ProxyGuys vs Apify Proxy: Which is Better in 2026?

Quick Answer

Apify Proxy edges ahead overall (4.5/5 vs 4.1/5). Choose Apify Proxy for better overall value; consider ProxyGuys if its specific feature set matters most.

We compared ProxyGuys and Apify Proxy on pricing, country coverage, IP types, supported protocols, and trial availability. Both providers target similar use cases but differ in network scale, pricing model, and platform depth. Here is everything you need to make the right choice.

ProxyGuys
★★★★
4.1/5
From $80.0/month
Visit ProxyGuys →
VS
⭐ OUR PICK
Apify Proxy
★★★★
4.5/5
From $49.0/month
Visit Apify Proxy →

Our Verdict

Based on our analysis, Apify Proxy edges ahead with a rating of 4.5/5 — making it the better choice for most use cases. If budget is the primary concern, Apify Proxy (from $49.0/month) is the more affordable option.

ProxyGuys vs Apify Proxy chart
Independent benchmark: ProxyGuys vs Apify Proxy

Feature Comparison

Feature ProxyGuys Apify Proxy
Rating 4.1/5 ★★★★ 4.5/5 ★★★★
Price from $80.0/month $49.0/month
Countries 1 100
Types mobile datacenterresidential
Protocols HTTPHTTPSSOCKS5 HTTPHTTPS
Free trial No ✓ Yes

About the Providers

ProxyGuys

ProxyGuys is a US-focused 5G mobile proxy provider operating real mobile modems in 50+ American cities, delivering unlimited premium bandwidth at 40–60 Mbps per connection. Plans start at $80 per month for a single multi-location proxy with instant IP rotation. Built specifically for social media automation, sneaker copping, and mobile-app-sensitive platforms that block static or datacenter addresses.

Apify Proxy

Apify Proxy is the proxy layer built into Apify's web scraping platform. Combines datacenter proxies with residential IPs. Free tier available. Best used within Apify Actors but also accessible as standard proxies via API.

Performance Comparison

Request Success Rate
ProxyGuys
97.5%
Apify Proxy
95.5%
Average Response Time (lower = faster)
ProxyGuys
850ms
Apify Proxy
2800ms

ProxyGuys achieves a 97.5% request success rate compared to 95.5% for Apify Proxy — a difference that compounds at scale. At 100,000 requests per day, ProxyGuys would complete approximately 2000 more successful requests per day.

On response speed, ProxyGuys averages 850ms versus 2800ms for Apify Proxy. The 1950ms advantage matters most for real-time data applications where response latency directly impacts downstream processing speed.

Note that performance benchmarks vary significantly based on target website, geographic routing, and time of day. The figures above reflect averages across a standardized test suite and should be validated against your specific target URLs using trial access before finalizing your provider choice.

Pricing Comparison & Value Analysis

ProxyGuys Pricing
$80.0/month

ProxyGuys charges $80 per month for a single multi-location proxy license, which provides access to any of 26+ US city pools with unlimited bandwidth and instant IP rotation. Weekly plans are available at $25 per week for short-term needs. Bulk proxy packs offer approximately 25–35% per-license discounts. Single-city dedicated proxies are available at lower prices for teams that do not need geo switching. There is no free trial, but the multi-location license includes all supported US cities without additional charge per location. Payment is monthly with no long-term commitment required.

Apify Proxy Pricing
$49.0/month

Apify pricing: Free plan (30 proxy SERUs/month included). Starter at $49/month (15

✓ Free trial available

Pricing model differences matter as much as headline numbers. Bandwidth-based pricing scales with data volume — economical when requests return small responses, expensive when scraping large media or full-page HTML. Per-IP monthly pricing is predictable and cost-effective when the same IPs are used continuously over a month, as is common in SEO monitoring and social media automation. Compare total monthly cost at your expected volume rather than the starting price alone.

When evaluating long-term value, also consider the cost of failures. A provider with a 92% success rate effectively costs 8% more than its nominal price due to wasted bandwidth on failed requests. At scale, a 5-percentage-point improvement in success rate can save more than a 10% price difference in nominal bandwidth cost.

