Rayobyte vs Geonode vs Webshare for Node.js

Agents on all three

Create an HttpsProxyAgent (or undici ProxyAgent) from any provider's URL and pass it to your client, with proxy: false in Axios. Create one agent per sticky session. See Node.js and Axios proxies and Rayobyte with Node.js.

Differences

Picking

Webshare for cheap lists, Geonode for modest residential, Rayobyte for unblocking and residential at scale.

A small multi-provider fetcher

import { HttpsProxyAgent } from "https-proxy-agent";
import axios from "axios";

const AGENTS = {
  ws: new HttpsProxyAgent(process.env.WEBSHARE_PROXY),
  gn: new HttpsProxyAgent(process.env.GEONODE_PROXY),
  ry: new HttpsProxyAgent(process.env.RAYOBYTE_PROXY),
};
const ROUTES = { "hard.example": "gn", "local.example": "ry" };

export function get(url) {
  const host = new URL(url).hostname;
  return axios.get(url, { httpsAgent: AGENTS[ROUTES[host] ?? "ws"], proxy: false, timeout: 30000 });
}

Reusing an agent reuses connections and often the same exit IP; create a new agent per sticky session when you need a fresh IP. See Rayobyte with Node.js, Geonode with Node.js and Webshare with Node.js.

Concurrency and retries

Use p-limit or a queue to cap requests in flight, add a retry helper that treats 403, 429 and challenge pages as failures, and stop after two or three attempts. On failure, move to the next provider in your routing chain rather than hammering the same one.

Strengths and watch-outs

Bottom line

Keep one agent per provider and route by domain, with a fallback chain for failures.

Choosing your default route

Pick as your default the cheapest provider that works for most of your targets, usually a Webshare list or Rayobyte rotating datacenter. Send everything else to the next route only when a target fails, and review the table monthly.

For the bigger picture beyond our three partners, read our best proxies buyer's guide, and see cheap proxies for ways to cut cost per successful request. To understand the IP type behind this, read our residential proxies guide.

For head-to-head versions of this comparison, see Rayobyte vs Geonode for Node.js, Rayobyte vs Webshare for Node.js, Webshare vs Geonode for Node.js.

Key takeaways

• Proxy agents work identically everywhere.
• One agent per session.
• Route domains by difficulty across providers.

FAQ

Why does Axios ignore my agent?

Set proxy: false.

Do all three work with native fetch?

Yes, via undici's ProxyAgent.

Which is best for Node.js scraping?

A mix routed by domain.

Does native fetch work with these proxies?

Yes, through undici's ProxyAgent passed as the dispatcher option.

Which agent package should I use for SOCKS5?

socks-proxy-agent, with a socks5h:// URL so DNS resolves through the proxy.

How do I cap concurrency in Node.js?

Use p-limit or a queue library and size it to your plan.

Can I reuse agents across requests?

Yes; reusing an agent reuses connections and often the same IP.