Residential Proxy Entry-Price and Minimum-Purchase Index — August 2026
In this nine-provider public-price sample, the smallest ordinary listed purchase ranged from $1.50 to $8.50. The median minimum purchase was $4.00; the median effective entry rate was $4.00/GB.
Minimum cash entry is not the same as the lowest advertised $/GB
Seven of nine providers in the sample listed an ordinary one-GB entry. NodeMaven required a two-GB standard monthly package. Decodo contained a same-page PAYG conflict, so its row is retained but explicitly flagged.
| Provider | Minimum purchase | GB included | Effective entry $/GB | Billing | Expiration / rollover | Evidence state | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DataImpulse | $5.00 | 5 | $1.00 | PAYG | Unused GB rolls over automatically | MATCH | Official source |
| Proxying | $1.50 | 1 | $1.50 | PAYG | Purchased data never expires | MATCH | Official source |
| Webshare | $3.50 | 1 | $3.50 | Monthly | UNKNOWN | MATCH | Official source |
| Rayobyte | $3.50 | 1 | $3.50 | PAYG | UNKNOWN | MATCH | Official source |
| Bright Data | $4.00 | 1 | $4.00 | PAYG | No monthly rollover applies to PAYG; balance rules vary | CONDITIONAL | Official source |
| MarsProxies | $4.99 | 1 | $4.99 | PAYG / package | No traffic expiration stated on main pricing page | MATCH | Official source |
| IPRoyal | $7.00 | 1 | $7.00 | PAYG / package | Traffic never expires | MATCH | Official source |
| NodeMaven | $8.50 | 2 | $4.25 | Monthly | Unused traffic rolls over | MATCH | Official source |
| Decodo | $4.00 | 1 | $4.00 | PAYG | UNKNOWN | CONFLICT | Official source |
Interpretation: the index measures accessibility of the first ordinary paid purchase. It does not measure speed, success rate, IP quality, block rate or reliability.
Methodology
- Population: rotating residential proxy products with a public official pricing or product page accessible on July 31, 2026.
- Sample: nine providers already covered by ProxyBuyerGuide for which the minimum ordinary paid purchase could be normalized from public information.
- Excluded: free trials as the entry product, custom enterprise quotes, coupon-only bulk rates, static ISP products and managed scraping APIs.
- Minimum purchase: the smallest ordinary listed payment needed to obtain paid residential traffic.
- Effective entry rate: minimum purchase divided by included GB.
- Evidence states: MATCH when the public source supports the normalized row; CONDITIONAL when a promotion, eligibility rule or volume threshold applies; CONFLICT when the same official source disagrees with itself; UNKNOWN for an unverified field.
Formula
effective entry price per GB = minimum ordinary purchase in USD / included traffic in GB
Limitations
- This is a purposive public-price sample, not every provider in the market.
- Checkout totals, VAT, geography add-ons and account-specific promotions were not tested.
- “No expiration” and rollover statements are recorded only when the official public source states them.
- Provider claims were not independently performance-tested.
- The August 2026 label identifies the release; the exact evidence snapshot is July 31, 2026.
Source notes
- DataImpulse: Official pricing is $1/GB, while the smallest documented purchase is $5 for 5 GB. Official source.
- Proxying: Official pricing page shows 1 GB for $1.50. Official source.
- Webshare: Official product page shows a 1 GB monthly entry plan at $3.50. Official source.
- Rayobyte: Starter tier is $3.50/GB for 1–49 GB; index uses 1 GB. Official source.
- Bright Data: Public page shows PAYG at $4/GB with promotional code and no commitment. Official source.
- MarsProxies: Official table shows 1 GB at $4.99; the advertised $1.65/GB rate requires 10,000 GB and is not the entry price. Official source.
- IPRoyal: Official product page states plans start at $7/GB. Official source.
- NodeMaven: Lowest ordinary monthly plan is $8.50 for 2 GB. Official source.
- Decodo: Main table shows $4 PAYG for 1 GB, while FAQ on the same page states $8.50/GB. Main table value retained and conflict flagged. Official source.
Change log
Version 1.0 — July 31, 2026: initial nine-provider snapshot. Future releases will preserve prior CSV files and identify additions, removals and changed fields.
Reuse and citation
Suggested citation: ProxyBuyerGuide (2026), “Residential Proxy Entry-Price and Minimum-Purchase Index — August 2026,” snapshot July 31, 2026. Cite this page and state the snapshot date.
Dataset license
The downloadable CSV and ProxyBuyerGuide’s original selection, organization and presentation of the dataset are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), only to the extent that ProxyBuyerGuide holds the applicable rights.
You may share and adapt the licensed material, including for commercial purposes, provided that you give appropriate credit to ProxyBuyerGuide, link to the license and indicate whether changes were made.
Provider names, trademarks, logos and third-party materials remain the property of their respective owners and are not licensed by ProxyBuyerGuide.