{"slug":"best-residential-proxy-apis-for-large-scale-web-scraping","title":"Best residential proxy APIs for large-scale web scraping","question":"What are the best residential proxy APIs for large-scale web scraping in 2026?","verdict":"As of 2026-08-09, Claude and Gemini collectively rank Bright Data #1 for residential proxy apis for large-scale web scraping on ModelsAgree — unanimous among the 2 models that have answered. The models' case: The category benchmark for scale — the largest ethically-sourced residential pool (150M+ IPs), the deepest tooling stack (Web Unlocker, Scraping Browser, rotating session. The models' main caveat: The most expensive and most complex option — steep per-GB rates, a sprawling console, and mandatory KYC make it overkill for small or casual scrapers. The strongest alternative is Oxylabs — The closest true peer to Bright Data for enterprise scale — very large clean pool, strong uptime and session stability, excellent geo/ASN targeting. Source: https://modelsagree.com/best/best-residential-proxy-apis-for-large-scale-web-scraping (modelsagree.com, CC BY 4.0).","category":"Scraping","url":"https://modelsagree.com/best/best-residential-proxy-apis-for-large-scale-web-scraping","updated":"2026-08-09","models":["Claude","Gemini"],"consensus":"All 2 models rank Bright Data the top pick","disagreement":null,"combined":[{"rank":1,"product":"Bright Data","domain":"brightdata.com","score":10,"appearances":2,"modelRanks":{"Claude":1,"Gemini":1},"reason":"The category benchmark for scale — the largest ethically-sourced residential pool (150M+ IPs), the deepest tooling stack (Web Unlocker, Scraping Browser, rotating session control, precise ASN/city/carrier targeting), the most mature compliance/KYC posture, and the highest success rates on hard anti-bot targets; assumes a \"large-scale\" buyer who values reliability and legal defensibility over raw price."},{"rank":2,"product":"Oxylabs","domain":"oxylabs.io","score":8,"appearances":2,"modelRanks":{"Claude":2,"Gemini":2},"reason":"The closest true peer to Bright Data for enterprise scale — very large clean pool, strong uptime and session stability, excellent geo/ASN targeting, its own Web Unblocker and dedicated account support; a near-tie with #1 on raw capability, edged out mainly on tooling breadth and pool size."},{"rank":3,"product":"Decodo","domain":"decodo.com","score":6,"appearances":2,"modelRanks":{"Claude":3,"Gemini":3},"reason":"The value-for-scale sweet spot — strong pool quality and success rates at meaningfully lower per-GB cost than the top two, clean dashboard/API, and genuinely self-serve onboarding; the pragmatic default for the typical mid-scale practitioner who doesn't need the last few points of unblock rate."},{"rank":4,"product":"IPRoyal","domain":null,"score":2,"appearances":1,"modelRanks":{"Gemini":4},"reason":"Provides non-expiring bandwidth credits and clean, ethically sourced IPs at low cost per GB, making it uniquely ideal for asynchronous or intermittent large-scale scraping tasks where monthly data expiration creates waste."},{"rank":5,"product":"SOAX","domain":"soax.com","score":2,"appearances":1,"modelRanks":{"Claude":4},"reason":"Best-in-class granular targeting on a rigorously cleaned pool — reliable city/ISP/carrier control, low proportion of dead IPs, and flexible flow-based plans that suit precise geo-sensitive scraping."},{"rank":6,"product":"NetNut","domain":null,"score":1,"appearances":1,"modelRanks":{"Claude":5},"reason":"Distinctive architecture — direct ISP-sourced residential/static-residential routing gives high speed, low latency, and unusually stable long-lived sessions, ideal for scraping that needs consistent IPs rather than aggressive rotation."},{"rank":7,"product":"Webshare","domain":null,"score":1,"appearances":1,"modelRanks":{"Gemini":5},"reason":"Delivers exceptionally low per-GB pricing alongside high-throughput REST API proxy management, providing superior budget efficiency for large-scale data extraction from standard web endpoints."}],"perModel":{"Claude":[{"rank":1,"product":"Bright Data","reason":"The category benchmark for scale — the largest ethically-sourced residential pool (150M+ IPs), the deepest tooling stack (Web Unlocker, Scraping Browser, rotating session control, precise ASN/city/carrier targeting), the most mature compliance/KYC posture, and the highest success rates on hard anti-bot targets; assumes a \"large-scale\" buyer who values reliability and legal defensibility over raw price.","fix":"The most expensive and most complex option — steep per-GB rates, a sprawling console, and mandatory KYC make it overkill for small or casual scrapers."