A proxy service is a network solution that acts as an intermediary between a device and the Internet. It enables users to hide their IP address, bypass internet restrictions, and add an extra layer of security to their online activities. Proxy services also play a crucial role in data collection, providing businesses and individuals with the tools they need to scrape large amounts of data quickly and efficiently.
With a sizable residential proxy network, affordable pricing, exceptional customer service, a fast and reliable network, and comprehensive scraping APIs, the top 5 best network proxy services in 2023 are Shifter, Smartproxy, Oxylabs, Bright Data, and Netnut. These services offer a range of features and benefits to meet the diverse needs of their users.
What Is a Network Proxy?
What exactly is a proxy definition? A proxy server sits between an end user and a website or other service server. A proxy server is used for many things, such as speed, privacy, and security.
Proxy servers are often used to protect information from threats and to speed up systems by caching similar requests and spreading the load. They may act as a firewall and handle authentication requests. At the very least, a proxy would protect the internal infrastructure of a business from known threats.
Proxy servers can affect security in ways that were not planned. Since they can hide where a request came from, they can also conceal who the real people are in a conversation, exchange, or transaction. PCs all require a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address as their legitimate identifier. Masking parties can lead to spoofing or man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks if the parties don't know who the other party is.
How Does a Network Proxy Work?
A network proxy is a program that helps a device securely connect to the Internet. With a proxy, traffic on the Internet goes through the proxy on its way to its final destination. Requests are first sent to the proxy server, which handles the request and other tasks like filtering content, looking for malware, hiding the source of the request, encrypting messages, and more.
When a device asks for data from the Internet, the request goes first to the proxy server. The proxy then sends the request to the website the device wants, gets the information it needs, and sends it back to the device. This lets the proxy add an extra layer of security and control, like filtering or caching content, hiding the device's IP address, and getting around internet restrictions.
Do I Need a Network Proxy?
Whether or not you need a network proxy depends on what you want to do. A proxy server can add an extra layer of security, hide your IP address for privacy, enforce access control policies, get around internet restrictions, and improve network performance through caching. If you don't need these services, you might not need a network proxy. Consider asking an IT expert for advice or researching if a proxy would help you.
This article will help you choose the best Network Proxy Services in 2023.
1. Shifter
Shifter.io, formerly known as Microleaves, is a leading company that introduced online proxy services. It has one of the largest residential proxy networks available, making it the top choice for operations that require a high volume of unique IPs.
Shifter is the perfect option for users who need residential proxies for data gathering, scraping, digital marketing, and market research.
The Shifter residential proxy network covers 195 countries worldwide and boasts more than 30 million IPs from different Internet Service Providers. The backconnect proxy system allows for control over IP rotation times and geotargeting. In addition, the network runs on a proprietary Cloud, ensuring the highest possible speeds and success rates when running multiple concurrent connections.
Affordability is another advantage of Shifter, making it a highly competitive option on the market.
The Go-To Choice for Data Collection
Shifter offers a comprehensive suite of competitive products and services that rely on its residential proxy network and private Cloud infrastructure, providing best-in-class results across various industries such as market research, advertising, ad verification, travel fare aggregations, finance, and e-commerce.
The platform allows direct access to the residential proxy pool and ready-made web scraping APIs, including HTML Scraper, Search Engine Results Pages, and Amazon Product Data. Additionally, advanced anti-detection systems, automatic proxy rotation, and captcha-solving capabilities are provided to ensure smooth data extraction.
As a result, Shifter is the top choice for startups, Fortune 500 companies, digital marketers, and entrepreneurs who require a reliable data extraction solution without getting blocked.
Key Features:
A large number of IPs from multiple ISPs: The platform provides one of the largest residential proxy networks available, with access to over 30 million unique IP addresses from various Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in more than 195 countries worldwide. This extensive network offers users the flexibility and diversity required to carry out their projects efficiently.
Excellent price-to-quality ratio: The platform believes in offering its users high-quality services at a reasonable price. Its excellent price-to-quality ratio allows users to take advantage of its vast network of proxy services and powerful scraping tools without breaking the bank.
