The Best Shared Proxy Providers of 2024: An In-Depth Guide
Introduction
As we enter 2024, shared proxies remain an essential tool for many online tasks, from web scraping and market research to ad verification and brand protection. Shared proxies offer an affordable way to hide your IP address and access geo-restricted content by routing your internet traffic through an intermediary server. Multiple users share the same IP address, allowing proxy providers to offer lower costs compared to dedicated proxies.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll dive deep into the world of shared proxies – exploring how they work, analyzing the top providers, and helping you choose the best option for your needs. Whether you‘re a business looking to gather competitive intelligence or an individual seeking to bypass online restrictions, understanding the shared proxy landscape is crucial. Let‘s get started.
How Do Shared Proxies Work?
A shared proxy is an IP address used by multiple people simultaneously. When you make a request through a shared proxy, it gets mixed with the requests of other users, making it harder for websites to identify and block any single individual. Your real IP address is masked behind the proxy server‘s IP.
The most common type of shared proxies are datacenter proxies – IP addresses housed in powerful data servers and not associated with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). These IPs are optimized for speed and throughput but are easier to detect than ISP or residential proxies. However, many websites don‘t have sophisticated protection, so datacenter shared proxies work just fine and are much more affordable.
Shared proxies are ideal for:
- Ad verification
- Brand protection
- Market research
- Extracting public data from websites
- Automating online tasks
- Managing multiple social media accounts
- Comparing prices on e-commerce sites
- Bypassing geo-restrictions on content
The key benefits of shared proxies are low costs, fast speeds, and easy setup. The main drawbacks are lower anonymity and higher block rates compared to dedicated datacenter or residential IPs. Let‘s compare some of the top shared proxy providers for 2024 to help you make an informed choice.
The Best 10 Shared Proxy Services of 2024
- Bright Data
Bright Data is an industry leader, offering both shared and dedicated datacenter proxies, as well as residential and mobile IPs. Their shared proxies come from over 110 countries, with a pool of over 1.6 million IPs. You get a lot of control with Bright Data‘s advanced proxy manager, including IP rotation settings, concurrent connections control, and API access. They also have a strong infrastructure with 99.99% uptime SLA.
Key Features:
- Shared proxy pool of 1.6M+ IPs
- 110+ locations
- Rotating or sticky sessions
- Customizable rotation settings (every request, 1-30 mins, or no rotation)
- Unlimited concurrent sessions
- Advanced proxy manager for granular control
Pricing: Starts at $500/month for 40GB ($12.50/GB). Pay-as-you-go also available.
- IPRoyal
IPRoyal offers high-quality shared and dedicated datacenter proxies at competitive prices. Their shared proxy pool spans 190,000 IPs across 8 major locations. You get good speeds, city-level targeting, and flexible rotation settings. IPRoyal‘s user-friendly dashboard and API make it easy to manage your proxies.
Key Features:
- 190,000 shared proxy pool
- 8 locations with city targeting
- HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5 protocols
- Flexible rotation (every request, 3/15/30/60 mins, or sticky)
- Unlimited threads & connections
- Simple dashboard & API
- Free proxy tester
Pricing: Starts at $50/month for 25GB ($2/GB). 3-day money-back guarantee.
- Proxy-Seller
Proxy-Seller provides reliable shared and private proxies at low costs. Their shared datacenter pool numbers 120,000 IPs across US and Europe. With instant activation, simple proxy gateway setup, and no usage limits, Proxy-Seller is a great budget option.
Key Features:
- 120,000 US/EU shared proxies
- 1Gbps speed per proxy
- HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS4/5
- Instant activation
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Simple user panel
Pricing: Starts at $20/month for 5 shared proxies (~$4/proxy). Discounts on larger plans.
- SOAX
SOAX is a premium proxy provider with shared and mobile IPs. Their shared pool covers 8 countries and over 25,000 IPs with good geo-targeting options. SOAX proxies are fast and stable with advanced features like API access, browser extensions, and flexible rotation. 24/7 customer support is a nice bonus.
