Oxylabs and Webshare occupy different ends of the proxy market's entry curve — not just in price, but in the assumptions each makes about the team using it. Oxylabs assumes a team that has defined its requirements, passed KYC, and needs a provider whose compliance documentation can withstand procurement scrutiny. Webshare assumes a team that hasn't necessarily defined its requirements yet, and should be able to start using proxies before that process is complete.

Oxylabs brings ISO 27001:2022, SOC 2 Type 2, and EWDCI founding membership alongside ASN targeting, 175M+ residential IPs, and OxyCopilot for AI-assisted integration. Webshare brings a permanent free tier — 10 datacenter proxies, 1 GB per month, no credit card required — a REST API with proxy activity logs accessible from day one, per-IP datacenter pricing at a low floor, and no upfront KYC gate.

The comparison separates teams that need enterprise credentials from teams that need to start making requests immediately.

Oxylabs suits teams whose procurement requires ISO 27001, SOC 2, or EWDCI founding credentials — or whose workloads need ASN targeting, mobile proxies with carrier targeting, or configurable sticky sessions up to 24 hours. The limitations: KYC is mandatory before full access, PAYG is capped at 50 GB per month, no free tier exists beyond the trial, and mobile proxies add a separate billing line.

Webshare suits teams that want immediate frictionless access — a permanent free datacenter tier, no upfront KYC, self-serve purchase for all proxy types, and a REST API that exposes proxy activity logs from signup. The limitations are structural: mobile proxies are not offered, ASN and ZIP targeting are not documented, GDPR compliance is not explicitly stated, no SLA exists, and sub-user management is not available.

Oxylabs' philosophy is that the enterprise compliance stack must be independently verifiable — not self-attested. ISO 27001:2022, SOC 2 Type 2, and EWDCI founding membership are third-party audits. KYC with documented rejection criteria applies to every customer. ASN targeting extends routing precision to network-operator level. OxyCopilot and a full REST API lower the integration burden at every tier. The product is built for procurement processes that require an audit trail.

Webshare's philosophy is that the right proxy product is the one a team can use before it has decided what it needs. No credit card, no KYC upfront, no commitment — a permanent free tier with 10 datacenter proxies. The REST API exposes activity logs that most providers reserve for paid tiers. Per-IP datacenter pricing at a low floor makes testing affordable at scale. Compliance is handled through a published Compliance Policy with use-case restrictions — the posture is US-jurisdiction focused, and GDPR is not explicitly addressed in public documentation.

You gain verified compliance, targeting depth, and mobile proxies with Oxylabs. You give up zero-friction entry and API activity logs at the free tier. With Webshare, the trade runs in reverse — you gain immediate self-serve access and per-IP pricing flexibility, and the verified compliance stack, ASN targeting, and mobile proxies become unavailable.

Oxylabs' residential pool is provider-reported at 175M+ IPs across 195 countries. Residential proxies support country, state, city, ZIP, and ASN targeting. Mobile proxies cover 20M IPs with carrier targeting and 3G/4G/5G support. ISP static and datacenter proxies are available with dedicated options. Sticky sessions are configurable up to 24 hours. Dedicated residential IPs with exclusive assignment are available.

Webshare's residential pool is provider-reported at 80M+ IPs across 195 countries. Targeting supports country and city level via API parameters. ASN and ZIP targeting are not documented. Mobile proxies are not offered — a product gap for workloads requiring carrier-based targeting. ISP static proxies are available through named ISP partners including AT&T, Sprint, and Lumen, in limited countries. Sticky session TTL values are not published. Datacenter proxies are available in shared, private, and dedicated configurations with unlimited bandwidth options.

Oxylabs authenticates via username and password in the proxy URL, with IP whitelist authentication for up to 10 IPs. Targeting is configured via proxy username parameters per request. The REST API covers proxy configuration, zone management, and usage statistics at all tiers. OxyCopilot generates integration code from natural language. KYC is required before full network access.

Webshare supports three authentication methods: username and password in the proxy string, IP whitelist with nominated IPs bypassing credentials, and API token for REST API access. The REST API at apidocs.webshare.io covers proxy list retrieval, proxy configuration, proxy activity logs, and usage statistics — activity log access via API is available from the free tier. Rotation mode is configurable via API parameter. Sub-user or team account management is not documented. No KYC is required at signup.

Oxylabs bills residential and mobile proxies per GB on subscription tiers and PAYG. PAYG is capped at 50 GB per month. A 7-day free trial for businesses is available without a credit card. KYC must be completed before billing can begin on the full network.

Webshare offers a permanent free tier — 10 datacenter proxies with up to 1 GB per month, no credit card required, no expiry. Paid plans bill datacenter proxies per IP and residential proxies per GB, with unlimited bandwidth options across all proxy types. A refund is available within 2 days of payment if usage is below documented thresholds. All plan rates are publicly listed without a sales conversation.

ISO 27001, SOC 2, or EWDCI founding credentials are required by procurement — or ASN targeting, mobile proxies, or sticky sessions up to 24 hours are operational needs. Oxylabs fits.

Immediate access without KYC, a permanent free tier to test before committing, API activity logs from day one, or per-IP datacenter pricing at a low floor are the priorities. Webshare fits.

You gain verified compliance, targeting depth, and mobile proxies with Oxylabs. You give up zero-friction entry and activity log access at the free tier. With Webshare, the trade runs in reverse — you gain immediate self-serve access and flexible per-IP pricing, and the verified compliance stack, ASN targeting, and mobile proxies become unavailable.

Neither fits teams that need mobile proxies with enterprise compliance credentials and no upfront commitment.

Ask what your team needs before it can start using a proxy network. If the answer is a passed KYC process and an enterprise compliance approval — that is Oxylabs' model, and ISO 27001, SOC 2, and EWDCI founding membership are what that process unlocks. If the answer is nothing — start on the free tier, test with real traffic, and scale when requirements are defined — Webshare is built for that workflow.

Then ask whether your workload requires capabilities Webshare cannot provide: mobile proxies, ASN-level targeting, configurable sticky sessions beyond what the API supports, or a compliance document stack for a procurement review. If any of those are hard requirements, Webshare's accessible entry does not offset the missing capabilities.

If your requirement is verified compliance and targeting depth — Oxylabs. If your requirement is immediate self-serve access and no-cost evaluation — Webshare.