Best Residential Proxies: ProxyEmpire, Oxylabs, Decodo, Bright Data Residential Pricing, Official Plans Compared

You've narrowed your residential proxy search to four well-known names, opened their pricing pages side by side, and found four different billing models: a rollover balance, a dollar subscription spent across products, a GB subscription with a separate wallet, and monthly commitments with a promo code. This guide reads those official price sheets for you and explains what each one means for your budget, including the rules on trials, refunds and unused traffic that rarely make the headline.

Provider	Pay as you go	Smallest monthly option	Top published rate	Unused traffic
ProxyEmpire	$3.50/GB (list $7, code EMPIRE50)	7 GB for $20/mo	From $0.75/GB on custom 1 TB+	Rolls over, never expires
Oxylabs	Not shown	Starter at $30/mo	$2.50/GB at 1K+ GB	Not stated
Decodo	$4/GB via Wallet	3 GB for $11.25	$2/GB at 1 TB (enterprise)	Not stated
Bright Data	$4/GB with code RESIGB50 (list $8)	141 GB for $499	1 TB+ custom	Commitments do not roll over

The Price Sheets, Read for You

ProxyEmpire (best for residential bandwidth that never expires)

ProxyEmpire's price sheet starts from a $7 list price per GB, halved to $3.50 with the EMPIRE50 code for pay as you go. If you'd rather commit, monthly residential tiers begin with 7 GB for $20 and climb to 1,000 GB for $1,500, where the published rate is $1.50 per GB. Custom volumes above 1 TB start from $0.75 per GB.

What makes those numbers go further is the rule behind them: unused GB on GB-based plans roll over and never expire, and there are no contracts. You can buy a tier sized for your busiest month without losing what you don't use in a quiet one. Targeting down to city, ZIP, ISP and ASN is included in every rate, and the same account covers mobile, ISP and datacenter if you need them later.

There's one firm condition. All sales are final, with no money-back guarantee, so use the $1.97 trial first. It gives you 100 MB of rotating residential and 50 MB of rotating mobile and doesn't convert into a plan.

Oxylabs

Oxylabs sells one subscription that you spend across all its products, including proxies, scraping APIs, an unblocker and an agent browser. Plans are Starter at $30 a month, Basic at $100, Flexible at $500 and Enterprise from $2,500, and VAT may apply.

Residential is priced per GB by tier: $6 up to 5 GB, $5 up to 20 GB, $4 up to 125 GB and $2.50 from 1K GB. Free geo targeting, unlimited concurrent sessions and 3 proxy users come with residential access. Because the subscription is shared, money not spent on proxies can go toward the Web API or unblocker in the same month.

No pay-as-you-go tier appears on the official pages, so you'll start with a subscription. A $5 welcome credit lets you test first. Refund terms weren't rendered on the pages reviewed.

Decodo (formerly Smartproxy)

Decodo runs two separate billing paths. Monthly residential subscriptions start at 3 GB for $11.25 ($3.75 per GB) and reach 100 GB for $275 ($2.75 per GB), with enterprise plans from 250 GB at $2.50 per GB to 1 TB at $2 per GB. VAT is added on top.

Alternatively, you can pay as you go through a Wallet at $4 per GB, one GB at a time. You can't run the Wallet and a subscription together, so pick one path. Every plan, small or large, reaches the full 115M+ residential pool, and targeting down to ZIP and ASN costs nothing extra.

A free 3-day trial gives 100 MB of residential traffic and converts to your chosen plan unless cancelled. First purchases qualify for a 14-day refund if you've used under 20% of traffic and skipped the trial.

Bright Data

Bright Data lists residential pay as you go at $8 per GB, or $4 with the RESIGB50 code, a 50% discount for 3 months. Monthly plans come in three published sizes: 141 GB for $499, 332 GB for $999 and 798 GB for $1,999, with custom pricing from 1 TB.

The key rule is that unused monthly commitments don't roll over, so size your plan carefully against the traffic you're sure to use. A free trial needs no credit card, and your first deposit is matched up to $500.

Before using residential IPs, you'll complete a KYC process that may include a video call. Targeting by country, state, city, ZIP and ASN is free, and the network spans 400M+ monthly residential IPs across 195 countries, according to the company.

Free and Paid Ways In

None of these four gives away ongoing residential traffic, but three offer a free way in. Decodo's trial is free for 3 days and 100 MB, though it converts automatically. Bright Data's trial needs no card. Oxylabs gives a $5 credit toward any product.

ProxyEmpire's entry point is paid at $1.97, which the company says filters out abusers. In return, it covers both residential and mobile traffic and ends without a subscription. If you only need residential, a free trial is enough; if you might need mobile, the paid trial saves a second round of testing.

Pricing Compared

At the entry level, Decodo's Wallet and Bright Data's coded rate both sit at $4 per GB, ProxyEmpire's coded pay-as-you-go rate is $3.50 per GB, and Oxylabs starts at $6 per GB inside a $30 subscription.

At volume, the published rates run $2.50 per GB at Oxylabs from 1K GB, $2 per GB at Decodo for 1 TB, $1.50 per GB on ProxyEmpire's 1,000 GB tier and from $0.75 per GB on its custom 1 TB+ volumes. Bright Data quotes custom pricing from 1 TB.

The bigger difference is what happens to unused traffic. ProxyEmpire states that GB roll over and never expire; Bright Data states that commitments don't carry over, and Oxylabs and Decodo don't state a rollover policy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which plan suits a small first purchase?

Decodo's 3 GB plan at $11.25 is the smallest monthly subscription here. ProxyEmpire's 7 GB tier costs $20 a month, or you can buy single gigabytes at $3.50 with its code and keep whatever you don't use.

Do these providers charge VAT?

Oxylabs says VAT may apply, and Decodo adds VAT on top of its listed prices. The other two don't mention VAT on the pages reviewed.

Which provider offers a free residential trial?

Decodo offers a free 3-day trial with 100 MB, and Bright Data offers a free trial without a credit card. ProxyEmpire's trial costs $1.97 and includes mobile traffic.

Can I pay as you go?

Yes, with ProxyEmpire ($3.50 per GB with code), Decodo ($4 per GB via Wallet) and Bright Data ($4 per GB with code). Oxylabs shows subscriptions only.

What happens to unused residential GB?

ProxyEmpire's roll over and never expire. Bright Data's unused monthly commitments don't roll over. Oxylabs and Decodo don't state a policy on the pages reviewed.

Which offers refunds?

Decodo offers a conditional 14-day refund on first purchases. ProxyEmpire's sales are final. Oxylabs' refund terms weren't rendered, and Bright Data's weren't covered on the pages reviewed.

Conclusion

On official pricing alone, all four are competitive at different volumes. ProxyEmpire stands out for buyers whose usage varies, with a $3.50 coded pay-as-you-go rate, monthly tiers down to $1.50 per GB, custom volumes from $0.75 per GB and GB that never expire. Oxylabs suits teams using its scraping tools, Decodo suits buyers who want a free trial and a small first plan, and Bright Data suits enterprises sizing steady monthly commitments. Whichever you choose, compare the plan you'd actually buy rather than the lowest rate on the page.