Key Points About Shared Proxies
- Shared proxies let multiple people access the internet through the same IP address. Though any proxy type can be shared, the shared proxy name mostly refers to datacenter IPs.
- They’re the cheapest option available: an IP costs 2-3 times less compared to dedicated proxies. When priced by traffic, you’ll pay 5-20 times less compared to residential addresses.
- Websites with anti-bot protection can often block shared proxy servers. Still, they’re a fine choice for hiding your IP, unblocking geo-restricted content, and scraping unprotected websites.
- Shared proxies also provide an affordable testing ground for beginners who want to try out proxies for their use case.
You can learn more in our guide on shared proxies.
What Are Shared Proxies?
Shared proxies have multiple users per single IP. This is in contrast to dedicated proxies, a.k.a. private proxies, where a single IP is only ever used by one user at a time. There’s also a hybrid version, the so-called semi-dedicated proxies. They are shared by a few users, but their number is capped, usually at three.
While residential and mobile proxies are technically shared, they are rarely, if ever, referred to as such. In this article, we focus on shared datacenter and ISP (sometimes known as static residential) proxies.
Shared proxies are the cheapest around, for good reason. Datacenter proxies are already cheaper to source than other kinds. Plus, IPs that can be used by several users at the same time tend to be slower and more likely to face a block.
Shared proxies are usually sold in two forms: proxy lists and backconnect gateway servers.
- Proxy list is a very literal term. You get a list of addresses and credentials for every IP you have access to. You’re paying by the IP.
- When you connect to a backconnect gateway server, you automatically get assigned a proxy IP. This means that your IP may change periodically. It also means that you’re getting charged for traffic (sometimes threads or ports), not per IP. However, exceptions exist. For example, Decodo serves its IP via endpoints (gateways) that serve random IPs that you purchased, but you can generate endpoints leading to a single specific IP.
How to Choose Shared Proxies
Best Shared Proxy Providers: A Comparison
How We Made This List
We do more than just write about proxies here. Every year, we publish the Proxy Market Research report. The core of this project is testing the networks of major proxy providers at the same time and under the same conditions. That way, we get a representative snapshot of their performance, useful for anyone in search of proxies.
Datacenter proxy infrastructure success rate and response time
Best Shared Proxy Providers: A Comparison
1. Webshare
Performant proxies with high customizability.
Get 50% off your first purchase.
Datacenter proxies
- Formats: Shared, semi-shared, dedicated list
- Countries: ~45 in six continents
- Rotation: Available in all formats, optional
- Other features: IP refresh interval, # of manual IP replacements, high concurrency, network priority, 0 fraud score
- Starts from: $2.99 for 100 shared IPs & 250 GB. Free plan with 10 IPs & 1 GB/mo available
General info
- Protocols: HTTP, SOCKS5
- Authorization: Credentials, IP whitelist
- Extras: Sub-users, management API, browser extension
- Support: 6AM-6PM PST via live chat & email
- Trial: Refund available
Webshare is a cheeky lil’ provider, calling its semi-shared proxies private. In truth, they are only a little less shared than its shared proxy servers (called simply proxy servers). The private IPs can be used by up to three users at the same time.
When it comes to performance, datacenter proxies had a success rate matching the big kids, and infrastructure response speed that was below average.
Whichever variant you choose, you’ll be met by Webshare’s customizable order form. It’s more than just the number of IPs, type (shared, dedicated, etc.), or location. You also get to pick bandwidth limits, automated IP refresh (if any), manual IP refreshes (10 free per month), subuser counts (three are free), and pro capabilities like high IP reputation and better network priority.
Read the Webshare review for more information and performance tests.
2. Decodo (formerly Smartproxy)
Quality proxies for most use cases
Try 100 MB for free.
Datacenter proxies
- Formats: Shared, dedicated list, pool with 100k IPs
- Countries: 18 in five continents
- Rotation: Available in all formats, optional
- Starts from: $3.5 for 100 shared IPs, $5.55 for 3 dedicated IPs ($1.85/IP), or $6 for 10 GB
ISP proxies
- Formats: Shared, dedicated list, rotating pool
- Countries: 21 in five continents with city, ASN selection
- Rotation: Available in all formats, optional
- Starts from: $4.7 for 10 shared IPs ($0.47/IP), $10 for 3 dedicated IPs ($3.33/IP), or $3 for 1 GB
General info
- Protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5, QUIC over UDP
- Authorization: Credentials, IP whitelist
- Extras: Sub-users, management API, browser extension, proxy checker
- Support: 24/7 via live chat, Discord, or email
- Trial: 100 MB for residential mobile proxies. 14-day refund available
Decodo offers shared proxies with per-GB and per-IP pricing. The datacenter proxies didn’t disappoint in terms of success rate and landed just short of the top three in speed.
The purchase step is uncomplicated. Starting at 10 IPs (though if you choose to limit traffic, you can pick as few as one), you can mix locations and choose how to refresh your entire IP list. Both automatic and manual are available. As standard, you get 1,000 threads, five users, and 10 whitelisted IPs.
On the other hand, the proxies are hidden so deeply behind the gateway that you’ll need to do some gymnastics to get a specific IP out.
Read the Decodo review for more information and performance tests.
3. Oxylabs
Shared rotating proxy pools for web scraping.
Use the code proxyway35 to get 35% off your first purchase.
Datacenter proxies
- Formats: Shared, dedicated list, pool with 55k IPs
- Countries: 43 in five continents
- Rotation: Available in all formats, optional
- Starts from: $30 for 30 shared IPs ($1/IP), 15 dedicated IPs ($2/IP), or 50 GB ($0.6/GB).
