Proxies for Web Scraping: Tips on How to Reduce Costs

If you’re a web scraper, you probably know that using proxies for web scraping helps you keep costs down. But what if you don’t know where to start?
That’s where we come in. We’ve put together this guide on how to choose the right proxy provider for your needs and reduce costs when web scraping.

Why do you need proxies for web scraping?

Web scraping is all about crawling websites to get their data. You should use a proxy because if you don’t, the website will block your IP address and you won’t be able to get to their site. Proxy servers are hosted by third parties, and they act as a link between your computer and the website you want to visit. They let you hide your IP address, so it looks like you’re going to the site through them instead of straight from your computer. This lets you crawl hundreds or thousands of different websites without getting blocked by any of them. 

How should you choose a good proxy provider? 

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all advice for picking a good proxy provider, since each project has its own needs. In general, though, keep in mind the following: 

Speed

Make sure your proxy provider offers fast speeds at an affordable price! Slow speeds mean longer wait times between each request which means more money spent on the proxy service. 

Technology

Make sure that your proxy provider supports the technologies you need! If you’re crawling websites with a Python script, make sure your proxy provider supports Python. If they don’t, Python scripts won’t be able to crawl websites through their proxies. 

Security

Make sure that your proxy provider offers connections that are safe. If you use a VPN or SSH tunnel to connect to the internet, make sure your proxy provider supports these technologies. 

Price

Price is always important, but for proxies, it’s even more important. You want to find a service with fast speeds, good technology, and a price you can afford. 

User Experience

The user experience is what matters most. If you’re using proxies to access websites and apps that are blocked in your country, the proxy provider’s website needs to be easy to use so that you can change your IP address when you need to. 

How to reduce the cost of web scraping with proxies? 

There are now a lot of companies that offer web scraping services at prices that are very competitive. The problem with these services is that you usually have to pay for them. This means that you have to pay for their service until the end of your subscription period, even if you only use a small amount of data. 

Fortunately, there are some ways to reduce your costs when using these services: 

Start with a free trial 

Most companies let you try their service for free so you can decide if you want to pay for it or not. If the software meets your needs, sign up for an account and only pay for what you use. This will save you money. 

Use a credit card instead of PayPal 

Credit cards are often cheaper than other payment methods because merchants can charge higher fees without having to pay an extra fee themselves (as with PayPal). Whenever possible, try to use your credit card instead of PayPal. 

Find a cheaper scraper 

Some companies offer web scraping services that are significantly cheaper than others. 

Use a Proxy to reduce your bandwidth costs 

If you are paying for your bandwidth, you should try using a proxy to lower your costs. 

Use a virtual machine (VM) 

VMs are a great way to save money because you can use them to host proxies and scrape from multiple accounts at once. 

Run scrapers at night 

Many companies automatically limit bandwidth, which makes it much harder to get a large amount of data. You might want to save your most expensive account and scrape from it at night when bandwidth is cheaper. 

Conclusion

In this article, we talked about why you should use proxies for web scraping and how to cut costs when using proxies for web scraping. 

Using a proxy to access a website or service is a great way to hide your identity. If you want to start web scraping, you should think about getting a reliable proxy provider to help you with all your web scraping needs.