24/7 customer support: The platform's commitment to providing high-quality services is also reflected in its exceptional customer support. With 24/7 customer support available, users can rest assured that their concerns will be addressed promptly and efficiently.
Ultra-fast proxy speeds: The platform's proprietary cloud infrastructure enables ultra-fast proxy speeds, ensuring that users can scrape data at high speeds and with a high success rate.
Ready-to-go scraping APIs: The platform provides ready-to-go scraping APIs, such as HTML Scraper, Search Engine Results Pages, and Amazon Product Data, making it easy for users to extract data from websites without needing to develop their scraping tools from scratch.
Shifter Bonus: It's free to try
Users can confidently try the products available on Shifter, thanks to its 3-day money-back guarantee policy. This policy ensures that users can test out the platform's services and features risk-free.
If, for any reason, users are unsatisfied with the products they have purchased, they can request a refund within the first three days of purchase. This guarantee provides users with the opportunity to explore the platform's capabilities and features before making a full commitment. Shifter is confident that its products and services will meet the needs of its users, and this policy is a testament to its commitment to providing high-quality services and customer satisfaction.
2. Soax
Since its inception three years ago, SOAX has been a data collection solution that has experienced significant growth, with a 25% monthly increase and an impressive 20% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the market. The organization currently serves over one thousand customers all over the world. It has increased its presence by hiring remote workers in nineteen different nations, emphasizing inclusivity and fulfilling a higher purpose.
SOAX's mission is to become the industry standard in data collection by offering its customers unrestricted access to data, easing the flow of information between parties, and emphasizing both the clients' and the company's performance and safety.
The company was started by dedicated innovators who received significant funding from seasoned investors. It has also received several awards for excellence from Proxyway and G2, which reflects the company's dedication to excellence and innovation.
Features
Offers a fast average response time of 1.19 seconds
Provides ISP/City-level targeting capabilities for any city at no extra cost
Features an ethically sourced IP pool and is GDPR compliant
Boasts a global coverage with a pool of more than 8.5 million real and best residential proxies
User-friendly API with detailed documentation available, enhancing the ease of use and accessibility for users.
Offers 24/7 live support in multiple languages
The platform also provides a dedicated support manager for users who meet the minimum spend requirement.
SOAX is a premium proxy network that offers several valuable features for its users. One of its standout features is the ability to geo-target specific cities and ISPs, making it a versatile option for various use cases. Additionally, the network provides mobile IPs and ample documentation and support to help users maximize their experience.
However, it's essential to note that SOAX is not a low-cost option compared to other proxy networks. Additionally, the network doesn't offer extensions or apps, which could make it less convenient for users who prioritize ease of use.
Despite these limitations, SOAX's network offers a pool of over 8.5 million residential proxies, which is an impressive feat given that these proxies are exclusively residential. The network also changes proxies automatically so that access is always available. Users can set a time limit, after which proxies are automatically adjusted.
SOAX plans come with a specific number of ports, and each port can handle up to 30 requests per second. While this may limit the overall performance, SOAX offers a range of plans with varying numbers of ports to accommodate different needs. Finally, the company provides 24/7 live support in multiple languages, making it easy to get help when needed.
SOAX's pool of residential proxies may not be the largest compared to some of its competitors. Even though only residential proxies are counted in the number of IPs given, the 8.5+ million number is still very high.
They offer WiFi and mobile proxies owned by internet service providers (ISPs) and assigned to real devices such as laptops and smartphones. This ensures that the proxies are legitimate and operate in a way that closely mimics typical internet usage.
SOAX automatically rotates its proxies to ensure uninterrupted customer access, a standard practice among proxy providers. Users can set a time limit after which the proxies will be changed automatically, with the default setting being every 3600 seconds, though it can be changed to 90 seconds if desired.
For those who need a static IP address, SOAX's Node feature enables users to set a fixed IP that won't change while in use. Users can wait for a node to come back online or switch to another node manually if a node goes offline. However, access to the Node feature is unavailable online, so customers seeking static IPs need to contact SOAX directly.
