Though both proxy servers and virtual private networks (VPNs) can hide your IP address, they're vastly different security tools. Many consumers might be best off with a VPN to protect their privacy, but a proxy server can be most effective in some business use cases.
Proxy servers are gateways between devices and the internet. They handle requests while creating a boundary between end users and online services, concealing IP addresses and potentially allowing access to geolocked content. If you want a simple proxy instead of the security a VPN offers, or you need a data scraping solution for business, you have plenty of choices, including MarsProxies and IPRoyal . If you want a web scraping giant, you want Oxylabs (which at the time of this writing is offering 50% off with the code OXYLABS50).
What is the best proxy server service right now?
The team has extensive experience in the proxy server and VPN industries, and while compiling our recommendations, we keep a close watch on the overall market, new offerings, and recent customer feedback. Our top pick for the proxy server service that's the easiest to get started with is MarsProxies , an affordable option with a range of plans and products, along with great customer support. However, if you're interested in enterprise-level industrial web scraping using a proxy server service, our choice is Oxylabs . The company has the largest pool of ethically-sourced residential proxies, a deep API for performing scraping activities, and an AI that can help with the conversion of raw data to actionable insights.
Read on to find the best proxy server service for you in 2025.
The best proxy server services of 2025
Oxylabs
The best proxy server service for scraping
If you're looking for proxies suitable for market research and data scraping, check out Oxylabs.
This is our top pick for industrial web scraping, with generally positive customer reviews, especially regarding its data collection capabilities. Oxylabs provides a range of proxies -- from residential to dedicated and mobile -- a web scraper API, a web crawler, and headless browser functionality.
There's also an AI assistant for generating web parsing and scraping requests.
Also: This proxy provider I tested is the best for web scraping - and it's not IPRoyal or MarsProxies
Customer feedback indicates that Oxylabs shines when it comes to data scraping and market research, with some users saying they find the support and reliability of their proxies -- especially their mobile options -- to be solid and great value for the money.
A three-day trial is available for some individual users, or a seven-day trial is possible for enquiring business customers. At the time of this writing, you can get 50% off with the code OXYLABS50.
Oxylabs features -- Proxy types: Residential, ISP, data center | Mobile? Yes | Pool size: 175 million IPs, 195 countries | Support: Live chat, email | Pricing: $1.20 per IP, residential $4 per gigabyte, various | Trustpilot rating: 4.3
MarsProxies
The best plug-and-play proxy service
MarsProxies has earned a top spot in our recommendations list thanks to its wide range of services, affordable pricing, and use cases.
Whether you want a residential proxy for ethical projects, geotargeting for market research, sticky sessions, SOCKS5 support, the ability to avoid geolocation blocks, or a gaming proxy, MarsProxies likely will work for you.
MarsProxies has a Trustpilot rating of 4.8, and many customers applaud its customer support team. If you're interested in trying out MarsProxies, pricing starts at $0.86 per sneaker proxy, though there's a range of options depending on your needs. For example, a residential proxy plan begins at $3.49 per gigabyte, or you could opt for a mobile proxy for $2.83 per day.
There's no trial, but you can sign up for a basic, short-term proxy to explore the proxy server system.
MarsProxies features -- Proxy types: Residential, ISP, data center, sneaker proxies | Mobile? Yes | Pool size: Over 1 million IPs, 190 countries | Support: Email, live chat, Discord, social media | Pricing: $0.86 per proxy, various, pay-as-you-go | Trustpilot rating: 4.8
IPRoyal
The best proxy server service for residential proxies
IPRoyal is an excellent option if you're on the hunt for a solid, reliable residential proxy.
IPRoyal's residential services are currently available with a 50% discount (from $2.57 per gigabyte) and no monthly commitment. They're available in four plans: 1GB, 2GB, 10GB, or 50GB of traffic. These residential proxies can be used to improve your online privacy, localize online monitoring and research, bypass content blocks, automate tasks, or for sneaker use.
API access is granted, sticky sessions are available, and SOCKS5 is supported.
Customers have applauded IPRoyal's customer service and mentioned that this is an affordable and solid residential proxy offering.
Business users can take advantage of a free trial.
IPRoyal features -- Proxy types: Residential, ISP, data center, enterprise | Mobile? Yes | Pool size: 32 million IPs, 195 countries | Support: Email, live chat, social media | Pricing: $1.39 per proxy, various | Trustpilot rating: 4.6
Bright Data
The best proxy server service for business
Bright Data is our favorite proxy server service for business use.
This company focuses heavily on business intelligence and artificial intelligence and markets itself to match. You can explore a range of services focused on structured data collection and workflows, and if you intend to use multiple proxies, a proxy manager is also available.
Bright Data customers generally say that customer support and the overall service are excellent, although some billing and verification practices aren't popular.
Though I consider this solution to be business-focused, you can try out residential proxies on pay-as-you-go or monthly models with up to 678GB in traffic. Data center, ISP, and mobile proxies are also available. Business customers can sign up for a free trial to explore Bright Data services.
Bright Data features -- Proxy types: Residential, data center, ISP | Mobile? Yes | Pool size: Over 150 million IPs, 195 countries | Support: Email, WhatsApp | Pricing: $0.90 per IP, residential $2.94 per gigabyte, various | Trustpilot rating: 4.3