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This proxy provider I tested is the best for web scraping - and it's not IPRoyal or MarsProxies

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ZDNET's key takeaways Proxy service platform Oxylabs offers an enormous pool of ethically-sourced residential proxies, meaning you're likely to get good quality data without pushback from the sites you're visiting.

Oxylabs' mix of API and AI made it easy for us to run test calls, and should provide a solid foundation for scraping apps.

Oxylabs has excellent documentation and videos, which should help you get up and running with their tools

It's a straightforward process. View now at Oxylabs

Oxylabs provides a range of web scraping and related services. These include operating proxy machines, providing developer APIs for accessing and making requests through those machines, and providing supporting services (including a scraping-aware AI) for parsing retrieved data in order to use it in applications.

Enormous proxy pools

Compared to other proxy services like IPRoyal or MarsProxies, Oxylabs offers a much larger pool of residential proxy machines. MarsProxies reports just a million machines in its proxy pool, IPRoyal reports having a pool of 32 million residential machines, while Oxylabs offers more than 175 million residential proxies across 195 countries.

When it comes to uninterrupted scraping operations, the more available machines, the less any one machine will be flagged as intrusive by site operators. This both reduces the load on the sites, and increases the likelihood that scraping operations will succeed.

One thing stuck in my mind reviewing this information: How, exactly, does a company like Oxylabs gain access to 175 million machines, especially since they say they do so ethically? Oxylabs provides a must-read report that discusses their procurement processes and policies.

Also: The best proxy server services: Expert recommended

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