},{"rank":2,"product":"Oxylabs","reason":"The closest true peer to Bright Data for enterprise scale — very large clean pool, strong uptime and session stability, excellent geo/ASN targeting, its own Web Unblocker and dedicated account support; a near-tie with #1 on raw capability, edged out mainly on tooling breadth and pool size.","fix":"Premium enterprise pricing and a sales-led motion; the best terms sit behind commitments, so it's a poor fit for low-volume or self-serve buyers."},{"rank":3,"product":"Decodo","reason":"The value-for-scale sweet spot — strong pool quality and success rates at meaningfully lower per-GB cost than the top two, clean dashboard/API, and genuinely self-serve onboarding; the pragmatic default for the typical mid-scale practitioner who doesn't need the last few points of unblock rate.","fix":"Smaller network and thinner enterprise features (SLAs, custom compliance, edge-case targeting) than #1/#2, so the very hardest targets and very largest jobs can outgrow it."},{"rank":4,"product":"SOAX","reason":"Best-in-class granular targeting on a rigorously cleaned pool — reliable city/ISP/carrier control, low proportion of dead IPs, and flexible flow-based plans that suit precise geo-sensitive scraping.","fix":"Per-GB pricing runs high for undifferentiated bulk traffic and the pool is smaller, so it's not the cheapest way to move raw volume."},{"rank":5,"product":"NetNut","reason":"Distinctive architecture — direct ISP-sourced residential/static-residential routing gives high speed, low latency, and unusually stable long-lived sessions, ideal for scraping that needs consistent IPs rather than aggressive rotation.","fix":"Its edge is stability, not massive rotating diversity or breadth of tooling; buyers who need enormous IP churn or a full unblocker suite are better served elsewhere."}],"Gemini":[{"rank":1,"product":"Bright Data","reason":"Offers unmatched global pool density (70M+ IPs), precise city/ASN targeting, and industry-leading success rates on heavily protected targets, assuming maximum scraping success rate on complex sites takes priority over raw bandwidth cost.","fix":"Prohibitively expensive rates and rigorous compliance/KYC onboarding make it poorly suited for small teams or low-budget projects."},{"rank":2,"product":"Oxylabs","reason":"Features a 100M+ IP pool with exceptional uptime, sub-second response times, and enterprise SLAs, holding a near-tie with Bright Data on sheer speed and success rates for high-concurrency enterprise scraping.","fix":"High minimum spend commitments and premium pricing mean it is NOT for small-scale scrapers or sporadic, low-volume workloads."},{"rank":3,"product":"Decodo","reason":"Delivers the best overall value for the typical practitioner, providing fast response times across a 55M+ IP pool and clean self-serve access without requiring minimum monthly financial commitments.","fix":"Lacks built-in automated JavaScript rendering or advanced anti-bot bypass features at the base proxy level, requiring custom solver integration for aggressive anti-scraping targets."},{"rank":4,"product":"IPRoyal","reason":"Provides non-expiring bandwidth credits and clean, ethically sourced IPs at low cost per GB, making it uniquely ideal for asynchronous or intermittent large-scale scraping tasks where monthly data expiration creates waste.","fix":"Smaller overall IP pool size compared to top-tier providers leads to higher IP collision rates when performing high-concurrency scrapes in smaller geographic targets."},{"rank":5,"product":"Webshare","reason":"Delivers exceptionally low per-GB pricing alongside high-throughput REST API proxy management, providing superior budget efficiency for large-scale data extraction from standard web endpoints.","fix":"Pool diversity and IP reputation management are weaker against advanced anti-bot systems like Cloudflare or Akamai, making it unfit for highly defended targets."}]},"missedByModel":{"Claude":[{"product":"Zyte","reason":"elite at unblocking via its Smart Proxy Manager/API, but it's a managed extraction/unblocker service more than a raw residential proxy API, so it competes in an adjacent category"}],"Gemini":[{"product":"Nimbleway","reason":"offers cutting-edge AI-driven IP rotation optimization, but high pricing and enterprise focus keep it just outside top general value picks"}]}}