Blog
Proxy guides that show their working
Tutorials with code that runs, explainers that do not oversell, and buying advice from a provider that prints its checkout price on the configurator.
Guides
Guides · 9 min
Cloudflare error 1020, 1015, 1010 and the 403 challenge: what each means when you scrape, and the fixes that hold
Cloudflare error 1020, 1015, 1010 and 1006 explained from Cloudflare's own docs: which rule fired, what a proxy changes, and the legitimate fixes for scrapers.
Guides · 9 min
How to avoid getting blocked while scraping: pacing, fingerprints, soft blocks and the right proxy
How to avoid getting blocked while scraping: pace per site and IP, back off with jitter, match headers and TLS, spot soft blocks, cache, pick the right proxy.
Guides · 9 min
Is web scraping legal? Public data, terms of service, the CFAA, copyright and GDPR, with the cases behind each
Is web scraping legal? What US and EU law and key cases say about public data, terms of service, the CFAA, database rights and GDPR, plus a checklist.
Guides · 10 min
Proxy error codes: what 407, 403, 429, 502, 503 and 504 mean, and who sent them
Proxy error codes explained: what 407, 403, 429, 502, 503 and 504 mean, whether the proxy or the target sent them, and the command that fixes each.
Guides · 9 min
TLS fingerprinting explained: JA3, JA4, HTTP/2 fingerprints, and why a proxy does not change yours
TLS fingerprinting explained with measured JA3 and JA4 hashes from python-requests and curl_cffi, the HTTP/2 layer, and what a proxy can and cannot change.
Tutorials
Tutorials · 7 min
Build a price monitoring scraper in Python: proxies, SQLite price history, change alerts and scheduling
Build a price monitoring scraper in Python: fetch product pages through proxies, normalise prices, keep history in SQLite, alert on changes, run on a schedule.
Tutorials · 9 min
How to scrape Google search results with Python, Playwright and proxies (and when to use the API instead)
Scrape Google search results with Python and Playwright: query parameters, EU consent, parsing organic results, CAPTCHA detection, pacing and CSV storage.
Tutorials · 8 min
Web scraping with Node.js and proxies: undici, cheerio, p-limit, retries and Playwright
Web scraping with Node.js through proxies: undici fetch with ProxyAgent, cheerio parsing, p-limit concurrency, retries with backoff, IP rotation and Playwright.
Tutorials · 8 min
How to rotate proxies in Python: round-robin, random, health-checked pools and asyncio
Rotate proxies in Python with working code: round-robin, random choice, a health-checked pool that benches failing IPs, per-domain affinity and httpx async.
Tutorials · 7 min
Web scraping with proxies in Python: a complete requests and BeautifulSoup tutorial
Web scraping with proxies in Python, end to end: requests and BeautifulSoup, proxy settings from env vars, retries, threads, a pool of static IPs and CSV.
Proxy basics
Proxy basics · 6 min
Shadowsocks vs SOCKS5 vs HTTP proxy: what each one is and when it fits
Shadowsocks is an encrypted transport for a server you run, not a commercial proxy. How it differs from a SOCKS5 or HTTP proxy, shown on the wire.
Proxy basics · 6 min
Dedicated vs shared proxies: what sharing an IP costs you, and when it is fine
Dedicated vs shared proxies: what sharing an IP means in practice, whose traffic taints it, how rate limits split, the price trade-off, and when shared is fine.
Proxy basics · 8 min
Free proxies: where free proxy lists come from, whether they are safe, and how to test one
Free proxies explained: where free proxy lists come from, the real risks (interception, logging, injected content, blocked IPs), and how to test one safely.
Proxy basics · 6 min
HTTP vs SOCKS5 proxies: how each one works and which to use
HTTP vs SOCKS5 proxy explained: CONNECT tunnelling, UDP, DNS with socks5h, client support in curl, requests, Node and browsers, with code for each.
Proxy basics · 7 min
Proxy authentication: username and password vs IP allowlist, how each works, and which to use
Proxy authentication explained: how the Proxy-Authorization header and 407 work, when an IP allowlist beats a password, and how to keep both secure.
Proxy basics · 6 min
Proxy vs VPN: what each one does, and which one you need
Proxy vs VPN compared on layer, scope, encryption, IP count, speed and cost: which fits scraping and automation, and why a VPN wins on public Wi-Fi.
Proxy basics · 8 min
Residential vs ISP vs datacenter proxies: how they differ and which one to buy
Residential vs ISP vs datacenter proxies compared on sourcing, ASN, detection, speed and billing, with a use-case table and when not to buy each.
