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Proxy
Updated on May 15, 2025

Top Shared Proxy Solutions of 2025: Tested & Ranked

AIMultiple team evaluated 24 shared proxy services, including all proxy types (e.g., datacenter and mobile) from 7 different proxy providers, focusing on those utilizing rotating proxies from an IP pool. A total of 5,000 URLs from 25 unique domains were tested.

VendorFor
1.
The fastest responses for shared ISP and datacenter proxies
2.
The fastest responses for shared rotating residential proxies
3.
Generous free plan
4.
Shared datacenter proxies with 5GB of free IP usage
5.
The fastest responses for shared rotating mobile proxies
6.
Semi-dedicated datacenter and ISP proxies (can be used by up to 3 users simultaneously)
1.
Bright Data logo
The fastest responses for shared ISP and datacenter proxies
2.
Decodo logo
The fastest responses for shared rotating residential proxies
3.
Webshare logo
Generous free plan
4.
Oxylabs logo
Shared datacenter proxies with 5GB of free IP usage
5.
IPRoyal logo
The fastest responses for shared rotating mobile proxies
6.
Rayobyte logo
Semi-dedicated datacenter and ISP proxies (can be used by up to 3 users simultaneously)

The best shared proxy providers of 2025

Updated at 05-15-2025
VendorsPAYG/GBMonthly priceTraffic (GB)Free trial
Bright Data$5.0$499138$5 for 30 days
Decodo$3.5$62100MB for 3 days
Webshare$7110 proxies free
Oxylabs$4.0
$45137 days
IPRoyal$6.2$122
Rayobyte$3.5150 MB free

The pricing details for the providers listed in the table are for shared residential proxies.

Success rates

Response times

Compare the response times of operators:

  • The gray line in the center represents the median response time.
  • The boxes show the variability, indicating the range between the upper and lower quartiles.

Bright Data’s shared proxies are available in two plans: pay-per-usage and unlimited. The pay-per-usage option rotates through a pool of 10,000 IPs. Bright Data provides shared proxies with each of its proxy offerings. City targeting isn’t available for shared proxies; they only support country-level targeting. The provider offers a $5 credit to test shared proxies.

Bright Data has a 50% discount: Matches deposits up to $500 for shared proxies.

All Decodo plans (except the dedicated ISP and datacenter) give you access to shared IP addresses. City-level targeting is only available for residential and mobile plans. For both ISP and datacenter proxies, you have two billing options:

  1. Unlimited pool access – Entire IP pool and pay only for the traffic you use (pay-per-GB).
  2. Fixed IP allocation – A specific number of “sticky” IPs.
Get 50% off Decodo residential proxies with code RESI50.

Webshare offers shared datacenter and ISP proxy networks. The provider also offers semi-dedicated proxies that are shared with at most two users. Shared proxies are static by default; however, you can add auto-refresh to your plan to rotate IPs.

Unlimited bandwidth is available on plans with 1,000 shared proxies. Webshare offers 10 shared datacenter proxies free for one month.

Oxylabs provides shared datacenter IPs in 15 locations, including the United States, Europe, and Asia. The shared datacenter proxy network supports country-level targeting but not city-level targeting. These proxies rotate IPs by default with each new request. You can use session parameters or sticky entry nodes to maintain the same IP across multiple requests.

Oxylabs offers free shared proxies with a 5GB/month traffic limit and a 20 concurrent sessions limit per user.

IPRoyal’s shared residential proxies span 195 countries and don’t include a free trial. You can choose between subscription-based and pay-as-you-go models, and the subscription plan lets you specify exactly how many IPs you need.

Rayobyte offers semi-dedicated datacenter and ISP proxies in the USA, Brazil, and Germany (shared among up to three users) and shared residential proxies. Its shared proxies rotate IPs at intervals of 10–120 minutes. They offer a two-day money-back guarantee for datacenter and ISP proxies.

What is a shared proxy?

A shared proxy is a single IP address used by multiple users simultaneously. It is distributed among several users, making it ideal for situations requiring a high volume of proxy connections.

