Proxies for Developers and Side Projects
For side projects, coursework and small apps: proxies you can add to a script with a few lines of code.
From $2.49 per GB of data · ready the moment you pay · 99.9% uptime
In plain English
Maybe you're building a small app, learning to collect data with Python, or checking how your own site behaves for visitors abroad. A proxy helps with all three. Your code sends each request to our server first, so the website sees our IP address rather than yours, and the reply comes back to you the same way. You choose the country, from 55+, and connect over HTTP, HTTPS or SOCKS5, the three standard ways a program talks to a proxy.
To sign in, use a username and password, or add your machine to an IP whitelist (a list of addresses we let in without a password). Keep the password in an environment variable, a setting stored outside your code, so it doesn't end up in code you share online. The API documentation shows how to manage things from a script. For a first project, datacenter addresses cost the least, while residential ones look like ordinary home connections. Whatever you build, collect only publicly available data, within each site's terms and the law.
What a proxy actually does
Every device online has an IP address, a number that identifies its internet connection. Websites use it to work out roughly where you are, and many of them change the language, prices, ads or search results they show to match.
A proxy passes your request along for you. It goes to the proxy first and the website sees the proxy's IP address instead of yours, so a proxy in another country shows you that country's version of the page. It won't make you invisible, it can't get you into anything private, and each website's own rules still apply.
Read the full beginner's explanation →Three steps to get going
The steps are the same whatever your line of work, and none of them needs special software.
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1
Choose a type and how much data
Unsure how much data you need? The proxy calculator gives a rough figure. Then check out on the buy page; a small first order is fine while you learn.
Where we'd start for this work:
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2
Type in your details
Your dashboard lists a host, a port, a username and a password. Enter them in the proxy settings of your browser, app or script, or whitelist your own IP address so no password is needed. Then choose your country, on the order form or in the dashboard depending on the type.
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3
Check that it works
Open one of our free network tools: if it shows the proxy's IP address rather than yours, you're connected. Writing code? The API docs show how to do the same from a script.
Does this sound like you?
A few situations where a proxy earns its keep in this kind of work.
Learning to collect data
Practise gathering public information, such as prices or opening times, and pick up good habits like pacing your requests.
Testing your own app abroad
Check that your site or app shows the right language, currency and content to visitors in other countries.
Coursework on a budget
Need data for a project? Buy a small amount instead of a monthly plan, and stop paying when the coursework is done.
Fans of automation
There's an API (a way for your code to talk to our system) for credentials and usage, so the dull parts can run on their own.
Jobs people use it for
Everyday tasks, in plain words. Whichever you take on, stay within the law and the rules of the site involved.
Which of the four types should I pick?
A simple rule for beginners: start with the lowest-priced type that shows you what you need, and only move up if it doesn't. All four are sold on the same account, so you can try another later. The ones marked “Suggested” are where we'd begin for this kind of work.
Datacenter
SuggestedServer-based addresses at the lowest price per GB. Try these first: for many public pages they are all you need.
Find out more →Residential
SuggestedAddresses from real home connections. Pick these when a page has to look exactly as it does to someone living in that country.
Find out more →Mobile 4G/5G
Addresses from 4G/5G phone networks, the kind of connection a phone uses. Handy for checking what people on mobile data are shown.
Find out more →Residential Premium
Our higher grade of residential address, for larger or harder jobs where the local view has to be as true to life as possible.
Find out more →What you'll need, and what the settings mean
You'll come across four settings while you set up. Here is each one in everyday words.
Connection type: HTTP, HTTPS or SOCKS5
HTTP and HTTPS are how browsers and most tools fetch web pages; SOCKS5 is a more general option that can carry other kinds of traffic as well. Every plan includes all three, so browsers, command-line tools and code libraries in any language can connect.
A password or an IP whitelist
A username and password works from anywhere, which suits a laptop you carry about. A whitelist is a list of your own IP addresses that we let in without a password, which suits a computer that stays in one place.
Rotating and sticky, explained
Rotating gives each request a fresh IP address, which spreads a big job of collecting public pages across many addresses. Sticky keeps one address for a while, which you need when you click through several pages in a row.
A country, and sometimes a city
Choose where your visits appear to come from: 55+ countries, a choice of city in key regions, and both home-style and mobile connections.
See all available locations →What you'll pay
You pay per GB (gigabyte), a measure of how much data travels through the proxy. Reading a few text pages uses very little; pages full of pictures or video use more. There's no contract, no minimum order and no monthly fee.
Datacenter
Residential
Mobile 4G/5G
Residential Premium
Each order lasts 30 days and is ready as soon as you've paid. We aim to keep the service running 99.9% of the time, and we keep no traffic logs.
Easy mistakes to avoid
Five slip-ups that are easy to make at the start, and what to do instead.
Buying a big amount on day one
Each order lasts 30 days, and data you haven't used by then doesn't carry over. Start small, see how much you really get through, then top up.
Paying for a type you don't need
If datacenter addresses already show you what you need, a pricier type won't improve the result. Move up only when a site doesn't show you the local version you're after.
Not testing before the real job
Check that the proxy works, and shows the country you picked, before you rely on any results. Our free network tools make that quick.
Rushing through a site
A proxy doesn't change how much traffic a website is happy to handle. Space your requests out, much as a person browsing would.
Collecting more than public information
Pages behind a login and people's personal details are not yours to collect. A proxy changes your location, not what you're allowed to see.
Is this allowed?
In most countries, using a proxy is legal. What matters is how you use it: follow the law where you live and the terms of each website or platform, and keep to honest research, checks and testing.
Public information only
Use our network for publicly available data and sensible automation, inside each site's terms of service and the law that applies to you. Anything private or restricted stays off limits, proxy or no proxy.
We don't log your traffic
We keep no traffic logs, and our IPs are on the network by agreement with the people and companies they belong to. You decide how to sign in: a username and password, or an IP whitelist.
What a proxy can't do
It changes where your requests come from, for research and checks. It can't decide how a website or platform treats your account, and that platform's own terms always apply.
Questions newcomers ask
Where to go from here
Each of these pages walks through one common job in more detail.
New to proxies, or want to understand the types before you buy? Our guides start from the very beginning and go one step at a time.
Read our guides →Ready when you are
From $2.49/GB · ready the moment you pay · real people on support at any hour.
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