabilities and a premium price, but the offer lacks a verified public discount.

Capability 8.0Time to Value 8.0Value for Money 5.0
Verified deal · from Custom Get NodeMaven deal →
#10 56/100 Situational
ProxyEmpire logo

ProxyEmpire

Mobile-first proxy network with strong rotating residential and datacenter options — $1.97 trial, transparent tiered pricing, and a specialised mobile proxy catalogue.

A premium niche provider with strong geo-depth for underserved markets, but its value is highly dependent on specific regional needs.

Capability 8.0Time to Value 8.0Value for Money 5.0
Verified deal · from Custom Get ProxyEmpire deal →
#11 56/100 Situational
Scraper API logo

Scraper API

Proxy rotation and browser automation baked into one API

A capable, developer-focused scraping API with a standard trial offer and pricing in line with competitors, though effective cost depends heavily on usage multipliers.

Capability 8.0Time to Value 8.0Value for Money 5.0
Verified deal · from Custom Get Scraper API deal →
#12 55/100 Situational
Oxylabs logo

Oxylabs

Oxylabs — enterprise-first proxy stack with 175M+ residential IPs. Residential from $6/GB, dedicated datacenter IPs from $2.25/IP/mo, OxyCopilot AI scraper generation.

A robust enterprise proxy service with strong compliance and a modest verified discount, but hampered by annual lock-in and a sales-heavy onboarding process.

Capability 8.0Trust & Reliability 8.0Deal Strength 5.0
15% off annual plan with code OXY15 · from Custom Get Oxylabs deal →

How we scored these residential proxy tools

Every tool earns a SaaSTweaks Score from 0–100, weighted across six pillars: deal strength (25%), value for money (20%), capability (20%), time to value (15%), trust & reliability (12%), and flexibility & exit (8%). Each pillar is backed by evidence and scored against a published rubric. The ranking above is strictly by total score — we never re-order for commission. Read the full methodology →

Residential Proxy ranking — FAQ

What is the best residential proxy software in 2026?

Bright Data ranks #1 with a SaaSTweaks Score of 68/100 (Solid — with caveats). Bright Data offers leading capability and reliability with a modest first-month discount, but pricing requires careful management to maintain value. We rank every tool on six weighted pillars — deal strength, value, capability, time-to-value, trust, and flexibility.

How does SaaSTweaks rank residential proxy tools?

Each tool is scored 0–100 across six pillars (deal strength 25%, value for money 20%, capability 20%, time to value 15%, trust & reliability 12%, flexibility & exit 8%). The ranking is strictly by total score — we never re-order for commission. See /how-we-score.

What is the cheapest residential proxy tool here?

Effective prices are shown for each tool in the table below; the lowest paid monthly tier (after any verified deal) determines the entry price. Several tools also offer free plans or credits.