Proxy basics · 6 min
Rotating vs static proxies: how rotation works, and when it hurts
Rotating vs static proxies: rotation, sticky sessions and static IPs compared, when rotation breaks logins and carts, and how to rotate your own IPs.
Proxy basics · 6 min
What is a datacenter proxy? Speed, cost, detection and the jobs it does well
What is a datacenter proxy: a static IP from a hosting network. How targets spot one, shared vs dedicated, subnet diversity, and where it beats residential.
Proxy basics · 7 min
What is a proxy server? How forward, reverse and transparent proxies work
What is a proxy server: a middleman that makes requests for you. Forward vs reverse vs transparent, CONNECT, what the target sees, and a curl test.
Proxy basics · 7 min
What is a residential proxy? Where the IPs come from, how they rotate, and when you need one
What is a residential proxy: an exit on a real home connection. How the IPs are sourced, how rotation and per-GB billing work, and when it is overkill.
Proxy basics · 6 min
What is an ASN? Autonomous systems, IP ASN lookups, and why they decide how proxies are scored
What is an ASN: the number of the network that owns an IP. How to run an ASN lookup with whois, ipinfo and DNS, ASN types, and why sites score proxies by it.
Proxy basics · 7 min
What is an ISP proxy? Static residential IPs, explained without the sales pitch
What is an ISP proxy: a static IP registered to a consumer carrier but hosted on servers. How it works, dedicated vs shared, uses, limits and ASN checks.
Pricing and buying
Pricing and buying · 8 min
How to buy a single static IP proxy (or five) without a minimum order
How to buy a single static IP proxy without paying for ten: dedicated vs shared, 30 to 365 day terms, choosing the city and carrier, and ordering one IP.
Pricing and buying · 9 min
How to test a proxy provider: a benchmark method and a Python script you can run today
How to test proxies before you buy: pick targets, size the sample, then measure success rate, p95 latency, exit IPs and cost per successful request.
Pricing and buying · 8 min
Proxy traffic expiry: do proxy GB expire, and what monthly resets and rollover cost you
Proxy traffic expiry explained: monthly resets, expiring credits and traffic that never expires, plus a formula for what your unused GB cost.
Pricing and buying · 9 min
Residential proxy pricing explained: what a gigabyte costs once you reach checkout
Residential proxy pricing explained: cost per GB, pay as you go vs subscription, the hidden fees between headline and checkout, and cost per request.
Comparisons
Comparisons · 7 min
System proxy vs TUN mode vs per-app rules: three ways to put an app behind a proxy
System proxy, TUN mode and per-app rules compared on what each catches, UDP and setup, with Clash Verge as the worked example and a rule trap you can test.
Comparisons · 5 min
HTTP debugging proxies compared: mitmproxy, Charles, Fiddler, Burp and ZAP
mitmproxy, Charles, Fiddler, Burp and ZAP compared on TLS interception, scripting, price model and chaining to an upstream proxy, with a setup guide for each.
Comparisons · 7 min
Torrent client proxy support: which of 15 clients route peers, trackers, DHT and UDP through a proxy, with lab counts and the cost per verified GB
Which of 15 torrent clients send peers, trackers, DHT and UDP through a proxy, our lab counts for four of them, and what a verified gigabyte costs.
Comparisons · 10 min
Best ISP proxy providers: six vendors compared by price per IP, smallest plan and terms
The best ISP proxy providers compared on price per IP at 1, 5, 10 and 20 IPs, smallest plan, shared vs dedicated, terms and trials. We are one of them.
Comparisons · 9 min
ISP proxy price comparison: price per IP at 1, 5, 10 and 20 IPs, and what you pay per IP you use
An ISP proxy price comparison by price per IP at 1, 5, 10 and 20 IPs: smallest plans, dedicated vs shared, billing terms, and the effective price per IP used.
Comparisons · 8 min
Playwright vs Puppeteer vs Selenium for web scraping: languages, waiting, stealth and proxies
Playwright vs Puppeteer vs Selenium for scraping: languages, browsers, auto-wait, a small speed test, stealth tooling and per-context proxy authentication.
Comparisons · 10 min
Residential proxy price comparison: six vendors priced at 1 GB, 10 GB and 100 GB
A residential proxy price comparison at 1, 10 and 100 GB: Decodo, IPRoyal, Bright Data, Oxylabs, SOAX and Webshare, with billing, expiry and geo tiers.
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Test it against your own targets
Every account starts with a free gigabyte. The price the configurator shows is the price at checkout, and traffic never expires.