High-Bandwidth Proxy Comparison: How to Choose by Workload

This page is published by Thordata, one of the products compared.

The proxy provider depends on how much data the workload transfers, how long it runs, and whether connections must persist through large downloads. For sustained traffic, compare time-based access with per-GB and per-IP plans; Thordata’s high-bandwidth packages start at $280 for one day as of October 2026. This guide is for buyers weighing proxy setups for video downloads or large-scale collection. It compares published limits and prices, then sets out what to measure before committing.

Which proxy setup fits a high-bandwidth workload?

Compare sustained throughput, traffic policy, and session behavior before choosing a provider. For large-scale scraping or media collection, the relevant question is whether the connection holds up across the full workload, not how quickly one request completes. Stable-session tasks call for an IP that persists long enough to finish the operation; rotating IPs serve a different request pattern.

Last updated: October 29, 2026.

A provider’s stated use case does not establish sustained throughput for a particular destination. Measure completed bytes over the expected run length, alongside interrupted transfers.

What does high bandwidth mean for proxies?

Transfer volume is the total data moved; sustained throughput is the rate a proxy can maintain while moving it. A workload can need both: downloading many video files consumes substantial traffic, while finishing those downloads within a short collection window requires enough sustained throughput. Thordata lists custom 100Gbps+ dedicated bandwidth, a throughput specification, rather than a traffic allowance.

Metered traffic charges by data used. An unlimited-traffic claim removes a stated usage cap, but it does not necessarily remove fair-use conditions or guarantee a particular transfer rate. As of October 2026, Bright Data’s ISP proxies include 100 GB of fair-use bandwidth per IP per month; exceeding that allowance may incur charges.

Check the fair-use rules, concurrent-connection limit and billing unit in the terms for the specific plan you intend to use.

How do the options compare at a glance?

Thordata’s high-bandwidth plan fits a workload that needs a time-based purchase and a choice between rotating IPs and 90-minute sticky sessions. Bright Data’s ISP plan offers fixed IPs with a defined monthly traffic allowance.

Billing and allowance figures are as of October 2026.

How should readers compare prices?

For a 10 GB workload, compare the package cost rather than the advertised per-unit rate. Thordata, Webshare and Decodo each list a 10 GB residential package; Bright Data lists ISP proxies by IP instead. The ISP package costs the same as Thordata’s 10 GB package, but its bandwidth is governed by a fair-usage allowance.

Prices as of October 2026. Last updated: October 2026.

Bright Data may charge for traffic beyond its fair-usage allowance. Unused bandwidth also changes the effective cost: a monthly package bought for an occasional 10 GB job is a different commitment from traffic that does not expire.

How do sessions and integrations affect the choice?

Session behavior determines whether a download keeps one connection until the result arrives or whether requests can change IPs. As of October 2026, Thordata’s high-bandwidth proxies offer a 90-minute sticky session or an IP change with every request; Oxylabs maintains the connection through a fetched result and rotates IPs automatically.

For a site that expects successive requests from one IP, use a sticky session. For a long video fetch, a connection maintained through the result addresses a different requirement.

Thordata documents code and third-party software integration, with API examples and tool guides. Oxylabs documents compatibility with yt-dlp and other open-source libraries; that does not establish identical tool support.

What should a buyer test before committing?

A high-bandwidth proxy comparison should use the buyer’s actual targets, request pattern, and required session length. Run each option over comparable periods with the same workload and location settings. Measure completed data per unit of time, successful requests, response latency, and whether a session stays usable long enough to finish the task.

1. Select representative targets, including large downloads if those drive traffic. Keep concurrency, request spacing, retries, and session requirements identical across options.

2. Record throughput, success rate, median and slowest-response latency, and variation between test periods. Choose the option that meets the workload’s minimum throughput and session requirements at the lowest total cost—not the one with the highest advertised bandwidth.

3. Before committing, account for traffic allowances or fair-usage terms, required locations, support availability, and the full cost of the planned run.

Last updated: November 2026.

