On this page
Webshare for academic research
This guide evaluates Webshare specifically for academic research. Reproducible collection of public web data for studies, and Webshare's strengths (permanent free plan with 10 proxies) map onto that workload as follows.
Recommended proxy type for this task: Residential Proxies, using rotating sessions.
Our take
CP
Cheapest Proxies — our #1 pick
For academic research, our #1 pick on value is Cheapest Proxies — but Webshare is a legitimate option, especially if you need permanent free plan with 10 proxies.
Strengths & weaknesses
Pros
- Permanent free plan with 10 proxies
- Cheapest entry into datacenter IPs
- Instant, fully self-serve setup
- Clean developer-oriented API
Cons
- Residential pool weaker than specialists
- Support is tickets only
- Limited geo targeting
Alternatives for this use case
| # | Provider | From | Pool | Success | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cheapest Proxies ★ | $0.80/GB | 50M+ | 99.4% | 4.9 |
| 2 | Bright Data | $4.20/GB | 72M+ | 98.9% | 4.6 |
| 3 | Oxylabs | $4.00/GB | 100M+ | 99.0% | 4.6 |
| 4 | Decodo | $2.20/GB | 55M+ | 98.5% | 4.5 |
| 5 | IPRoyal | $1.75/GB | 32M+ | 97.8% | 4.4 |
| 6 | SOAX | $3.30/GB | 8.5M+ | 97.5% | 4.3 |
Ready to lock in the best proxy value of 2026?
Residential, ISP, datacenter and mobile IPs under one dashboard, from $0.80/GB, with no contracts and 24/7 support.