On this page
- Verdict
- Side-by-side comparison
- About ProxyScrape
- About Shifter
- Pricing compared
- Performance compared
- Pool & coverage
- Features face-off
- Trials & support
- Where ProxyScrape wins
- Where Shifter wins
- ProxyScrape pros & cons
- Shifter pros & cons
- Consider the alternative
- Switching between them
- Comparison FAQ
- Related comparisons
- Full reviews
- Related searches
- Make the call
Verdict
ProxyScrape wins this matchup. It ranks #13 to Shifter’s #14 in our weighted benchmark, pairing free lists plus very cheap premium with a lower entry price. Shifter still makes sense where unlimited bandwidth on port plans is the deciding factor.
Side-by-side comparison
| Criterion | ProxyScrape | Shifter |
|---|---|---|
| Our rank | #13 of 15 | #14 of 15 |
| Rating | 3.9/5 | 3.8/5 |
| Entry price | $0.84/GB | ~$1.25/GB eq. |
| IP pool | 10M+ | 31M+ |
| Success rate | 94.5% | 93.8% |
| Proxy types | 3 | 2 |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| City targeting | Country-level | Country-level |
| Support | Tickets & community | Tickets |
About ProxyScrape
ProxyScrape is the gateway drug of the proxy world, where free public lists funnel hobbyists toward genuinely cheap premium plans.
Scraping at any real volume usually means running your scripts on a server rather than a laptop. If you would rather not manage servers yourself, the managed hosting at hostingally.com handles updates and security.
Keep reading: Rayobyte vs ProxyScrape: 2026 Comparison, SOAX vs ProxyScrape: 2026 Comparison and Webshare vs ProxyScrape: 2026 Comparison.
Known first for its free proxy lists, it added paid residential and datacenter tiers that keep the same low-friction, low-cost ethos.
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: $0.84/GB (ProxyScrape) versus ~$1.25/GB eq. (Shifter). Factor retries at 94.5% and 93.8% success and the cheaper option compounds its advantage — always run both through a pilot before committing volume.
Performance compared
Speed indexes land at 74 (ProxyScrape) vs 70 (Shifter) in our 100-point scale; pools of 10M+ and 31M+ respectively shape how each absorbs concurrency. For sustained high-volume work, ProxyScrape has the steadier ceiling.
Pool & coverage
Coverage: 10M+ (ProxyScrape) vs 31M+ (Shifter). For geo-sensitive work note that city targeting is limited on both.
Features face-off
ProxyScrape: Fast, simple checkout; Good for hobby automation.
Shifter: Large legacy IP network; Built for heavy rotation.
Trials & support
ProxyScrape support: Tickets & community; 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 ProxyScrape wins
- Good for hobby automation.
- Free lists plus very cheap premium.
- Fast, simple checkout.
Where Shifter wins
- Unlimited bandwidth on port plans.
- Built for heavy rotation.
- You are rotation-heavy tasks priced by port rather than data.
ProxyScrape pros & cons
- ✅ Free lists plus very cheap premium
- ✅ Fast, simple checkout
- ✅ Good for hobby automation
- ⚠️ Free lists are unreliable by nature
- ⚠️ Basic targeting and support
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
Worth knowing: neither side of this duel tops our table. Cheapest Proxies does, at $0.80/GB with all four proxy types and a free trial — often the smarter third option.
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
Is ProxyScrape cheaper than Shifter?
Entry pricing: $0.84/GB vs ~$1.25/GB eq.. Yes on stickers — but compare cost per successful request after a pilot on your own targets.
Which is better, ProxyScrape or Shifter?
ProxyScrape wins our weighted benchmark (#13 vs #14), combining free lists plus very cheap premium with stronger value scores. Shifter remains the right call when rotation-heavy tasks priced by port rather than data matches your situation.
Which has the bigger pool, ProxyScrape or Shifter?
Shifter — 31M+ versus 10M+. Pool size matters most for high-concurrency rotation.
Do ProxyScrape and Shifter offer free trials?
ProxyScrape: yes. Shifter: no. Trials are the cheapest way to settle this comparison for your specific workload.
Can I use both ProxyScrape 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.
Full reviews
Deep-dive both sides: ProxyScrape review · Shifter review — or browse all 15 provider reviews.
Related searches
Make the call
Stop overpaying for IPs — start today
Cheapest Proxies pairs a 99.4% measured success rate with the lowest blended per-GB cost in our benchmarks — with a free trial to prove it on your own targets.