Key Features:
- 25,000+ IPs across 8 countries
- City/state targeting
- 99.9% server uptime
- Rotating or sticky sessions
- API & browser extensions
- 24/7 live chat support
Pricing: Starts at $99/month for 8GB (~$12.4/GB). 3-day money-back guarantee.
- Smartproxy
Smartproxy offers shared rotating proxies that are fast, reliable and easy to use. The provider has a solid pool of over 40,000 IPs across 8 key countries. You get sticky sessions up to 30 minutes and can choose between rotating after each request or keeping the same IP for the entire session. The intuitive dashboard and Chrome extension make Smartproxy accessible even to beginners.
Key Features:
- 40,000+ rotating shared proxies
- 8 countries available
- Sticky sessions up to 30 min
- Simple proxy setup
- User-friendly dashboard
- Browser extensions
Pricing: Starts at $50/month for 20GB ($2.5/GB). 3-day money-back guarantee.
- Proxy-Cheap
As the name suggests, Proxy-Cheap provides low-cost shared proxies with surprising performance. Their shared proxy pool spans 50,000 IPs across 6 major countries. Proxy-Cheap supports HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 protocols and allows unlimited concurrent connections. The proxies are fast with 1 Gbps speeds and come with a simple control panel to manage your account.
Key Features:
- 50,000 IPs in US, UK, DE and more
- 1 Gbps speeds
- HTTP(S) and SOCKS5 support
- Unlimited threads
- Easy to use control panel
Pricing: Starts at $10/month for 10 shared proxies ($1/proxy).
- HydraProxy
HydraProxy is a reliable provider of shared datacenter proxies with solid server infrastructure. Their shared proxy pool covers 25,000 IPs across US and EU locations. The proxies support HTTP(S) and SOCKS5 protocols and allow unlimited concurrent requests. You can get started instantly with their simple account dashboard.
Key Features:
- 25,000 shared IPs in US/EU
- HTTP(S) & SOCKS5
- 1 Gbps speeds
- Unlimited concurrent requests
- Instant proxy activation
Pricing: Starts at $2.67/month per shared proxy ($32 for 12 proxies). Volume discounts available.
Choosing the Right Shared Proxy Provider
With numerous shared proxy services on the market, it‘s important to evaluate your options carefully. Here are some key factors to consider:
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Pool size – Look for providers with large IP pools for better performance and ban avoidance.
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Location coverage – Make sure your provider offers shared proxies in your target countries.
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Rotation settings – Check if the proxies provide customizable rotation for your use case (e.g. sticky sessions for web automation).
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Success rates – Reliable proxies should deliver 99.9%+ success rates as shown in real-world tests.
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Speeds – Shared proxies with gigabit speeds will ensure smooth performance.
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Concurrent connections – Choose a provider that allows multiple parallel connections based on your scraping scale.
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Protocols – Proxies supporting HTTP(S) and SOCKS5 give you more flexibility.
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Dashboard & API – A user-friendly dashboard and API access streamlines proxy management.
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Support – 24/7 technical support can be a lifesaver if you run into issues.
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Price – Compare proxy provider prices but don‘t sacrifice quality for minor savings. Proxies are an investment.
Conclusion
Shared proxies remain a powerful and cost-effective solution for businesses and individuals looking to hide their online identity, access geo-blocked content, and gather intelligence from websites. As we‘ve explored, the best shared proxy providers for 2024 offer large IP pools, worldwide locations, flexible rotation settings, and reliable infrastructure.
By understanding your use case requirements and vetting proxy providers carefully, you can find the perfect fit for your needs. Whether you prioritize location targeting, rotation settings, or price, there is a shared proxy service to match.
The seven standout shared proxy providers for 2024 are:
- Bright Data
- IPRoyal
- Proxy-Seller
- SOAX
- Smartproxy
- Proxy-Cheap
- HydraProxy
Evaluate their specific features and test their proxies against your target websites to make an informed decision. As shared proxy technology continues to evolve, staying on top of the latest developments and top providers will keep you ahead of the curve. Here‘s to a successful and anonymous 2024!
