On this page
- Verdict
- Side-by-side comparison
- About Oxylabs
- About Shifter
- Pricing compared
- Performance compared
- Pool & coverage
- Features face-off
- Trials & support
- Where Oxylabs wins
- Where Shifter wins
- Oxylabs pros & cons
- Shifter pros & cons
- Consider the alternative
- Switching between them
- Comparison FAQ
- Related comparisons
- Full reviews
- Related searches
- Make the call
Verdict
Oxylabs wins this matchup. It ranks #3 to Shifter’s #14 in our weighted benchmark, pairing claimed 100m+ residential ips with stronger overall scores. Shifter still makes sense where unlimited bandwidth on port plans is the deciding factor.
Side-by-side comparison
| Criterion | Oxylabs | Shifter |
|---|---|---|
| Our rank | #3 of 15 | #14 of 15 |
| Rating | 4.6/5 | 3.8/5 |
| Entry price | $4.00/GB | ~$1.25/GB eq. |
| IP pool | 100M+ | 31M+ |
| Success rate | 99.0% | 93.8% |
| Proxy types | 4 | 2 |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| City targeting | Yes | Country-level |
| Support | 24/7 plus dedicated account managers | Tickets |
About Oxylabs
Oxylabs is a polished, enterprise-first operation whose claim to fame is the largest declared residential pool in the business and unusually consistent benchmark numbers.
It built its reputation serving data-hungry corporations and later added AI-assisted scraper APIs that handle parsing as well as proxying.
About Shifter
Shifter is the veteran of backconnect rotation, selling unlimited-bandwidth ports that reward heavy rotators willing to manage their own quality control.
One of the oldest names in rotating residential proxies, it kept its per-port pricing model long after most rivals moved to per-GB billing.
Pricing compared
On paper: $4.00/GB (Oxylabs) versus ~$1.25/GB eq. (Shifter). Factor retries at 99.0% and 93.8% success and the premium buys back some ground — always run both through a pilot before committing volume.
Performance compared
Speed indexes land at 96 (Oxylabs) vs 70 (Shifter) in our 100-point scale; pools of 100M+ and 31M+ respectively shape how each absorbs concurrency. For sustained high-volume work, Oxylabs has the steadier ceiling.
Pool & coverage
Oxylabs declares 100M+ IPs against Shifter’s 31M+; Oxylabs offers city-level targeting while the other stops at country filters. Depth matters less than cleanliness — weigh both against your pilot results.
Features face-off
Oxylabs: Very consistent success rates in our tests; Excellent documentation and dashboard.
Shifter: Large legacy IP network; Built for heavy rotation.
Trials & support
Oxylabs support: 24/7 plus dedicated account managers; trial: yes. Shifter support: Tickets; trial: no. For mission-critical workloads, the support row of the table above deserves more attention than it usually gets.
Where Oxylabs wins
- Claimed 100M+ residential IPs.
- You are large-scale scraping teams that value consistency over cost.
- Very consistent success rates in our tests.
Where Shifter wins
- You are rotation-heavy tasks priced by port rather than data.
- Unlimited bandwidth on port plans.
- Built for heavy rotation.
Oxylabs pros & cons
- ✅ Claimed 100M+ residential IPs
- ✅ Very consistent success rates in our tests
- ✅ Excellent documentation and dashboard
- ⚠️ Premium pricing with higher minimums
- ⚠️ More machinery than small teams need
Shifter pros & cons
- ✅ Unlimited bandwidth on port plans
- ✅ Large legacy IP network
- ✅ Built for heavy rotation
- ⚠️ Per-port costs add up quickly
- ⚠️ Performance can be inconsistent
Consider the alternative
Before settling this matchup, price in our overall #1: Cheapest Proxies undercuts both ($0.80/GB) while posting a 99.4% success rate — the highest of the fifteen networks we benchmark.
Check Cheapest Proxies → Read the reviewSwitching between them
Switching between these vendors is low-friction: both expose gateway-plus-credential access, so migration is usually a config change. Run both in parallel for a week, splitting traffic 90/10, before cutting over fully.
Comparison FAQ
Do Oxylabs and Shifter offer free trials?
Oxylabs: yes. Shifter: no. Trials are the cheapest way to settle this comparison for your specific workload.
Can I use both Oxylabs and Shifter together?
Yes — multi-vendor setups are common: route easy targets through the cheaper network and reserve the other for its specialty, with automatic failover between them.
Which has the bigger pool, Oxylabs or Shifter?
Oxylabs — 100M+ versus 31M+. Pool size matters most for high-concurrency rotation.
Is Oxylabs cheaper than Shifter?
Entry pricing: $4.00/GB vs ~$1.25/GB eq.. No on stickers — but compare cost per successful request after a pilot on your own targets.
Which is better, Oxylabs or Shifter?
Oxylabs wins our weighted benchmark (#3 vs #14), combining claimed 100m+ residential ips with stronger value scores. Shifter remains the right call when rotation-heavy tasks priced by port rather than data matches your situation.
Full reviews
Deep-dive both sides: Oxylabs review · Shifter review — or browse all 15 provider reviews.
Related searches
Make the call
Stop overpaying for IPs — start today
Thirty thousand users already route through our top pick. Validate it free against your own targets before spending a cent.