What each offers for free (or nearly free)
| Webshare | Geonode | |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent free plan | 10 shared datacenter proxies, 1 GB/month, no card | Scraper API: 1,500 requests/month, no card |
| Residential trial | None; smallest paid plan is 1 GB | $5 for 3 days |
| Large-volume trial | None listed | 1 TB free for 7 days for teams using 500+ GB/month (application) |
| Unlimited residential trial | Not offered | $100 for 1 day, credited toward an upgrade |
| Scraper API trial | Not offered | Paid 48-hour trial with high limits |
| ISP proxies | Not in the free plan | No trial |
Figures are from the providers' pages at the time of writing; trial terms change often.
Webshare's free plan
Webshare's free plan is a permanent account with 10 shared datacenter proxies and 1 GB of bandwidth a month. It's ideal for:
- Learning how proxies work.
- Building and debugging scrapers or bots before paying.
- Checking that a tool accepts your proxy format.
- Testing whether a target accepts datacenter IPs at all.
It doesn't include residential or static residential traffic. Details in Webshare free proxies.
Geonode's free tier and trials
Geonode's free offer is aimed at its Scraper API: 1,500 requests a month, every month, without a card. That's useful if you'd rather have a service fetch pages for you (with optional JavaScript rendering) than manage proxies. See Geonode Scraper API.
For proxies, Geonode offers a low-cost residential trial ($5 for 3 days at the time of writing). That's enough to test residential performance on your targets, which Webshare's free plan can't do.
What you can test with each
| Question | Test with |
|---|---|
| Does my code work with a proxy? | Webshare free plan |
| Does my target accept datacenter IPs? | Webshare free plan |
| How do residential IPs perform on my target? | Geonode residential trial, or Webshare's smallest residential plan |
| Could a scraping API replace my scraper? | Geonode Scraper API free tier |
| Do ISP proxies work for my accounts? | Smallest paid plan at either |
A cheap evaluation plan for both
- Day 1: sign up for Webshare's free plan. Build your test script and run it on your targets with datacenter IPs. See testing Webshare proxies.
- Day 2: for targets that failed, start Geonode's residential trial and run the same script.
- Day 2 or 3: for comparison, buy Webshare's smallest residential plan and repeat on the same targets.
- Optional: try a few hard pages through Geonode's free Scraper API.
- Decide per target, based on cost per 1,000 successful results.
Total cost: a few dollars. See how to test proxies before buying.
Proxy tip: If you need managed scraping rather than raw proxies, Geonode also sells a Scraper API with a free monthly allowance, which Webshare doesn't offer. More in our complete Geonode guide.
Free provider plans vs free proxy lists
Both providers' free offers are managed and authenticated. Public "free proxy" lists are not, and they're risky. See free proxies: the risks.
Verdict
- Best free plan for proxies: Webshare, by a wide margin.
- Best way to test residential cheaply: Geonode's residential trial.
- Best free option for managed scraping: Geonode's Scraper API free tier.
What each free option teaches you
| Option | Learn about |
|---|---|
| Webshare free plan | Connection formats, datacenter acceptance on your targets, dashboard |
| Geonode residential trial | Residential success rates, sticky sessions, targeting |
| Geonode Scraper API free tier | Whether managed scraping can replace your scraper |
| Smallest paid plans | Static ISP IPs, which neither gives away |
Avoiding trial pitfalls
- Read auto-renew and auto-upgrade terms before starting any paid trial.
- Prepare your test script first, so short trials aren't wasted on setup.
- Test real targets, not just IP echo services.
- Record results in a shared document so decisions are based on data.
Budget tip: Many teams end up using both: Webshare for cheap per-IP datacenter and static residential lists, Geonode for per-GB residential traffic that doesn't expire. Start with Webshare's free proxy plan.
After the trial
Use the results to set up routing: datacenter-friendly targets on Webshare's paid lists, residential targets on whichever pool performed better, and hard, low-volume pages on Geonode's Scraper API if it did well. Revisit the decision after a month of real usage.
A real-world example
A developer evaluating providers for a scraping side project spends $5 in total. Day one, Webshare's free plan shows that four of six target sites accept datacenter IPs. Day two, Geonode's residential trial shows the other two work well on residential IPs. Day three, a handful of requests to Geonode's free Scraper API tier shows it can handle one JavaScript-heavy page the developer had been struggling with. The final setup uses all three.
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.
Key takeaways
- Webshare offers a permanent free plan with 10 datacenter proxies and 1 GB a month.
- Geonode offers a free Scraper API tier and low-cost paid trials, including residential.
- Use Webshare's plan to test datacenter acceptance and Geonode's trial to test residential.
- Read auto-renew and auto-upgrade terms before starting paid trials.
- A complete evaluation of both can cost just a few dollars.
FAQ
Does Geonode have free proxies?
It has a free Scraper API tier and low-cost trials, but not a permanent free proxy plan like Webshare's.
Can I test Webshare residential for free?
No. The free plan is datacenter only. The smallest residential plan is 1 GB.
Which free plan is better for beginners?
Webshare's, because it gives you real proxies to experiment with indefinitely.
Do I need a credit card for these free options?
Webshare's free plan and Geonode's free Scraper API tier don't require one at the time of writing; paid trials do.
Can I extend a trial?
Contact the provider; terms vary.
What should I test first?
Whether your targets accept datacenter IPs; that decides how much residential you need.
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.