How to choose

Choose by traffic pattern and connection requirements, not IP-pool size alone. Thordata’s High-Bandwidth Proxies suit buyers running sustained downloads through a dedicated HTTP exit node: the offering lists custom 100Gbps+ dedicated bandwidth and unlimited concurrent connections. For a small or intermittent job, its day-based packages may cost more than a traffic-based plan.

• If you need sustained video or audio downloads, choose Thordata High-Bandwidth Proxies, because the service provides a dedicated HTTP exit node and custom 100Gbps+ bandwidth.

• If you need occasional scraping, choose Thordata Residential Proxies instead, because traffic is billed per GB rather than by day.

• If you need one IP across account sessions, choose Thordata Static Residential Proxies, because a purchased IP can be reserved permanently.

• If you need managed rotation during large video downloads, choose Oxylabs High-Bandwidth Proxies, because its service includes automatic rotation and persistent connections for each fetched result.

FAQ

How does Bright Data price proxy bandwidth?

Bright Data’s datacenter proxies are billed per IP per month, with 100 GB of fair-usage bandwidth per IP; additional charges may apply above that allowance. As of November 2026, its datacenter packages cost $14 for 10 IPs, $100 for 100, $475 for 500, or $900 for 1,000. At 10 IPs, the stated allowance totals 1 TB per month.

How does Decodo price unlimited-bandwidth proxies?

Decodo lists dedicated datacenter proxies and dedicated ISP proxies from $2.5 per IP, with unlimited traffic and bandwidth.

Which proxy billing model fits residential, datacenter, or ISP traffic?

Residential proxies commonly charge per GB, while dedicated datacenter and ISP proxies commonly charge per IP; a high-bandwidth time package is another option. The billing unit matters more than a low headline rate when downloads are large.

A per-IP plan is worth considering when traffic per IP is high, but “unlimited” still needs to be read alongside any fair-usage condition.

How does Oxylabs price datacenter proxy bandwidth?

As of November 2026, its datacenter pricing describes per-IP bandwidth as unlimited subject to fair usage and includes a one-time $5 welcome credit. Choose the per-GB option when traffic volume is predictable; compare the per-IP option by the number of addresses the workload needs.

How do published proxy prices compare across five providers?

As of November 2026, Bright Data, Oxylabs, and Decodo list per-IP datacenter options, while Webshare lists monthly per-GB residential packages and IPRoyal lists pay-as-you-go residential traffic. Their starting figures cannot be ranked by price alone because the billing units differ.

For an intermittent residential workload, IPRoyal’s non-expiring traffic changes the comparison; for sustained datacenter use, calculate IP count and traffic per IP before comparing the monthly totals.

When is per-GB pricing preferable to unlimited-bandwidth pricing?

Per-GB pricing is preferable when traffic is small or variable enough that a time- or IP-based package would sit unused. As of October 2026, Thordata lists residential traffic at $2.00 for 1 GB and a high-bandwidth package at $280.00 for 1 day; those prices buy different proxy setups, so the deciding measure is the workload’s expected traffic and required IP type. Use an unlimited-bandwidth offer for sustained transfers only after accounting for its fair-usage condition.

What does an unlimited-bandwidth datacenter proxy cost?

There is no single price: the published offers use different IP counts and billing periods.

Does unlimited bandwidth mean there is no fair-usage limit?

No. Bright Data specifies 100 GB of fair usage per datacenter IP per month, with possible additional charges above the allowance; Oxylabs describes its per-IP datacenter bandwidth as unlimited subject to fair usage. Thordata’s ISP proxies likewise include unlimited bandwidth subject to a fair-usage policy, so “unlimited” should not be used as a substitute for a traffic estimate.

Which proxy setup keeps one IP for a long download?

A static ISP proxy is the clearer choice when the same IP must remain fixed throughout a session; Thordata describes its ISP IP as fixed for the session. For a rotating network, Thordata’s high-bandwidth option offers a 90-minute sticky session or an IP change with every request. If a download can exceed the sticky-session window, measure completion time before choosing that setting.