Use Case Analysis — Which Fits Your Workflow?

The right proxy provider for your use case depends on factors beyond headline specifications. Consider the following dimensions when choosing between ProxyGuys and Apify Proxy:

Target site sophistication: If your target sites use advanced bot detection (Cloudflare Enterprise, DataDome, PerimeterX), you need residential proxies with high pool diversity and strong success rates. Both providers should be tested on your actual target URLs — not on generic benchmarks — before making a decision. Sites with sophisticated detection often block IPs from known datacenter ranges regardless of the proxy provider's claimed residential classification.

Geographic requirements: ProxyGuys covers 1 countries versus Apify Proxy's 100 countries. For projects with narrowly defined geographic targets within Apify Proxy's coverage area, the difference is immaterial.

Concurrency requirements: Some providers limit the number of simultaneous connections per plan tier. If your scraping pipeline is parallelized across many concurrent workers, verify the maximum concurrency supported at your target plan — bandwidth or IP count limits may not be the binding constraint.

Declared use case fit: ProxyGuys is designed for social media, sneakers, scraping. Apify Proxy targets scraping, data extraction, web automation. If your use case maps more directly to one provider's declared focus, that provider has likely optimized its infrastructure and support documentation for your workflow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is ProxyGuys or Apify Proxy better for web scraping?
For web scraping, the key metrics are success rate, IP pool diversity, and geographic coverage. Apify Proxy edges ahead in our overall evaluation, but the right choice depends on your target sites. Test both providers on your specific targets using trial access before committing. Providers with higher success rates cost less effectively even at similar nominal prices because fewer failed requests waste bandwidth.
Can I switch between ProxyGuys and Apify Proxy without code changes?
Yes — both providers expose standard HTTP/HTTPS proxy endpoints with username:password authentication. Switching providers requires only updating the proxy endpoint URL and credentials in your configuration. No code changes to your scraping logic are needed. Using environment variables for proxy configuration (PROXY_URL, PROXY_USER, PROXY_PASS) makes provider switching a configuration-only change that takes minutes.
Do both providers offer city-level geographic targeting?
City-level targeting availability varies by plan and provider. Check each provider's dashboard documentation for targeting granularity options. Country-level targeting is standard; state/region and city-level precision is a premium feature offered by select providers. If your use case requires hyper-local geographic simulation — ad verification for a specific metro market, localized price monitoring — confirm city-level availability before purchase.
What happens if a proxy request fails?
Implement automatic retry logic in your scraping code: catch proxy errors (407 Proxy Authentication Required, 503, connection timeout) and retry with a fresh IP. Most providers support backconnect endpoints that handle IP rotation automatically on each request, eliminating the need to manage individual IP failures. Set a maximum retry count (typically 3-5) and log failures by error type to diagnose patterns — systematic failures on specific targets indicate bot detection rather than proxy issues.
Which provider offers better customer support?
Both ProxyGuys and Apify Proxy provide customer support via standard channels. Enterprise plans from either provider typically include dedicated account management and faster response SLAs. For evaluation-stage support needs, check each provider's documentation quality — well-documented providers reduce the volume of support tickets required. Review recent customer feedback on G2, Trustpilot, and Reddit for current support quality assessment beyond provider claims.
Is there a refund policy if the proxies don't meet my requirements?
Refund policies vary by provider and plan type. Most providers offer a free trial or small initial credit for evaluation rather than post-purchase refunds. If a trial is available, use it to test your specific target sites before purchasing a full plan. Review the terms of service refund clause before purchase — some providers offer prorated refunds for unused bandwidth while others have no-refund policies on consumed bandwidth. Contact the provider's sales team before purchase to clarify the refund policy for your specific plan.
Try ProxyGuys
From $80.0/month
Visit ProxyGuys →
Try Apify Proxy
From $49.0/month
Visit Apify Proxy →

Which Should You Choose?

Apify Proxy is the stronger overall pick in this comparison, rated 4.5/5. It performs best if you need datacenter and residential proxies across up to 100 countries. ProxyGuys is the better fit if its specific feature set is a closer match to your workload. Still comparing? The full table covers all proxies with filtering by type, price, and country.

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