Side by side
| Rayobyte | Webshare | |
|---|---|---|
| Residential countries | 190+ | 195 |
| Local targeting | City, ZIP, ASN, device OS | City, ZIP, ASN |
| Open data sources | Rotating datacenter | Datacenter lists |
| Residential billing | Pay as you go | Monthly plans |
| Hard sources | Web Unblocker, Scraping API | None |
At the time of writing. See Rayobyte for market research and Webshare for market research.
Project rhythm
Research projects are bursty. Rayobyte's pay-as-you-go residential fits that better than Webshare's monthly plans, which reset. For steady research programs, Webshare's monthly plans are fine.
Coverage
Both cover nearly every market, with ZIP and ASN targeting. Rayobyte adds device OS.
A real-world example
A consultancy runs a quarterly study of grocery prices in 12 countries. Collection happens in a two-week burst each quarter. Public statistics and retailer press pages run on a Webshare list; retailer product pages need residential. Because the work is bursty, the consultancy buys Rayobyte residential pay as you go before each burst rather than holding a monthly plan through the quiet weeks.
Residential tip: A common split is Webshare for cheap per-IP lists and Rayobyte for residential traffic, mobile IPs or managed scraping. Our Rayobyte for market research covers each Rayobyte product.
Data quality habits
- Store raw pages and extracted fields.
- Record time, country and product for every page.
- Validate prices against expected ranges.
- Spot-check results manually in a browser.
Planning a multi-country study
- List the markets, retailers and fields you need.
- Test each source on datacenter first, and promote only blocked sources to residential.
- Set country targeting, language and currency per market.
- Collect in one tight window so prices are comparable.
- Re-run the same sources each wave to keep the series consistent.
Pros and cons for market research
Rayobyte
- Pay-as-you-go residential for bursty projects.
- Managed tools for hard sources.
Webshare
- Cheapest lists for open data.
- 195 residential countries.
Budget tip: To test the Webshare side of this comparison, start with Webshare's free plan: 10 datacenter proxies and 1 GB a month with no card. See Webshare for market research.
Bottom line
Project-based research suits Rayobyte's billing; steady programs work well on either, with Webshare for open data.
Not sure this is the right proxy type for the job? The best proxies in 2026 guide compares residential, ISP, datacenter and mobile options, and our cheap proxies guide covers budget picks that still work.
Proxy tip: If your residential usage goes up and down, compare Geonode: its per-GB residential bandwidth doesn't expire, so you only pay for what you use. See Geonode for market research.
Key takeaways
- Both cover 190+ countries with fine targeting.
- Rayobyte's pay-as-you-go suits bursty projects; Webshare's monthly plans suit steady programs.
- Webshare lists are cheapest for open data.
- Rayobyte adds managed tools for hard sources.
FAQ
Which is better for short projects?
Rayobyte, because of pay as you go.
Which covers more countries?
Webshare lists 195, Rayobyte 190+.
Which is cheaper for open data?
Webshare lists.
Can I research markets where I don't speak the language?
Yes; store raw pages and translate later, and set the site's expected language and currency.
How do I compare prices across currencies?
Record the currency and date with each price and convert using a consistent daily rate.
Can I research many markets from one account?
Yes on both; change country targeting per request.
Editorial note: Proxy providers change their pools, features and prices often, so treat any figures here as typical ranges at the time of writing and confirm current terms with the provider before you buy.