Types of shared proxies

  1. By IP source:
    • Shared datacenter proxies: Hosted in data centers, they’re fast and inexpensive. The term “shared” is often associated with affordability in the context of datacenter proxies. In contrast, residential and mobile proxies tend to cost more due to their unique origins.
    • Shared residential proxies: Routed through real home ISPs and ideal for avoiding IP blocks.
    • Shared ISP proxies:
  2. By rotation behavior:
    • Static shared proxies: Keep the same IP until you manually rotate
    • Rotating shared proxies: IPs automatically switch, which is suitable for a data collection project.
  3. By sharing intensity:
    • Fully shared proxies: One IP is shared among many users.
    • Semi-dedicated proxies: These are shared with only a small group (e.g., 2–5 users).

When to use shared proxies?

Datacenter proxies: Static shared proxies are a good choice when targeting smaller or less protected websites (e.g., those with basic CAPTCHA or simple rate-limiting).

These sites typically lack the advanced defenses on major platforms like Google or Amazon. If you’re not sending a high volume of requests to the same site, static shared proxies can be an effective and budget-friendly option.

Rotating shared proxies: Shared proxy networks are generally ideal for scraping low-security websites, especially when you’re on a limited budget and need a large pool of IPs to distribute traffic.

While they offer a cost-effective solution, they come with trade-offs in terms of performance and reliability. For high-security sites, large-scale scraping, or when performance is a priority, rotating shared proxies or private proxies are typically the more dependable choices.

How do shared proxies work?

When you use a shared proxy server, your internet traffic is combined with that of other users, meaning you’re not the only one accessing the proxy server at any given time. Here’s how shared proxies work:

  1. User Request: Your internet request is routed through the proxy instead of going directly from your device to the destination server.
  2. Request Sent to the Proxy Server: The proxy server receives your request and forwards it to the target website. This hides your real IP address, making the request appear to be coming from the proxy server’s IP. Since the proxy is shared, it also handles requests from other users.
  3. Receiving the Response: The target website or service sends a response to the proxy server, which then forwards it to you.
  4. Shared Usage: Because multiple users access the proxy at the same time, your internet traffic is less isolated compared to a dedicated proxy, which is used exclusively by a single user.

Shared proxies vs dedicated proxies

Performance
The key distinction between a shared proxy and a dedicated proxy lies in the number of users. A single user exclusively uses a dedicated or private proxy, while multiple users use a shared proxy.

With a dedicated proxy, you get a unique IP address, which improves speed and performance. In contrast, shared proxies assign the same IP address to multiple users. As more users share the same proxy, its speed and performance tend to decrease. A dedicated proxy ensures better performance since only one user utilizes the IP address.

Anonymity
Shared proxies offer high anonymity. Since multiple users share the same IP address, it becomes difficult for websites to track any user’s activity. Even if your actions are monitored, your identity remains hidden because many users share the same IP.

Authority
With shared proxies, all users share the same IP address when browsing and making requests, and you have no visibility into others’ actions. This lack of control increases the risk of being blocked.

Since you can’t ensure that other users are following proper proxy usage practices, the risk of being flagged is higher compared to dedicated proxies. In contrast, a dedicated proxy grants full control over your activity, as no one else shares your IP. You are solely responsible for how it’s used.

Pricing
Dedicated proxies are more expensive due to their exclusive nature, as you bear the full cost. Shared proxies, on the other hand, are less costly because they distribute the same IP address across multiple users, reducing individual costs.

Pros and cons of shared proxies

Pros

  • Cost-Effective: Shared proxies are significantly more affordable as the cost is distributed among multiple users.
  • Anonymity: Using rotating shared proxies enhances anonymity by frequently changing your IP address.
  • Scalability: Shared proxies provide access to a broad pool of IP addresses at a low cost, making them ideal for scaling operations such as web scraping or testing multiple sites.

Cons

  • Lower speed: Since multiple users share the proxy server, bandwidth is divided, leading to slower connection speeds, especially during peak usage.
  • Limited control: Shared proxies offer fewer customization options than dedicated proxies. Since you do not have exclusive access to the server, you have less control over configuration and troubleshooting.
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Gülbahar is an AIMultiple industry analyst focused on web data collection, applications of web data and application security.

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