ISP proxies
- Formats: Shared, dedicated list
- Countries: 28 in five continents with ASN selection
- Rotation: Available in all formats, optional
- Starts from: $30 for 15 shared IPs ($1.5/IP) or 10 dedicated IPs ($3/IP)
General info
- Protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5 with UDP, MASQUE
- Authorization: Credentials, IP whitelist
- Extras: Sub-users, management API, browser extension, Android app
- Support: 24/7 via live chat
- Trial: $5 towards all products, refund available
Oxylabs is huge in the residential proxy field, and also maintains some presence in both datacenter and ISP proxy markets. Its pools are relatively small, but performed well in our testsWhen we tested datacenter proxies, Oxylabs ranked second for both speed and success rate, only negligibly lagging behind the champion.
Purchasing Oxylabs’ shared proxies is a simple affair. You’re on the hook for at least 10 IPs, and you can pick and choose your mix of locations. That’s it! You get a list of gateways, and access specific proxies you bought by setting port numbers rather than directly.
Oxylabs supports IP whitelisting and sub-user creation, which is neat, but no ISP/ASN targeting (which is reserved for dedicated ISP proxies), which is less neat.
Read the Oxylabs review for more information and performance tests.
4. DataImpulse
Cheap gigabytes and many rotating IPs.
Datacenter proxies
- Formats: Pool with 90M IPs
- Countries: 100+ with state, city, ASN targeting
- Rotation: Every request, sessions up to 120 min
- Other features: Exclude location, ASN, denylist domains
- Starts from: $50 for 100 GB ($0.5/GB)
General info
- Protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5 with UDP (upon request)
- Authorization: Credentials, IP whitelist
- Extras: Reseller API
- Support: 24/7 live chat, email
- Trial: Not available
DataImpulse boasts a humongous (advertised) datacenter IP pool. Is it really 20 million strong? In our testing, we observed 55,000 unique IPs across 70,000 requests, though this sample doesn’t establish the full pool size. Still, it’s quite a number.
Unfortunately, such a large pool comes from an SDK, which has more variability in quality than outright renting a datacenter. This showed in our testing: infrastructure response rates and speeds were among the slowest, and it came in dead last on its US IP download speed. Sessions last 30 minutes by default and can be configured to last up to 120 minutes.
The proxies have other standout features, too. Not only can you choose a state and city for geolocation, but you can also filter by ISP/ASN, with the option to exclude countries and ASNs, both very rare treats.
Read the DataImpulse review for more information and performance tests.
5. Evomi
Great base price with unique extra features.
Datacenter proxies
- Formats: Pool with an unspecified # of IPs
- Countries: 100+
- Rotation: Every request, sessions up to 120 min
- Starts from: $13.5 for 30 GB GB ($0.45/GB)
ISP proxies
- Formats: Shared, dedicated list
- Countries: US (Ashburn, AT&T)
- Rotation: Static
- Other features: Virgin IPs (0 fraud score, cost extra)
- Starts from: $20 for 20 shared IPs ($1/IP) or $12.50 for 5 dedicated IPs ($2.5/IP)
General info
- Protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5 with UDP & QUIC (some products, may cost extra)
- Authorization: Credentials
- Extras: Reporting API
- Support: 24/7 via live chat
- Trial: Available
Evomi doesn’t disclose the numbers for its datacenter pool, but having the geolocation option of 150+ countries is very respectable. Despite their fast response time, its datacenter proxies delivered poor download speeds.
ISP proxies are much more limited in geolocation options: only Ashburn is available. This presumably makes it fast when accessing services that also host services in the vicinity.
Unfortunately, Evomi is lacking in access features. You can’t make sub-users, and your authentication is limited to credentials. And if you need concurrency to go over 500 connections, your price will increase by 20%.
Read the Evomi review for more information and performance tests.
6. Rayobyte
Proxies with flexible pricing.
Use the code proxyway to get 5% off.
Datacenter proxies
- Formats: Shared, dedicated list, pool with 60k IPs
- Countries: Up to 29 in five continents, with city targeting in some locales
- Rotation: Only for the rotating pool
- Starts from: $5 for 5 shared IPs ($1/IP), $12.5 for 5 dedicated IPs ($2.5/IP), $0.30 for 1 GB (scaling pay as you go)
ISP proxies
- Formats: Shared, dedicated list, rotating pool
- Countries: 6 in two continents, with city targeting in the US
- Rotation: Only for the rotating pool
- Starts from: $12.5 for 5 shared IPs ($2.5/IP), $25 for 5 dedicated IPs ($5/IP), $3.75 for 1 GB (scaling pay as you go)
General info
- Protocols: HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5
- Authorization: Credentials, IP whitelist (excl. rotating DC)
- Extras: Reseller API, browser extension, proxy checker
- Support: 24/7 via email, ticketing system, or live chat
- Trial: 2-day refund
When it comes to shared datacenter proxies, Rayobyte is perfectly in the middle of the pack, performance-wise. Sure, the pool is somewhat small at 60K and practically mostly concentrated in the US, but the infrastructure performs OK. And in our small access test, it was among the best for accessing targets like Amazon and Google.
Rayobyte’s shared proxies are shared by up to three users at a time. Unfortunately, you won’t get access to sub-user creation, and authentication is only possible via credentials.
Read the Rayobyte review for more information and performance tests.
Frequently Asked Questions About Shared Proxies
If your project doesn’t target websites with serious defenses, shared proxies can be just what you need while also being cheap.
It depends on your target: if it’s small, obscure, and doesn’t boast great anti-bot defenses, they can work.
If you need to maintain the same IP for the entire project, a shared proxy list is usually the better fit. If you need to rotate IPs often, a rotating proxy pool is a better bet.
Free proxies are invariably shared proxies, since nobody is managing their access. Therefore, they have all the negatives of shared proxies, and none of the positives. They’re unlikely to work for your project.