3. Smartproxy
When it comes to proxy pools, Smartproxy's 40M IPs from real devices make it one of the largest on the market. More than 63% of the 2 million requests resulted in unique IPs, the highest percentage of any provider we tested. In addition, most IPs are those of internet service providers or mobile devices.
Not only did Smartproxy impress us with its nearly perfect connection success rate, but its response time of less than 1 second also wowed us. That was undeniably a top-notch display.
With that said, Smartproxy's pricing structure is a significant reason why it isn't considered a premium provider. Don't be surprised that Smartproxy lacks SOCKS5 support and has slightly fewer targeting options than its competitors, as these sacrifices were necessary to keep the price low. The firm's main priority is, of course, satisfying its customers with first-rate service.
Features
Over 40 million residential IP addresses are constantly being rotated
195 specific countries and cities
Turnover every 10, 30, or on demand
An Infinite Number of Active Connections
A user or IP address that has been approved for use
Implement a browser add-on and API for authentication
There are plenty of supporting files
Offers award-winning and round-the-clock customer support
4. Oxylabs
Oxylabs is the industry standard for private residential proxies. As of 2015, when it was established, the company owned the largest residential IP network, which included 100 million users.
To be sure, Oxylabs is more than just a production facility that cares about output. Its most striking characteristics are its high standard of quality and high use efficiency. Based on our testing, this proxy service delivered over 62% of unique IPs, most of which came from fixed or mobile telephone networks. These IPs had an impressively high success rate, remarkable consistency, and lightning-fast response times.
What sets Oxylabs apart, however, is its extensive set of tools, such as its Web Unblocker, a remote web scraper that integrates as a proxy site server. In addition, having a single point of contact for all of your questions and concerns is a huge time saver. It merely exemplifies the firm's dedication to its clientele.
However, you will need a sizable budget to use the services Oxylabs provides fully. Therefore, Oxylabs' pricing may be better for those new to using proxies or who intend to use them for non-commercial purposes.
Features:
P2P and residential static IPs totaling 100M
The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and its Secure Encrypted Version
An infinite number of simultaneous requests
Sticky sessions up to 30 minutes long, rotation per request
A combination of IP whitelisting and user/password authentication
Open API
Plenty of supporting files
Constant availability of personal account manager
5. Bright Data
A leading provider of premium proxies, Bright Data, was formerly known as Luminati. This service provider has everything figured out in terms of performance. They guarantee 99.9 percent uptime, blazing-fast response times, and rock-solid reliability. It has 72 million IP addresses, the vast majority active at any given time, and belongs to fixed and mobile telephone networks.
Bright Data provides valuable tools to make the most of its robust infrastructure. It offers a complete Application Programming Interface (API), browser add-on, and open-source proxy manager. If you want to avoid managing proxies, Web Unlocker is a great alternative that always works. The best part is that there are no fixed monthly fees or limits on how much you can spend.
However, if you're starting, you might feel overwhelmed by the complexity of Bright Data's offerings and decide they're beyond your technical skill set. Bright Data is not an exception to the rule regarding the high price we usually mention when discussing premium providers. Its services are costly, and the pricing structure could be better explained to some customers.
Features:
Seventy-two million residential IP addresses are either static or used for peer-to-peer connections.
Protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS
Targeting every country, thousands of cities, and every available ASN and carrier, Sticky sessions can be requested and rotated.
Offers an infinite number of simultaneous requests
Proxy manager, browser add-on, and API for whitelisting IP addresses
Plenty of supporting files
Service to customers round the clock
Proxy services such as Shifter, Soax, Smartproxy, etc., are crucial in providing secure and private internet access and helping businesses and individuals collect data efficiently.
A good proxy service should have large residential proxy networks, affordable pricing, excellent customer service, a fast and reliable network, and comprehensive scraping APIs.
Choosing the right proxy service depends on your specific needs and requirements, so be sure to consider your use case and compare the features of each service before making a decision.
