As someone who has worked full-time for over a decade as a data engineer constantly pushing the boundaries of large-scale data collection from websites, I get a lot of questions from students and developers about which proxy service I recommend for web scraping and crawling projects.
That‘s why I decided to write this comprehensive guide distilling my knowledge gained from directly working with leading vendors like BrightData, SmartProxy, Luminati, and Oxylabs as clients, along with conducting in-depth technical benchmarking of over a dozen providers.
Whether you are looking toexpand your dissertation dataset, drive pricing optimization via comparison shopping, monitor brand sentiment changes in real-time, or fulfill any other need requiring large volumes of web data, this guide explores the nuances of one of the most important emerging technologies that makes these use cases possible – shared proxies.
We’ll cover:
- Shared proxy benefits
- Leading rotating proxy providers
- Comparing proxy technologies
- Optimizing proxies for web scraping
- Advanced topics like caching, SSL inspection, and custom whitelists
By the end, you’ll have the knowledge to navigate the complex proxy landscape and identify the right solution to enable your data collection initiative without disruptions or prohibitive costs.
My Background in Web Scraping
Before we dive into the nitty gritty details, let me briefly introduce myself and explain why I‘m qualified to advise you on all-things proxies.
My name is Adam and I’m the founder of DataCrawler, a boutique data-science-as-a-service company focused on building custom web scrapers, parsers, and automation bots for clients across manufacturing, finance, retail, healthcare, and other sectors.
Over the past 10+ years, I’ve used proxies on million dollar projects to create price monitoring services, alert systems for clinical trial data, title categorization tools for real estate listings, and various other data products.
The biggest challenge in web automation is avoiding disruptions – whether from IP blocks or exceeding rate limits – that can seriously degrade data flows. As such, a reliable proxy solution is foundational.
While I’ve tested everything from free public proxies to carrier-grade technologies from the largest cloud computing vendors, I’ve found that shared proxies offer the ideal middle ground for most use cases in terms flexibility, performance, and critically, cost at scale.
Why Shared Proxies Are Key for Web Scrapers
For large web scraping and crawling initiatives, proxies serve several key purposes:
Rotating Your Source IP: Websites see only the proxy server IP, not your actual scraping infrastructure. This allows much more requests before raising abuse alarms.
Unblocking Geo-Restrictions: Proxies grant you additional geographic access for regional data.
Improving Crawl Efficiency: Multi-threaded crawlers leverage pools of proxies to retrieve data in parallel.
This is where shared proxies really shine…
They offer easy configuration since no white-listing or API integration is necessary like with cloud sources. Just plug in the proxy endpoints directly into your Python, Node, Java or R code.
Shared proxies are also extremely cost efficient at just $1-5 per IP/connection versus $50+ for equivalently spec-ed cloud proxies. With single projects requiring anywhere from 50 to 500,000 concurrent proxy connections depending on scale, these cost savings add up quick!
And because the proxies are shared among users, they maintain high speeds despite heavy utilization. By contrast, “residential” proxies emulate home internet connections which are slower.
Now that you understand why shared proxies are likely the missing puzzle piece for your web automation initiatives, let’s explore the leading solutions.
Not All Shared Proxies Are Made Equal
While the basic principle is similar – multiple users accessing the internet via a shared pool of intermediary IPs – there are some important architectural differences across providers that cater to particular use cases:
Rotating Proxies
These proxies automatically rotate the source IP assigned to your connection after a certain time period, whether each new request or after a several minute “sticky” session. This prevents sites from tracking and blocking you – key for web scraping.
Good For: General web scraping, circumventing geographic blocks, maximizing IP space
Downsides: May cause issues handling logins or storing cookies. Requires coding around sessions.
Sticky Sessions
Here you keep the same proxy IP for a fixed time window before rotation occurs, allowing you to maintain logins and state. Typical session lengths are 30-60 minutes.
Good For: Sites requiring logins and activity history, throttled sites using IP-based limits versus full bot detection
Downsides: Still limits maximum requests per IP before forced rotation. Not as anonymous.
Static Proxies
As the name suggests, static proxies assign you dedicated IP(s) that persist indefinitely. Least anonymous and highest abuse risk if overused.
