Proxy scraping tools have exploded in popularity among web scrapers and automation engineers needing large, fresh lists of anonymous proxies. The search for working proxies has become highly automated with advancements in proxy aggregation algorithms and efficiency. In this extensive 2200+ word guide, we‘ll compare the top 7 proxy scraping services to use in 2024 based on key factors like features, speed, pricing, and ease of use.
The Growing Need for Scraping Proxies
The web scraping industry has rapidly expanded in recent years, with estimates that it will grow 17% annually to reach $13.9 billion by 2026. Proxies and proxy rotation are now essential scrapers tools to avoid blocks. Simultaneously, the public proxy landscape has become highly dynamic, with IPs constantly going offline.
Manually finding functioning, anonymous proxies from public lists one-by-one is incredibly tedious and time-consuming. Researchers estimate over 75% of publicly listed proxies are either offline or too slow for web scraping. The solution is automated proxy scraping tools that filter out the working IPs.
Some key stats on proxy usage:
78% of scrapers use proxies to avoid blocks according to WebHarvy survey data
Proxies can boost scraper success rates by 2-4x as per various benchmarks
Over 36 million public proxies are listed across the web, but only ~9 million work reliably
The average proxy lasts just 1-3 days before going offline
It‘s clear that scrapers require frequently updated sources of fast, anonymous proxies. Let‘s look at the various tools available for proxy scraping and aggregation.
Overview of Top Proxy Scraping Services
Proxyscrape
Website: proxyscrape.com
Launched In: 2017
Location: USA
Proxyscrape was founded in 2017 by web developers in the USA as a simple way to generate daily proxy lists for free. It has grown to become arguably the most used free proxy scraping service among individual developers and small teams.
The proxy lists max out at 400 IPs per day from a pool of over 5 million proxies. Advanced paid plans unlock residential proxy pools from major providers like Luminati.
Key features:
- 400 free proxies daily, 40k+ on paid plans
- HTML, Socks4/5, HTTPS proxy format options
- Easy to use API for automation
- Regularly verified proxies from multiple sources
| Plan | Cost | Proxies |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 400/day |
| Startup | $99/mo | 40,000/mo |
| Business | $199/mo | 80,000/mo |
| Enterprise | Quote-based | 200,000+/mo |
"We switched from trying to find free public proxies manually to just using Proxyscrape‘s API. It‘s improved our scraping success rates by over 2x." – John D, Web Data Engineer
In summary, Proxyscrape is ideal for developers that want to augment their free public proxies with premium residential backconnect rotating IPs. The service strikes a nice balance between the free and paid proxy worlds.
GSA Proxy Scraper
Website: https://www.gsa-online.de/proxy-scraper
Launched In: 2005
Location: Germany
GSA Proxy Scraper comes from German software vendor GSA Search Engine Ranker. It was originally built as an add-on for their SEO software before becoming a standalone proxy tool.
With over 15 years in the industry, GSA has extensive expertise in building high-performance web scraping and automation tools. Their proxy scraper reflects this experience with advanced functionality crammed into an easy-to-use interface.
Key features:
- Multi-threaded scraping and checking
- Powerful internal search engine
- Automatically removes duplicate/expired proxies
- Easily export proxies to file/API
- Regular proxy source updates
| Plan | Cost |
|---|---|
| 1 PC License | $139 |
| 5 PC License | $349 |
| 10 PC License | $549 |
"We‘ve used the GSA Proxy Scraper for over 5 years across all our web scraping projects. It‘s an invaluable tool that saves us tons of time versus trying to find proxies manually." – Micah J, Lead Web Scraper
For serious proxy aggregation, GSA Proxy Scraper is hard to beat. The tool‘s advanced functionality and the vendor‘s years of experience make it a top choice.
Somiibo
Website: https://somiibo.com/proxy-scraper
Launched In: 2019
Location: USA
Somiibo is a social media software company that provides tools for marketers to manage accounts and campaigns. Their proxy scraper was added in 2019 to help customers avoid social media blocks.
The scraper has grown popular beyond just social media automation though. Its ability to extract public proxies from a multitude of sources makes it useful for any web scraping project.
Key features:
- HTTP, Socks4 and Socks5 proxy support
- Fast multithreaded proxy testing
- Automated duplicate removal
- Integration with Somiibo‘s other tools
- Unlimited scrapes on some pricing plans
| Plan | Cost | Scrapes/Month |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 400 |
| Starter | $67 | 1,000 |
| Professional | $167 | 3,000 |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited |
"As social media marketers, having fresh proxies to rotate is mandatory to avoid platform bans. Somiibo‘s proxy scraper makes it drop dead simple to have thousands of proxies on hand." – Sabrina T, Social Media Manager
For marketers already embedded in Somiibo‘s ecosystem, their proxy scraper is a no-brainer. But even just for the scraper alone, Somiibo is very competitively priced versus other tools.
