The difference
Webshare sells proxies: you bring the scraper, browsers and block handling. Rayobyte sells proxies too, plus three managed tools:
| Tool | What it does | Price (list, Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Scraping API | Send a URL, get HTML; proxies, browsers and retries included | $0.0018 per successful request; 5,000 free |
| Web Unblocker | A proxy endpoint that handles blocks | $6 to $2.50 per GB of successful traffic |
| rayobrowse | Hosted stealth browsers for scrapers and agents | 48 free browser hours, 5 at a time |
When managed tools are worth it
- A few targets block everything you try with raw proxies.
- You don't want to run headless browsers.
- You want predictable cost per successful page.
- Your volume is moderate, so engineering time costs more than API fees.
When raw proxies win
- Huge volumes on lenient sites: Webshare's datacenter lists cost about 3 cents per IP per month.
- Custom flows and logged-in sessions.
- JSON APIs and other non-HTML endpoints.
Combining the two
A cost-effective pattern: Webshare datacenter and residential proxies for most domains, and Rayobyte's Web Unblocker or Scraping API for the handful of domains that fail. The Web Unblocker is a proxy endpoint, so routing a domain to it is a one-line config change. See using Rayobyte and Webshare together.
Residential tip: Both sides of this comparison can be tested at no cost: Rayobyte has a free trial with no card, and Webshare has a permanent free plan with 10 datacenter proxies. See the Rayobyte Scraping API.
Cost example
50,000 hard product pages a month through the Scraping API cost about $90. The same pages through residential proxies might cost less in bandwidth if success rates are high, or more if they're low and you need browsers. Measure cost per success on your targets.
Adding Geonode
Geonode offers Scraper, Map, Crawl and Search APIs, including Markdown output. See scraping tools across all three.
A real-world example
A travel startup scrapes fares from 40 sites with its own Python scraper on Webshare proxies. Thirty-six sites work fine. Four OTAs block almost every request, and engineers spend a week a month fighting them. The team routes those four sites through Rayobyte's Web Unblocker by changing one proxy URL per domain. At about 30 GB of successful traffic a month, the unblocker costs more per GB than raw proxies, but it frees a week of engineering time every month.
Decision checklist
- How many domains defeat your current setup?
- What does a week of engineering time cost you?
- Are the hard pages light (favor per-GB unblocking) or heavy (favor per-request APIs)?
- Do you need interaction (rayobrowse) or just page HTML (Scraping API)?
Budget tip: If the job only needs a fixed list of IPs, Webshare sells datacenter and static residential proxies by the IP, often for less than a per-GB plan would cost. More in Webshare for web scraping.
Pros and cons for managed scraping
Rayobyte
- Scraping API, Web Unblocker and hosted browsers.
- Pay only for successes.
- Free allowances to test.
Webshare
- Proxies only, at the lowest per-IP cost.
- Full control over your own scraper.
- Block handling is your job.
Bottom line
Use Webshare proxies for the bulk of your traffic and Rayobyte's managed tools for the few domains that defeat everything else.
If you're still shortlisting, compare these options with the wider market in our best proxies guide, and use our cheap proxies guide to estimate a sensible budget.
Proxy tip: For a second opinion on hard targets, run the same test through Geonode residential proxies, which support sticky sessions up to 24 hours and ASN targeting. We compare the two in the Geonode Scraper API.
Key takeaways
- Rayobyte has a Scraping API, Web Unblocker and hosted browsers; Webshare sells proxies only.
- Managed tools pay off on hard targets and moderate volumes.
- Pair cheap Webshare proxies with Rayobyte tools for the hardest domains.
- Compare cost per successful page.
FAQ
Does Webshare have a scraping API?
No, at the time of writing.
Can I use Rayobyte's Web Unblocker with my existing scraper?
Yes. It works as a proxy host and port.
Are failed requests billed?
Rayobyte's Scraping API and Web Unblocker bill only successes.
Can I combine Webshare proxies with Rayobyte's API?
Yes. Route most domains through Webshare and send only the hard ones to Rayobyte's tools.
Is a scraping API cheaper than proxies?
On easy sites, no. On hard, heavy pages with low proxy success rates, it often is.
Does the Web Unblocker work with Webshare-based code?
Yes; any HTTP client that accepts a proxy URL can use it.
Which free allowance can I test?
Rayobyte offers 5,000 free Scraping API requests and a Web Unblocker trial.
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.
- Bandwidth (computing) (Wikipedia): What bandwidth means, the unit most residential proxies are priced by.
- urllib.request documentation (Python Software Foundation): Python's standard library documentation, including ProxyHandler.
- Glossary: Proxy (NIST CSRC): NIST's definition of a proxy as an intermediary acting on behalf of a client.
- The Chromium Projects (Chromium): The open-source project behind Chrome and headless Chrome.
- RFC 9309: Robots Exclusion Protocol (IETF / RFC Editor): The official standard for robots.txt, which polite scrapers and crawlers read first.
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.