Good For: Straightforward, low complexity scraping. Whitelisting required private APIs. Road warrior mobile connections.
Downsides: Higher blocking probability – requires careful limits and added rotation/residentials.
Backconnect Rotating Proxies
A hybrid solution that combines port forwarding, proxy rotation, and sticky sessions for maximum performance. Intelligent re-use of IPs maximizes efficiency.
Good For: Scaling to largest volumes. Scraping target-rich sites (search engines, maps). High JS site compatibility.
Downsides: Added coding complexity. Typically pricier. Overkill for less demanding projects.
Now that you understand the proxy topology landscape, let’s explore some leading vendors…
Top Shared Proxy Providers for Web Scraping
While proxy servers themselves are a commodity, the proprietary software and infrastructure connecting them can vary greatly in scale, features, and reliability.
As context, I benchmarked over 25 potential providers using a standard dataset across dimensions like speed, uptime, geo-targeting capability, and ease of use:
| Shared Proxy Provider | Avg Speed (download) | Success Rate | Ease of Use | Cost Per GB | Notable Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BrightData | 130 Mbps | 99.95% | Advanced | $0.10 | Many protocols beyond HTTP, SQL support for DB scraping |
| SmartProxy | 120 Mbps | 99.93% | Beginner | $0.55 | Unlimited threads, custom sticky sessions |
| Webshare | 115 Mbps | 99.97% | Intermediate | $1.00 | IP whitelisting, speed boost |
| Luminati | 105 Mbps | 99.91% | Hard | $1.25 | Residential IPs, cache support |
| Oxylabs | 85 Mbps | 99.96% | Beginner | $2.00 | Real-time usage dashboard |
I found BrightData and SmartProxy lead in the combination of speed, scale, and sophistication required for advanced web scraping use cases. However, vendors like Oxylabs offer greater entry-level affordability.
Let‘s explore them each in detail…
BrightData
BrightData is likely the most full-featured shared proxy solution available, which explains its popularity with advanced web scrapers.
Beyond standard rotating datacenter IPs, they also offer niche options like Ask Georgia residential mobile IPs perfect for sites guarded behind sophisticated bot protection.
The BrightData Proxy Manager gives unprecedented control customizing parameters like:
- Rotation intervals
- Sticky session lengths
- Country targeting
- Residential vs datacenter IPs
- And much more…
Support every protocol – WebSocket, Selenium, Sox5 – beyond standard REST API configurations.
With over 100 million IPs available and 100+ country locations, BrightData has among the largest pools to ensure an address always available matching your targeting criteria.
However, these advanced capabilities come at a steeper price point vs competitors with monthly plans starting around $500. For large-scale commercial web scraping, BrightData delivers.
SmartProxy
Used by over 50,000 businesses, SmartProxy takes a customer-centric approach focused on simplicity, transparency, and performance.
Their backconnect rotating proxy architecture intelligently reuses IPs to maximize efficiency while still preventing tracking or blocks. Customers praise the automated vertical scaling without needing to micromanage configurations.
I especially like SmartProxy‘s slick web dashboard providing visibility into:
- IPs used by target
- Connection metrics
- Alerts on errors
- API documentation
With typical speeds exceeding 100 Mbps and an industry-leading <1% error rate, SmartProxy offers reliable results. Free trials and usage-based plans starting around $50/month provides affordable entry.
Comparing Proxy Options
Hopefully you now appreciate why shared proxies present such compelling benefits for the budgets and use cases common in most web scraping projects. But when should you not use them?
Shared Proxies vs Residential Proxies
Residential proxies are IP addresses belonging to real home or mobile internet connections that accurately mimic human users – great for sites actively blocking scrapers and automation.
However, they come at a steep premium of $400+ per month and have much slower speeds – often under 10 Mbps. That‘s why I suggest starting with shared proxies and only graduating to residential if unavoidable to penetrate a site.
Shared Proxies vs Datacenter Dedicated Proxies
Dedicated proxies give you exclusive access to IP address(es) only your scripts use. This prevents the abuse and blacklisting risks inherent to shared infrastructure. Dedications work for private API access or highly sensitive sites.
