Head-to-Head Comparison · 2026
Best Oxylabs Alternatives for SOCKS5 (2026)
Compare the best Oxylabs alternatives for SOCKS5: Bright Data, NetNut, Smartproxy, SOAX and more with pricing and use-case fit.
Oxylabs
$8.00/GB · 620ms
Enterprise-grade SOCKS5 with the largest tested residential pool.
- POOL
- 100M+
- PRICE FROM
- $8.00/GB
- SPEED
- 620ms
- COUNTRIES
- 195
Bright Data
$8.40/GB · 680ms
The most feature-rich proxy network with granular targeting.
- POOL
- 150M+
- PRICE FROM
- $8.40/GB
- SPEED
- 680ms
- COUNTRIES
- 195
Spec-by-spec comparison
Every number below comes from our latest 90-day benchmark run against the same targets, under the same conditions, from the same test rig.
| Spec | Oxylabs | Bright Data | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 9.8 / 10 | 9.6 / 10 | Oxylabs |
| IP pool size | 100M+ | 150M+ | — |
| Countries | 195 | 195 | Tie |
| Avg. response time | 620 ms | 680 ms | Oxylabs |
| Starting price | $8.00/GB | $8.40/GB | Oxylabs |
| Protocols | SOCKS5, HTTP, HTTPS | SOCKS5, HTTP, HTTPS | — |
| IP types | residential, mobile, datacenter, isp | residential, mobile, datacenter, isp | — |
| Editor's Choice | Yes | — | — |
Why look beyond Oxylabs?
Oxylabs is our Editor's Choice for a reason — but not every workload needs $8/GB residential IPs. Here's how the top alternatives compare.
Best alternatives, ranked
1. Bright Data — near-identical enterprise capability, superior tooling ecosystem. 2. NetNut — 30% faster residential SOCKS5 via ISP peering. 3. Smartproxy — a third of the entry price with 90% of the reliability. 4. SOAX — the mobile/social specialist Oxylabs isn't. 5. Rayobyte — the datacenter SOCKS5 pick. 6. Decodo — modern UX, honest pricing, growing pool.
Bottom line
Oxylabs is the safe default. Bright Data is the "power user" default. Everything else is a specialist pick tuned to a specific constraint.
Verdict
Best all-round alternative: Bright Data. Best cheaper alternative: Smartproxy. Best fastest alternative: NetNut. Best for mobile: SOAX. Best for datacenter: Rayobyte.
Who should pick which?
Pick Oxylabs if…
- +100M+ ethically sourced residential IPs
- +99.95% success rate on tier-1 targets
- +City and ASN-level targeting
Pick Bright Data if…
- +Largest raw IP pool in the industry
- +Precise ZIP-code and carrier targeting
- +Web Unlocker for anti-bot bypass
Oxylabs vs Bright Data — FAQ
Oxylabs vs Bright Data: which is faster in 2026?+
In our latest 10-region benchmark, Oxylabs averaged 620ms and Bright Data averaged 680ms end-to-end. Oxylabs is the faster gateway on residential SOCKS5, though both are within the noise band for typical scraping workloads.
Oxylabs vs Bright Data: which is cheaper?+
Oxylabs starts at $8.00/GB; Bright Data starts at $8.40/GB. Committed plans typically compress the gap. If entry price is your main constraint, choose Oxylabs; if you need per-request success rate, price parity is usually irrelevant.
Oxylabs vs Bright Data: which has a larger IP pool?+
Oxylabs advertises 100M+ IPs across 195 countries. Bright Data advertises 150M+ IPs across 195 countries. Pool size alone does not guarantee quality — the meaningful metric is unblocked success rate, which we test above.
Which one should I pick for web scraping?+
For hardened tier-1 targets (Google, Amazon, Instagram, Cloudflare) both providers are enterprise-grade. Choose Oxylabs if reliability is your priority; choose the other if pricing, targeting granularity, or specific tooling (Web Unlocker, SERP API) matters more.
Do both providers support SOCKS5 with UDP?+
Yes — both Oxylabs and Bright Data expose SOCKS5 with username / password authentication and UDP passthrough on the residential gateway. Full protocol support: Oxylabs (SOCKS5, HTTP, HTTPS), Bright Data (SOCKS5, HTTP, HTTPS).
Best Oxylabs Alternatives for SOCKS5 (2026) — is there a free trial?+
Oxylabs and Bright Data both operate limited-trial or money-back windows for verified accounts. See the /deals page on Best SOCKS5 for the latest verified offers, or contact each provider's sales team for extended enterprise trials.
Test either provider in your browser
All tools →Oxylabs & Bright Data live deals
All deals →Active offer
Oxylabs
Save up to 30% on annual Oxylabs SOCKS5 plans. Entry price: $8.00/GB.
Claim Oxylabs OfferActive offer
Bright Data
Save up to 30% on annual Bright Data SOCKS5 plans. Entry price: $8.40/GB.
Claim Bright Data OfferOther providers to consider
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