Hey there! If you‘re looking into proxy services, you‘ve likely come across Bright Data as one of the biggest names in the space. With over 72 million residential IPs worldwide, it‘s hard to compete with Bright Data‘s massive pool of proxies for web scraping, ad verification, price monitoring, and other uses.
But Bright Data isn‘t necessarily the right fit for everyone. Between the high costs, KYC requirements, and learning curve, many seek out alternatives to Bright Data for accessing the web through proxies.
After testing numerous proxy providers hands-on, I wanted to share my research on the top 10 Bright Data alternatives available in 2023 based on price, features, and performance. I‘ll compare the key pros and cons of each service to help you find the right affordable proxy provider for your needs.
Let‘s start with a quick preview:
Now let‘s dig into the details on each of these Bright Data competitors so you can make an informed decision!
Contents
Why Proxies Matter
First, what are proxies and why should you care?
Web proxies act as an intermediary between you and any site/server you access online. When you connect via a proxy, the remote site sees the proxy‘s IP address instead of your own.
This gives you a few key benefits:
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Anonymity – Masks your real IP address and location.
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Access – Lets you view restricted content and bypass blocks.
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Scale – Allows high volumes of requests without abuse rate limits.
Common proxy uses include:
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Web scraping – Harvesting data from websites at scale.
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Ad verification – Analyzing competitors‘ online ad campaigns.
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Price monitoring – Tracking product and fare changes across sites.
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Brand protection – Detecting fake goods, reviews, social accounts, etc.
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SEO research – Analyzing rankings and backlinks of competitors.
And many more applications! Whether you‘re an individual developer or Fortune 500 firm, proxies are invaluable for gathering data and insights online.
Overview of Key Proxy Types
There are a few main varieties of web proxies to be aware of:
Residential proxies come from regular home and business internet connections. They offer the most anonymity but limited bandwidth.
Datacenter proxies originate from datacenters and cloud hosting providers. They have higher bandwidth but are easier to detect and block.
Mobile proxies use IPs allocated to cellular carriers and towers. Great for accessing mobile-specific content.
Static proxies provide a dedicated IP address that doesn‘t change. Used for recurring access to specific sites.
Rotating proxies cycle through a large pool of IPs automatically. Ensures you‘re anonymous and avoids blocks.
The focus in this guide is residential rotating proxies as they offer the best of both worlds—the anonymity of residential IPs combined with the flexibility of rotating IP addresses.
Now let‘s compare Bright Data to the top alternative providers in 2023!
1. Oxylabs
Oxylabs is arguably the closest competitor Bright Data has. They‘re one of the largest proxy services with over 100 million residential and datacenter IPs.
Key features:
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Large proxy network – 100M+ IPs across 195 countries. Mix of residential and datacenter proxies.
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Powerful targeting – Target by country, state, city, ASN, ISP, carrier, and more.
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High concurrency – Allows an unlimited number of concurrent connections.
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Bandwidth options – Plans start at 20GB of monthly bandwidth and scale up from there.
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Developer API – Oxylabs has developer-friendly APIs for easy integration.
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Pricing – Starts at $300/month for 20GB of bandwidth on residential proxies.
Oxylabs has been around as long as Bright Data and is a leader in the proxy space. Their huge and diverse network of proxies is hard to beat.
Downsides are Oxylabs had some controversies in the past around ethics, but they seem to have improved on that front. Their proxies aren‘t the cheapest, but on par with Bright Data for the extensive infrastructure offered.
Overall, Oxylabs is a formidable Bright Data alternative if you need tons of proxies and precise targeting capabilities.
2. ProxyEmpire
ProxyEmpire stands out as a budget-friendly alternative with fewer limitations compared to Bright Data.
The key perks of ProxyEmpire include:
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Budget pricing – Plans start at just $15/month for residential proxies.
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No IP limitations – Provides unlimited IPs and bandwidth.
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9M+ IPs – Huge pool of 9 million+ residential IPs.
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170+ countries – Wide international proxy network.
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Types offered – Provides residential, mobile, and datacenter proxies.
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Rotating proxies – Support for random rotating proxy IPs.
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High-speed network – Proxies optimized for speed and uptime.
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3 day free trial – Ability to test proxies risk-free for 3 days.
If Bright Data‘s prices scared you off, ProxyEmpire provides a very capable proxy solution at a fraction of the cost. The free trial is great for testing the waters risk-free.
For a low-cost yet full-featured alternative, ProxyEmpire is hard to beat compared to Bright Data.
3. Proxy-Seller
Proxy-Seller is the cheapest residential proxy provider on this list—a huge plus for budget-conscious users.
Here are the key details:
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Budget pricing – Plans start at just $5/month, the cheapest among top providers.
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No bandwidth limits – Provides unlimited bandwidth usage each month.
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6M+ residential IPs – Huge pool of residential IPs for rotation.
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160+ country coverage – Wide international reach.
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Unlimited threads – Allows for unlimited concurrent connections.
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Rotating proxies – Provides frequently rotating residential proxies.
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Scalable plans – Can upgrade for more ports/locations as needed.
