MANAGED API
Choose Bright Data if
- Teams that need both raw residential/ISP/datacenter/mobile IPs and managed access APIs
- Agents that need a hosted or self-hosted MCP tool surface
All comparisons
PROXY PROVIDER COMPARISON
Bright Datavs Firecrawl
Bright Data offers raw proxy zones, Unlocker, Browser API and selectable MCP tool groups. Firecrawl combines scrape, search, crawl and browser interaction under a web-data credit balance and official MCP tools. Choose the product that completes the task before comparing a proxy GB with page credits.
AT A GLANCE · ENTRY OFFER
- Bright DataMANAGED API $8per GB
- FirecrawlMANAGED API $19per month
- ProxyLaneRESIDENTIAL PROXIES $1.95350 MB trial
Published entry offers, reviewed 2026-09-14
QUICK VERDICT
Pick by the job,
not the logo
MANAGED API
Choose Firecrawl if
- Agents that need scrape/search/crawl tools over one shared credit balance
- Small recurring website ingestion with a published free monthly allowance
THIRD ROUTE · PROXYLANE
Choose ProxyLane if
- You can run your own fetcher and parser
- You want residential traffic instead of per-credit API pricing
- You want prepaid traffic that never expires
THREE ROUTES SIDE BY SIDE
What changes
for your workload
Compare usable output and required integration work under each API contract. Request the same permitted pages with equivalent rendering and output requirements; validate the returned fields before comparing the bill.
| Decision | Bright Data | Firecrawl | ProxyLane |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example route for this job | Bright DataWeb Unlocker API | FirecrawlScrape API (Markdown/structured output) | ProxyLaneResidential proxy gateway for your own fetcher or browser; no managed scraping API |
| Charging basis | Product-specific requests, results or credits | Product-specific requests, results or credits | Prepaid GB that never expires |
| How you pay | Proxy networks have pay-as-you-go options without monthly commitment and volume/monthly plans; residential is metered by GB, while dedicated IP products can add per-IP charges. Managed APIs and Browser API have their own usage models; verify the selected product's checkout and recharge settings. | The free tier refreshes 1,000 credits monthly. Paid plans include monthly credits, with pay-as-you-go top-ups in $5 increments under a configurable limit. Basic scrape/crawl/map costs one credit per page; search costs two per ten results, browser Interact two per minute, and structured formats can add credits. Included-credit rollover depends on plan. | 350 MB trial for $1.95, then prepaid packages from $6.50/GB for 1 GB down to $2.50/GB for 1 TB. Unused traffic never expires. |
| Integration work | Create a proxy zone and use its gateway credentials for raw traffic, or call the managed API. Bright Data documents hosted and self-hosted MCP servers with selectable tool groups for agent clients. | Send authorized requests to Firecrawl's Scrape/Crawl/Search endpoints or configure the official MCP server with an API key via the hosted URL or local FIRECRAWL_API_KEY environment variable. Choose basic Markdown or higher-credit structured/browser modes per job. | HTTP(S) and SOCKS5 endpoints on three regional gateways: Europe, the Americas and Asia. Export proxy lists in 8 formats for scripts, scrapers and antidetect browsers. |
| A small or irregular job | Start with the matching pay-as-you-go proxy or API meter; check auto-recharge and any per-IP allocation before comparing against prepaid GB sellers. | Use the 1,000-credit monthly free tier for simple pages and compare the $19 Hobby plan only after pricing search, structured output or browser minutes separately. | Start with the 350 MB trial for $1.95 or a 1 GB package. Unused traffic never expires. |
| Browser workflow | Browser API supplies remote browser infrastructure; a raw residential zone only supplies an exit IP for a browser you operate. | Use Interact for managed browser minutes when clicks are needed; a basic scrape credit does not buy the same interactive work. | Sticky sessions from 1 second to 72 hours, with a named session ID for each browser profile. |
| Connecting an agent | The official MCP server offers hosted and self-hosted routes; choose only the tool groups needed and check its separate quota against proxy/API billing. | Connect the first-party hosted or local MCP server and cap paid-plan top-ups before allowing autonomous crawl or extract loops. | Point your agent's fetcher or browser tool at the proxy endpoint. ProxyLane supplies the network, not a hosted browser. |
| A growing production workload | Separate proxy-zone traffic, API requests and browser traffic in the cost model; enterprise tiers and account controls are available for larger workloads. | Track credits across endpoints, rate/concurrency limits and rollover terms; higher tiers change both quota and throughput. | Target by country, region, city, ZIP, ISP or ASN across 195 countries. Larger packages lower the rate to $2.50/GB. |
| Check before moving |
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For a known URL list, compare Bright Data's appropriate managed access API with Firecrawl Scrape using the same required content fields. Bright Data's raw residential zone is a different route for a crawler you operate; its GB meter cannot be compared directly with Firecrawl's basic page credit. If pages require rendering, count the specific product's added usage and retries. Test a small set of difficult targets rather than assuming either catalog establishes retrieval success.
For site discovery, Firecrawl's Map, Search and Crawl tools share its credit balance but use different units; browser Interact consumes minutes. Bright Data's Browser API and hosted or self-hosted MCP tools may fit a narrower browser or data-access workflow, with separate quotas from proxy zones. Run a bounded discovery task, cap Firecrawl top-ups and select only the needed Bright Data tool groups. Count usable discovered pages, not merely the number of tool calls.
IP QUALITY
Give your browser a clean residential IP
ProxyLane offers premium residential IPs with ultra-low fraud scores, from ethically sourced, real devices.