Proxy Scraper (GitHub)
Website: https://github.com/iw4p/proxy-scraper
This open source Python-based proxy scraping script created by "iw4p" on GitHub is extremely fast thanks to its efficient codebase. It can parse and check thousands of proxies in seconds.
The script pulls from popular public proxy sites like free-proxy-list.net, sslproxies.org and outputs a filtered list of working HTTP/HTTPS proxies. Users can easily customize the script‘s behavior by modifying parameters.
Key features:
- Lightweight Python scraper
- Very rapidly scrapes and checks proxies
- Easily configurable via parameters
- Scrapes many well-known public proxy sites
- No usage limits or costs
Being free and open source, this script has gathered many contributions and extensions from the GitHub community. It‘s frequently updated by maintainers with new proxy sources and features. For developers needing an extendable solution, Proxy Scraper‘s open source nature makes it highly appealing.
Apify Proxy Scraper
Website: https://apify.com/proxy-scraper
Launched In: 2018
Location: Czechia
Apify Proxy Scraper was launched in 2018 by web scraping provider Apify to help users of their platform find free proxies. It searches through 17 different proxy sites, testing each proxy to output a list of working ones.
The tool is unique in being 100% free with no account required. The viewing of results is also unlimited – only the checking is limited per day.
Key features:
- Fully free to use with public access
- Checks proxies from 17 different sites
- Automatically tests each proxy
- 400 free checks daily, repeated usage allowed
- Exports list of working proxies in JSON
For individuals and teams that only occasionally need proxies, Apify Proxy Scraper is a great free solution. In a few clicks you can have a list of hundreds of working proxies without any sign-up. It‘s one of the most convenient free web proxy miners available.
ProxyDB
Website: https://proxydb.net
Launched In: 2017
Location: Russia
ProxyDB was created in 2017 as a repository of free public proxies. The database has grown to hold over 36 million proxy IPs, one of the largest collections available.
In addition to the database, ProxyDB operates a basic web scraper that can extract proxies from any text or code on a webpage. This makes aggregating new proxies easy.
Key features:
- Enormous database of public proxies
- Built-in web scraper extracts proxies from sites
- Proxy list exports in various formats
- No verification of proxies is done
A key difference between ProxyDB and other scrapers is it does not actually check any proxies for functionality. It purely aggregates then leaves testing up to the user.
This approach can be useful when you need a huge volume of proxies in bulk but will manually verify them. Overall, ProxyDB is best used in combination with other scrapers that can validate proxies.
Proxy List Scraper (Chrome Extension)
Website: Chrome Web Store
This free Chrome extension automatically scrapes the proxy lists from any website you visit and lets you export them as a text file. It‘s built by the team at proxy aggregation site proxy-list.download.
Key features:
- Free web scraper Chrome extension
- Extracts proxies from any site into exportable list
- Easy way to compile proxies from various sources
- Does not check proxies for functionality
This scraper is very useful for aggregating proxies from forums, blogs, sites across the web. You can then verify them using online tools or another proxy scraper. Think of it like a Swiss Army knife for grabbing proxies off any page.
Key Differences Between the Scrapers
| Scraper | Free Usage | Pricing | Verifies Proxies | Ideal For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proxyscrape | Decent | From $99/mo | Yes | Expanding free proxies |
| GSA Proxy Scraper | No | $139+ | Yes | Serious proxy aggregation |
| Somiibo | Limited | From $67/mo | Yes | Social media marketers |
| Proxy Scraper GitHub | Unlimited | $0 | Yes | Developers/coders |
| Apify Proxy Scraper | Very Good | $0 | Yes | Occasional free proxies |
| ProxyDB | Unlimited | $0 | No | Bulk proxy lists |
| Proxy List Scraper | Unlimited | $0 | No | Aggregating more proxies |
Conclusion – Finding the Right Proxy Scraping Tool
For occasional free proxy needs, Apify Proxy Scraper and the Proxy List Scraper provide easy ways to scrape public proxies without any signup.
For heavy proxy usage, GSA Proxy Scraper and Somiibo are robust paid tools that can provide thousands of proxies on demand.
For developers, leveraging the open source Proxy Scraper script allows full customization to your needs.
For the largest proxy volumes, ProxyDB houses millions of public proxies to extract.
Combining multiple scrapers can give you both the largest number of total proxies and the ability to repeatedly verify new ones over time – important given the short lifespans of public proxies.
The bottom line is proxy scraping tools are now mandatory for web scrapers to succeed in harvesting data at scale. This guide has just scratched the surface of the various options out there. As proxies become more scarce as a resource, more innovations in proxy mining will certainly arise.
Hopefully this overview has provided ideas on which proxy scraper solutions could be the best fit for your web scraping or data harvesting project needs in 2024 and beyond!
