The pool decides the price, far more than the provider does
IPv6 is the cheapest traffic there is and only works against targets that answer over IPv6. Datacenter is next and is the easiest to detect. Residential costs several times more because the addresses are real households. Mobile costs the most of all because carrier addresses are the hardest to get and carry the most trust. Comparing a mobile rate against an IPv6 rate tells you nothing about either provider.
Expiry is a price, and it is usually not on the price list
Traffic that expires at the end of a month is not the same product as traffic that does not, and the difference can be most of what you paid. If you use half your gigabytes and lose the rest, your real rate was double the advertised one. Ask this before comparing anything, because it silently doubles or halves the number you are looking at.
Unlimited plans are a bet on your own throughput
An unlimited window is cheaper than metered traffic only above a certain volume, and that break even point is worth calculating rather than guessing. Divide the window price by your expected gigabytes and compare that to the per gigabyte rate. Below the break even, unlimited is the more expensive option wearing a better name.
The cheapest failed request costs more than the dearest successful one
A datacenter address at a third of the price is not cheaper if your target blocks it, because you paid for traffic that returned nothing and then paid again on a better pool. Cost per successful request is the figure that matters, and it is only knowable by testing against your actual target.
Minimums, subscriptions and refunds
A low headline rate attached to a large minimum order, an automatic monthly renewal, or non refundable credit is a different offer to the same rate without them. These three terms are where the gap between the advertised price and the amount that leaves your account usually lives.
What to buy
Work out cost per successful request on your own target, not price per gigabyte on a comparison page. Our current rates are published live on the pricing page, traffic does not expire, there is no subscription and no minimum term, so the advertised number is the number.
Common questions
What is the cheapest kind of proxy?
IPv6, by a wide margin, because the allocations are enormous and cost the network very little. It is only usable against targets that answer over IPv6, so for most work the practical answer is datacenter, and for targets that inspect the address it is residential at a higher rate.
Is cheaper proxy traffic worse?
It is different rather than worse. Price tracks how hard the addresses are to obtain and how much trust they carry, so cheap traffic is cheap because it is easy to get and easy to recognise. Against a target that does not inspect the address, the cheap option is simply the correct one.
How do I compare two providers fairly?
Compare the same pool type, on the same billing model, after checking expiry, minimum order and renewal terms on both. Then run the smallest order each will sell against your real target and compare cost per successful request.