Top 10 Proxy Services of 2026: The Definitive List
By Elena Park · 2026-01-13 · 9 min read · Reviews
Ten providers, ranked by what they're actually best at. No fluff, no marketing copy — just where each one wins.
The list
**1. Bright Data** — Enterprise gold standard. From $4.20/GB.
**2. Oxylabs** — Best APIs and unblocker stack. From $4/GB.
**3. Decodo** — Best price-to-performance. From $2/GB.
**4. IPRoyal** — Cheapest ethical residential. From $1.75/GB.
**5. SOAX** — Best mobile pool. From $3.60/GB.
**6. NetNut** — Fastest residential via ISP peering. From $3.50/GB.
**7. Webshare** — Best free tier, simple pricing. Free or $2.99/GB.
**8. Rayobyte** — Best support. From $4/GB.
**9. Nimbleway** — AI-driven request shaping. From $4/GB.
**10. Infatica** — Honest budget pick. From $3/GB.
Who should pick what
Banks, agencies, Fortune 500 → Bright Data or Oxylabs. SaaS teams 10–500K req/day → Decodo. Solo developers → IPRoyal or Webshare. Social media operators → SOAX. Enterprises needing speed → NetNut.
Honourable mentions
Proxy-Cheap and ProxyEmpire deserve mention for budget-focused buyers. Both are honest about their (smaller) pools and offer good support.
FAQ
Why isn't Smartproxy on this list?
Smartproxy rebranded to Decodo in 2024 — same company, same network, new name.
Is Bright Data worth the premium?
If compliance matters (regulated industries, big-name clients), yes. For everyone else, Decodo delivers 95%+ of the value at 50% of the cost.