Where each is cheaper
- Per IP: Webshare, by far, for datacenter and static residential.
- Residential under 20 GB: about the same.
- Residential at 50 GB+: Rayobyte.
- Rotating datacenter per GB: only Rayobyte.
- Free: Webshare's permanent free plan.
See pricing compared and cheap proxies.
What a budget buys
| Budget | Rayobyte | Webshare |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | Trial | Free plan, forever |
| $20 | About 66 GB of rotating datacenter, or about 5.7 GB of residential | About 650 shared datacenter IPs, or about 65 static residential IPs |
| $50 | 10 static ISP IPs, or 14 GB of residential | About 1,700 shared IPs, or 160 static residential IPs, or a mid-sized residential plan |
| $100 | 50 GB of residential at the $2 tier | A residential plan in the tens of GB, or large lists |
Approximate list-price equivalents at the time of writing; Webshare plan sizes and bandwidth settings change totals.
A $50 plan that works
- $10 on Webshare for 300 shared datacenter IPs for lenient sites.
- $40 on Rayobyte residential (about 11 GB) for protected sites.
A real-world example
A freelancer with a $40 monthly budget monitors prices for three clients. A 500-IP Webshare datacenter list costs about $14 and covers the 25 lenient shops. The remaining $26 buys about 7 GB of Rayobyte residential at the $3.50 tier, enough for three protected retailers at light volume. When one client adds more protected retailers, the freelancer moves to 50 GB at the $2 tier for $100 and bills the client accordingly.
Residential tip: A common split is Webshare for cheap per-IP lists and Rayobyte for residential traffic, mobile IPs or managed scraping. Our Rayobyte pricing explained covers each Rayobyte product.
Budget traps to avoid
- Residential for sites that accept datacenter IPs.
- Monthly plans that go half unused.
- Endless retries on blocked requests.
- Browsers where an HTTP client would do.
Free tools first
Before spending anything, use Webshare's permanent free plan for development and Rayobyte's no-card trial to learn which targets need residential IPs. Many small projects discover that most of their targets work on the free or cheapest tier.
Pros and cons on a budget
Rayobyte
- Per-GB rotating datacenter and cheaper residential at 50 GB+.
- Expensive per IP.
Webshare
- Free plan and the cheapest IPs.
- Residential pricier at volume.
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 pricing explained.
Bottom line
Spend most of a small budget on Webshare lists and the rest on Rayobyte residential for the targets that need it.
Before you commit to any provider, it helps to see the wider market: our guide to the best proxies in 2026 compares proxy types by job, and cheap proxies explains how to keep costs down without buying IPs that get blocked.
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 Rayobyte vs Geonode vs Webshare.
Key takeaways
- Webshare is unbeatable per IP and has a permanent free plan.
- Rayobyte is cheaper for residential from about 50 GB and sells per-GB datacenter traffic.
- Combining both stretches a small budget furthest.
- Use the right proxy type for each target.
FAQ
What's the cheapest proxy option?
Webshare's free plan, then its shared datacenter lists.
Which is cheapest for residential?
Similar at small volumes; Rayobyte from about 50 GB.
Can I start without paying?
Yes, on both.
Is a $10 proxy budget realistic?
For lenient sites, yes: a few hundred Webshare datacenter IPs cost under $10.
When should I pay for residential?
Only for targets that block datacenter IPs in your tests.
Can I combine free options from both?
Yes: Webshare's free plan for development and Rayobyte's trial for testing residential.
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.