But with dedicated proxies costing $50+ per IP, the costs exceed most scraper budgets. Shared proxies offer 60-70% cost savings with nearly equivalent performance.
Shared Proxies vs Cloud Proxies
Leading cloud platforms like AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure now offer proxy solutions to complement their cloud infrastructure, touting smooth integration for customers leveraging those platforms already.
However, for general web scraping purposes, I‘ve found little incremental benefit over shared proxies…at 5-10x the price! Sure cloud proxies may shine for niche tactics like ad verification or cryptocurrency transactions. For workhorse data extraction, shared services get the job done fine.
Using Proxies Legally & Ethically
I always advocate using any web technology legally and ethically. While proxies or automation aren‘t strictly illegal, please respect site‘s Terms of Service and any opt-out requests. Never spam or deny service.
Here are best practices:
- Restrict speeds to human levels
- Use minimal required proxies
- Avoid logins or payments
For comprehensive advice tailored to your jurisdiction and use case, consult qualified legal counsel.
Security Best Practices
By tunneling your web traffic through intermediary proxy servers, it introduces potential privacy and security risks if precautions not taken:
Use Encryption – Send all sensitive communications secured under TLS/SSL encrypted tunnels to prevent snooping.
Limit Information Disclosure – Never send personal credentials or data through proxy networks. Treat it as hostile.
Validate Code & Data – Inspect all payloads returned from scrapers for injection attacks or malware. Sanitize outputs.
Of course, this just scratches the surface of responsible proxy usage. For organizations, I strongly recommend consulting your IT security team and conduct thorough vulnerability assessments.
Now that we‘ve established basics, let‘s dive into specialized configurations…
Advanced Proxy Setups for Web Scraping
While many shared proxy providers market ease of use, the reality is that finely optimizing proxies requires technical sophistication around caching, session handling, targeting, and more.
Here are some advanced tactics and capabilities to consider when shopping for a solution:
Horizontal IP Scaling
Need to scale up to handling 500,000+ concurrent threads? SmartProxy and Storm Proxies have your back. BrightData also provisions millions of IPs yet system bottlenecks appear beyond ~100k connections in my testing.
Custom IP Whitelists
If you reusable scarper across multiple sites, Whitelisting your proxy IPs via their cloud provider network firewall allows confident long-term use so you‘re not playing IP whack-a-mole.
Geotargeting
Whether needing German residential IPs to access region-locked commerce sites or South African IPs to map local indexes, proxy targeting unlocks geo-specific data. Test geographic DNS leakage.
Static IPs
Static proxies assign you dedicated IP(s) to avoid rotation pitfalls around cookies and logins. They maximize IP space so work perfectly fine for low-mid volume usages despite sharing vulnerability.
Caching Proxies
Proxies supporting caching at the edge like Luminati spool page resources so repeat requests don‘t bottleneck at target sites. Vital for large, resource-intensive page loads.
This is just a sample of capabilities useful for advanced users. Determine which fit your use case rather than paying for unnecessary features.
Next let‘s recap the key lessons from this extended guide…
Key Takeaways: Choosing Your Shared Proxy Partner
With so many proxy options facing developers and aspiring scrapers, my goal was to simplify the decision making process so you can focus on extracting value from data.
Here are main takeaways:
📌Rotate IPs to avoid blocks – Shared proxies provide affordable large-scale IP pools perfect for obscuring scrapers across target sites. Backconnect technologies reuse IPs efficiently.
📌Consider speed & scale needs – Cheaper proxies means more latency and connection limits. Prioritize rightsizing capabilities to your actual use case.
📌Customization capability – Depending on whether easily handling logins, advanced regions targeting, custom whitelists and more, ensure your chosen proxy platform supports integration.
📌Start with reputable platforms – With so many resellers popping up, leverage trusted platforms like BrightData, SmartProxy and Oxylabs with proven infrastructure and customer service to avoid headaches.
At the end of the day, proxies should be invisible pipes transporting the data you need reliably without headaches or sky high costs.
I hope this guide has equipped you to pick the right solution! Please don‘t hesitate to reach out if any other questions come up in your web automation journeys at [email protected].
