The shape of AI collection
AI datasets mean huge volumes from many sites, usually without location needs, and increasing scrutiny over methods. Price per GB, throughput and governance all matter. See AI training data proxies.
Side by side
| Rayobyte | Geonode | |
|---|---|---|
| Open sources | Rotating datacenter, about 1 cent/GB on monthly plans | Rotating datacenter per GB |
| Untargeted residential at volume | Scale Residential, $0.015 to $0.0095/GB, concurrency per dollar | Unlimited residential by port speed, from about $1,800/mo |
| Content-ready output | HTML from the Scraping API | HTML or Markdown from the Scraper API; Crawl API |
| Governance | Compliance review, EWDCI certification | Published policies |
At the time of writing.
Volume economics
For untargeted residential crawling, Rayobyte's Scale Residential is extremely cheap: $1,500 a month includes 136,000 GB and 1,500 concurrent requests. Geonode's unlimited plans include targeting and are priced by throughput. If you don't need locations, Scale Residential usually wins on price. See high-volume residential compared.
Pipeline convenience
Geonode's Crawl and Scraper APIs can return Markdown, which drops straight into text pipelines and saves conversion and tokens. Rayobyte's tools return HTML; you'd convert it yourself, which is easy but one more step.
Residential tip: Many teams end up using more than one provider: Rayobyte for ZIP and ASN targeted residential traffic or its Scraping API, Geonode for non-expiring per-GB bandwidth and long sticky sessions. Start with Rayobyte for AI training data.
Governance
Rayobyte's compliance review for Scale Residential documents that your collection was vetted, and its EWDCI certification supports provenance claims. Whichever you choose, respect opt-outs, avoid unnecessary personal data and keep provenance records. See Rayobyte for AI training data and Geonode for AI training data.
Which to choose
| Situation | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Massive untargeted crawl | Rayobyte Scale Residential |
| Targeted multi-market corpus | Geonode unlimited, or Rayobyte Premium at enterprise rates |
| Text pipeline wanting Markdown | Geonode APIs |
| Documented vetting | Rayobyte |
With Webshare: AI training data across all three.
A real-world example
An AI lab assembles a multilingual corpus from public websites. Untargeted English-language crawling, about 60 TB over a quarter, runs on Rayobyte Scale Residential and rotating datacenter after a compliance review. Local-language sources in 18 countries, which need the right country to see local content, use Geonode residential, and documentation sites are collected through Geonode's Crawl API with Markdown output, which drops straight into the text pipeline.
Proxy tip: To test the Geonode side of this comparison, a small residential balance from Geonode is enough, and it doesn't expire if you pause. See Geonode for AI training data for its full product range.
Pros and cons for AI data
Rayobyte
- Scale Residential at around a cent per GB.
- Compliance review and certification for governance records.
- HTML output only.
Geonode
- Markdown output and Crawl API.
- Targeted unlimited plans.
- Higher cost for untargeted bulk.
Before you commit to any provider, it helps to see the wider market: our guide to the best proxies in 2026 compares proxy types by job, and cheap proxies explains how to keep costs down without buying IPs that get blocked. To understand the IP type behind this, read our residential proxies guide.
Budget tip: If you want a cheap proxy to try this with, Webshare has a free plan with 10 datacenter proxies and 1 GB of bandwidth a month, no card required. Paid lists let you pick proxy count, bandwidth and location. See Webshare for AI training data.
Key takeaways
- Rayobyte's Scale Residential is the cheapest untargeted residential option.
- Geonode's APIs return Markdown and its unlimited plans include targeting.
- Governance matters: Rayobyte's review and certification help document methods.
- Use datacenter for open sources on either.
FAQ
Which is cheapest for AI crawling?
For untargeted residential, Rayobyte Scale Residential. For open sources, datacenter on either.
Can I get Markdown output?
From Geonode's APIs at the time of writing. Convert Rayobyte's HTML with a library.
Do I need a compliance review?
For Rayobyte Scale Residential, yes.
Sources and further reading
Independent references that back up the points above, from standards bodies, governments, universities and non-profits. They open in a new tab.
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) (EUR-Lex, European Union): The full text of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation.
- Data Provenance Initiative (Data Provenance Initiative): Research auditing the licences and sources of AI training datasets.
- Common Crawl (Common Crawl Foundation): The open web crawl that many AI training datasets are built from.
- Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act) (EUR-Lex, European Union): The EU AI Act, which sets obligations around AI training data.
- AI Risk Management Framework (NIST): NIST's framework for managing AI risks, including data provenance.
Editorial note: Proxy providers change their pools, features and prices often, so treat any figures here as typical ranges at the time of writing and confirm current terms with the provider before you buy.