Test your workload for $1.95IP reputation snapshot
98.7%
of 1,000 sampled IPs rated low risk by Scamalytics
- Sample
- 1,000 unique IPs
- Setup
- Top 10 countries · 100 IPs each
- IPs collected
- 14 October 2026
- Checked
- 14 October 2026
Low risk: scores 0–19 on Scamalytics’ 0–100 scale. Aggregate sample result; individual countries vary.
Exit IP203.0.113.24Residential ISP
Fraud scoreUltra-low
What a clean IP gets you
- See fewer CAPTCHAsReal-device IPs trip far fewer challenge pages
- Keep sessions aliveOne residential IP from sign-in to export
- Pay for data, not retriesMore of every GB turns into results
PUBLISHED ENTRY OFFERS
What it costs
to start
Advertised starting offers use different products and billing units. Price the matched route before choosing a plan.
Bright Data
$8per GB
Residential pay-as-you-go: $8/GB standard; $4/GB is a displayed 50% coupon promotion. No monthly commitment on this SKU; checkout may impose account verification.
Firecrawl
$19per month
Free: 1,000 credits/month, no card. First paid Hobby: $19/month billed monthly or $16/month billed annually for 5,000 credits/month; $5 top-ups on a paid plan provide 1,000 Hobby credits. Prices effective September 4, 2026.
ProxyLane
$1.95350 MB trial
350 MB trial for $1.95. Packages from $6.50/GB for 1 GB down to $2.50/GB for 1 TB, with traffic that never expires.
Try 350 MB for $1.95BEFORE SWITCHING
Test both routes
on one job
Same targets, same fields. Compare the cost of each usable record. Worksheet
Run one sample
Same targets on both routes
Count usable records
Not just 200 responses
Read the fine print
Minimums, expiry, add-ons
Move one job first
Keep a rollback ready
RESIDENTIAL PROXY PRICING
Premium Proxies
ready to scale
From $2/GB. Buy the traffic you need, keep it until you use it.
Test our IP quality: 350 MB$1.95
Explore
For your first requests
$6.50
per GB · Traffic never expires
1 GB$6.50 total
- 98.7% low-risk IPs on Scamalytics
- Real residential devices
- ≈0.35s average response time
- One clean IP for up to 72h
- 195 countries & cities
- ZIP, ISP & ASN targeting
- Sub-users with GB limits
Build
Room to growFor projects taking shape
$5.48
per GB · Traffic never expires
25 GB$137 total
- 98.7% low-risk IPs on Scamalytics
- Real residential devices
- ≈0.35s average response time
- One clean IP for up to 72h
- 195 countries & cities
- ZIP, ISP & ASN targeting
- Sub-users with GB limits
Run
For everyday workflows
$4.50
per GB · Traffic never expires
50 GB$225 total
- 98.7% low-risk IPs on Scamalytics
- Real residential devices
- ≈0.35s average response time
- One clean IP for up to 72h
- 195 countries & cities
- ZIP, ISP & ASN targeting
- Sub-users with GB limits
Scale
For growing workloads
$3.90
per GB · Traffic never expires
100 GB$390 total
- 98.7% low-risk IPs on Scamalytics
- Real residential devices
- ≈0.35s average response time
- One clean IP for up to 72h
- 195 countries & cities
- ZIP, ISP & ASN targeting
- Sub-users with GB limits
Grow
Room to growFor bigger operations
$2.75
per GB · Traffic never expires
500 GB$1,375 total
- 98.7% low-risk IPs on Scamalytics
- Real residential devices
- ≈0.35s average response time
- One clean IP for up to 72h
- 195 countries & cities
- ZIP, ISP & ASN targeting
- Sub-users with GB limits
Volume
For high-volume data
$2.50
per GB · Traffic never expires
1 TB$2,500 total
- 98.7% low-risk IPs on Scamalytics
- Real residential devices
- ≈0.35s average response time
- One clean IP for up to 72h
- 195 countries & cities
- ZIP, ISP & ASN targeting
- Sub-users with GB limits
Enterprise
For your business, at your scale
Custom
Let's build your setup together
From 5 TBFrom $2 / GB
-
Dedicated Account Manager
-
Teams management
-
Traffic limits per team
-
API / MCP to scale your business and team with AI agents
25+ crypto
Questions before
you choose
Is Bright Data or Firecrawl cheaper?
Bright Data starts at $8 per GB (pay-as-you-go standard rate), Firecrawl at $19 per month (5,000 credits). Billing units differ, so compare the cost of a usable record on the same workload, not the headline rate.
What is the main difference between Bright Data and Firecrawl?
Compare usable output and required integration work under each API contract. Bright Data: Web Unlocker API. Firecrawl: Scrape API (Markdown/structured output).
Can I test ProxyLane before switching?
Yes. The 350 MB trial costs $1.95 and runs on the same residential network as paid packages. Unused traffic never expires.
Which targeting and sessions does ProxyLane support?
Country, region, city, ZIP, ISP and ASN targeting across 195 countries. Sessions can rotate on every request or stay sticky from 1 second to 72 hours, over HTTP(S) or SOCKS5.
Does ProxyLane offer a managed scraping API?
No. ProxyLane is a residential proxy network for the client, scraper or browser you already run. Your team keeps control of fetching, rendering and parsing.
STILL DECIDING?
Test ProxyLane for $1.95
before you choose
Run the targets you would send to Bright Data or Firecrawl. Get 350 MB of residential traffic with sticky sessions up to 72 hours. Keep any unused traffic for later.