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3 day money-back guarantee – Can test risk-free for 3 days.
If going with the cheapest option is most important, Proxy-Seller will be tough for any provider to beat. Despite the low costs, they offer 6 million residential IPs and great features.
4. Stormproxies
Stormproxies focuses on providing residential proxies mainly for the US and EU markets.
The details:
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Entry-level pricing – Plans start at $50/month for 5 ports.
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Unlimited bandwidth – No monthly bandwidth restrictions.
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40,000+ IPs – Significant IP pool, mainly in US and EU.
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High-speed network – Proxies are optimized for fast streaming and downloads.
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Rotating IPs – Provides frequently changing proxy IPs.
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7 day money-back guarantee – Can test risk-free for one week.
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Easy setup – Works instantly with no configuration needed.
If your use case revolves around the US or Europe, Stormproxies is very affordable compared to Bright Data with no bandwidth limits.
The smaller IP pool wouldn‘t work for everyone, but for targeted regions it provides great value.
5. Soax
Soax provides residential proxies that balance price and performance nicely.
Here are the key stats:
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5 million IPs – Large IP pool spanning 5 million IPs.
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100+ countries – Broad international reach across regions.
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Unmetered bandwidth – No limits on monthly bandwidth usage.
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Starting at $75/month – Fairly affordable entry pricing.
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Rotating proxies – Provides constantly changing residential IPs.
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30 day money-back guarantee – Can test risk-free for one month.
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Dedicated support – Provides reliable customer support via live chat or email.
Soax hits a nice sweet spot between features and affordability. For most personal or commercial proxy uses under 5 million requests monthly, Soax is a solid alternative to explore.
6. Shifter
Shifter is an enterprise-grade residential proxy solution built to handle heavy usage.
It offers impressive capabilities like:
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31 million IPs – Huge global pool of 31+ million residential IPs.
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130 country reach – Broad international proxy network.
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Unmetered bandwidth – No limits on monthly data usage.
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Starting at $249/month – Enterprise pricing but competitive for the class.
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99.9% uptime – Excellent reliability and speeds.
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Unlimited concurrency – Allows unlimited simultaneous connections.
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Dedicated account manager – VIP support and guidance.
If Bright Data‘s prices work for your large scale web scraping or data harvesting needs, Shifter is a robust alternative with millions of IPs and great uptime.
7. Netnut
Netnut is another high-end residential proxy solution built for massive scale.
Here are the key benefits:
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20 million IPs – Huge private proxy network spanning 20+ million IPs.
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195 country reach – Truly global proxy coverage.
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Carrier-grade proxies – Sourced directly from telcos and ISPs.
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Starting at $300/month – Competitive enterprise-level pricing.
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99.99% uptime – Extremely reliable connections.
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Unlimited bandwidth – No data usage limits.
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Powerful API – Robust developer API and integrations.
If you plan to use tens of millions of requests monthly, Netnut can provide carrier-grade proxies comparable to Bright Data.
8. Hydra Proxy
Hydra Proxy is a simple, affordable proxy service without the complex features of Bright Data.
The key details:
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7+ million IPs – Strong IP pool of 7 million+ residential IPs.
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100+ countries – Decent international coverage.
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Plans start at $5/month – Extremely affordable entry-level pricing.
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Unlimited bandwidth – No limits on monthly data usage.
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Rotating proxies – Frequently changing residential IPs.
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3 day free trial – Can test risk-free for 3 days.
If you just need basic rotating residential proxies, Hydra Proxy provides excellent value and low costs.
9. GeoSurf
GeoSurf focuses on high-quality residential proxies with top-notch performance.
Key features:
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2.5 million IPs – Large pool of 2.5M+ residential IPs.
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130+ country reach – Broad international proxy network.
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Starting at $450/month – High-end pricing but competitive.
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Carrier-grade proxies – Sourced directly from telcos for quality.
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99.99% uptime – Extremely reliable connections.
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Unlimited bandwidth – No data usage restrictions.
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Rotating IPs – Frequently changing IPs for anonymity.
GeoSurf is pricier than many alternatives, but you‘re paying for ultra high-end proxies comparable to Bright Data in terms of speed and reliability.
10. BeeProxy
Lastly, BeeProxy strikes a nice balance between affordability and quality.
The key details:
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2 million IPs – Robust pool of 2M+ residential IPs.
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100+ countries – Wide international reach.
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Plans from $75/month – Reasonable affordable pricing.
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Unlimited bandwidth – No limits on monthly usage.
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99.5% uptime – Highly reliable connections.
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Rotating IPs – Frequently changing IPs for anonymity.
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3 day free trial – Can safely test the network.
For a capable residential proxy network at a fair price, BeeProxy hits a sweet spot as an alternative to explore beyond Bright Data.
Final Thoughts
I hope this guide gives you a head start in finding the best Bright Data alternative for your specific needs and budget!
Don‘t be afraid to sign up for free trials and thoroughly test proxy services before committing. The right provider can make all the difference for your web scraping or data harvesting project.
Let me know if you have any other questions! I‘m always happy to chat more about choosing the right proxies.
