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
All comparisons
PROXY PROVIDER COMPARISON
Firecrawlvs SOAX
Firecrawl sells managed site search, scrape, crawl and browser interaction through credits. SOAX sells residential/mobile traffic from a monthly shared-credit balance with country-tier GB costs and a separately listed Web Data API. Two credit balances can represent entirely different work.
AT A GLANCE · ENTRY OFFER
- FirecrawlMANAGED API $19per month
- SOAXMANAGED API $200per 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 SOAX if
- Teams testing residential and mobile exits under one account balance
- Location-specific collection where country pricing can be modeled before purchase
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 | Firecrawl | SOAX | ProxyLane |
|---|---|---|---|
| Example route for this job | FirecrawlScrape API (Markdown/structured output) | SOAXWeb Data API | 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 | 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. | The current pricing page shows a Sandbox with no included credits, then prepaid monthly credits on Builder, Team, Scale and Enterprise. Residential and mobile traffic draw from plan credits at a geo-tier rate; higher plans lower the rate. Monthly credits roll over for 60 days on listed paid plans; Enterprise annual terms differ. Postpaid overage requires approval and signed terms. | 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 | 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. | Generate login:password@host:port proxy-list entries or use IP authorization; set a country, region, city or ISP target in the dashboard, then configure HTTP(S) or SOCKS5 on the browser or HTTP client. The help center documents API-based whitelist management. | 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 | 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. | Compare the $200 Builder commitment and country-tier burn rate against actual destination geographies; the Sandbox listing shows no included credits. | Start with the 350 MB trial for $1.95 or a 1 GB package. Unused traffic never expires. |
| Browser workflow | Use Interact for managed browser minutes when clicks are needed; a basic scrape credit does not buy the same interactive work. | Use a rotating or sticky SOAX endpoint in your browser client and account for page assets against the relevant country-tier GB rate. | Sticky sessions from 1 second to 72 hours, with a named session ID for each browser profile. |
| Connecting an agent | Connect the first-party hosted or local MCP server and cap paid-plan top-ups before allowing autonomous crawl or extract loops. | Put the authenticated proxy in your own MCP tool; an agent needing a managed fetch should evaluate the separately listed Web Data API meter and account access. | Point your agent's fetcher or browser tool at the proxy endpoint. ProxyLane supplies the network, not a hosted browser. |
| A growing production workload | Track credits across endpoints, rate/concurrency limits and rollover terms; higher tiers change both quota and throughput. | Model geo-tier traffic and credit rollover, then move to Team/Scale only if their lower GB rates and targeting limits fit measured demand. | 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 multi-country URL batch, configure SOAX proxies for each destination geography in a crawler you operate, then run the same URLs through Firecrawl Scrape. Record usable fields, retries, SOAX GB by country tier and Firecrawl credits per page or advanced format. SOAX's paid plan has a monthly commitment and listed 60-day rollover; Firecrawl's Hobby, Standard and Growth included credits do not roll over and can be extended through paid top-ups. Model idle time and the actual country mix.
If the job begins with finding pages, Firecrawl's Search, Map and Crawl tools may cover work beyond a SOAX network exit. SOAX's Web Data API is a separate managed path to inspect, distinct from its proxy-credit balance. Its free Sandbox lists no included traffic credits, so do not equate it with Firecrawl's recurring free page-credit allowance. Test one bounded site section and compare final records. For browser clicks, Firecrawl Interact consumes minutes while a SOAX proxy feeds a browser you operate; script the same actions before pricing.
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.
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.
SOAX
$200per month
Sandbox is listed free with no included credits. First listed paid Builder: $200/month plus VAT, 200 credits; residential/mobile traffic is $5/GB Tier 1, $3.75/GB Tier 2 or $2/GB Tier 3 on that plan. Older indexed $90 Starter pricing conflicts with the live page.
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 Firecrawl or SOAX cheaper?
Firecrawl starts at $19 per month (5,000 credits), SOAX at $200 per month (builder plan plus traffic). 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 Firecrawl and SOAX?
Compare usable output and required integration work under each API contract. Firecrawl: Scrape API (Markdown/structured output). SOAX: Web Data API.
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 Firecrawl or SOAX. Get 350 MB of residential traffic with sticky sessions up to 72 hours. Keep any unused traffic for later.
