Best for
Best proxies for SEO and rank tracking
For rank tracking, do not buy raw proxies and build your own Google scraper. Buy a SERP API. It handles the proxies, CAPTCHAs and retries, lets you pass geo as a parameter down to city or ZIP, returns clean JSON, and bills per thousand requests, which is how rank trackers actually budget. You only pay for successful results.
This is a real strength for the major networks: four of the providers we cover ship a proper SERP API. Here they are ranked on price and geo, plus the cheap specialist you should know about even though we do not earn from it.
1. Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) Best price and performance
Decodo's SERP API is the cheapest in our set, roughly $0.32 to $1.25 per thousand depending on plan, with city, state, ZIP and ASN targeting. If you are tracking ranks at volume and want the best cost per result without giving up localization, start here.
2. Bright Data Best for serious and localized
Bright Data's SERP API runs around $1.50 per thousand, pay-per-success, with the finest geo in our set (country, city, ZIP, free) and the most reliable handling of tricky results, including AI Overviews. The pick for enterprise or heavily-localized rank tracking.
3. Oxylabs Best for hyperlocal
Oxylabs offers coordinate-level targeting (latitude, longitude, radius), which beats everyone for hyperlocal map-pack and near-me tracking. Priced around $0.80 to $1.60 per thousand depending on how the unit is defined, so confirm at signup.
4. ScraperAPI Easiest to integrate, priciest per result
ScraperAPI has a Google SERP endpoint that is simple to wire up, but at roughly 25 credits a request it is the most expensive per thousand here and the slowest. Fine for low volume or if you already use it, not the cost-efficient choice at scale.
5. Webshare Budget DIY only
Webshare has no SERP API. If you are comfortable building and maintaining your own scraper, its cheap datacenter proxies can track non-localized rankings at low cost. For most people the managed APIs above are worth it.
Why a SERP API beats raw proxies here
Raw proxies leave you to handle CAPTCHAs, retries, parsing and geo yourself, and you pay for failed requests. A SERP API bundles all of that, takes location as a parameter, and bills per thousand successful results. Unless you have a specific reason to roll your own, the API is cheaper once you count your time and the wasted bandwidth on blocks.
The one to know outside our set
DataForSEO is the category leader for people building rank trackers, and it is not one we earn from, but a credible comparison has to name it. At roughly $0.60 per thousand SERPs it undercuts most of our set and is the de-facto backend for many third-party SEO tools. SerpApi is the premium developer-friendly alternative with the widest engine catalog. If pure cost per result is all that matters, DataForSEO is hard to beat.
The call
For most rank-tracking jobs, Decodo's SERP API is the best balance of price and localization in our set, with Bright Data the upgrade for serious or heavily-localized tracking and Oxylabs the pick for hyperlocal.
If you are building a tracker and only care about cost per result, DataForSEO outside our set is the honest answer.
FAQ
Do I need residential proxies for rank tracking?
Not directly. Use a SERP API, which manages the proxies for you. The underlying type matters less than the managed layer that handles CAPTCHAs, geo and retries.
What is the cheapest SERP API?
Among the major providers we cover, Decodo, from about $0.32 per thousand. Outside our set, DataForSEO at about $0.60 per thousand is the cost leader for tracker builders.
Can I scrape Google with datacenter proxies?
For non-localized, low-volume checks, sometimes. For localized or high-volume rank tracking you want residential under a SERP API, or you will hit CAPTCHAs fast.