HTTP proxies in ready lists
Every program understands an HTTP proxy: browsers, desktop SEO tools, PHP and Python scripts, curl and wget. Buy HTTP proxies at ProxySale and you get a list link that returns thousands of ip:port lines, from 200 IPs in the smallest package to 50,000 in the largest. A script that picks addresses on its own can read CSV instead: end the link with .csv.
Unlimited package lines answer SOCKS5 on the same port, so one package covers tools of both kinds. On residential proxies you pick the protocol when you create a line. The page about SOCKS5 proxies explains where the second protocol helps.
HTTPS through an HTTP proxy
For a plain HTTP site your client sends the whole request to the proxy, and the proxy forwards it. For HTTPS the client first sends a CONNECT command. The proxy opens a TCP tunnel to the site, and from then on the traffic stays encrypted between your software and the target. The proxy sees the domain and the port, but neither the pages nor cookies or form data.
You need no separate HTTPS proxies and no extra port. Put the same line into the HTTP and HTTPS fields of your tool, or use one -x http://ip:port flag in curl for both kinds of URLs.
Jobs that suit HTTP proxies
- Price monitoring: a script requests product pages in many shops and spreads them over the list.
- Rank tracking: an SEO tool checks positions for hundreds of keywords with a new address for each query.
- Site audits: a crawler walks a large site without running into a per-IP limit.
- Availability checks: you see how a page answers visitors from other countries.
Each of these jobs sends many short requests. A list of thousands of addresses keeps the number of requests per IP low, and captchas stay rare. The rotating proxies page shows how to spread requests across the list.
Loading the list into your software
Most tools take a proxy list by URL or from a file. If yours reads a URL, paste the list link and set the reload to every 8 to 10 minutes. If it reads a file, download the list on a schedule with cron or the Windows task scheduler and point the tool at the file.
On unlimited packages authorization goes by IP. Add the address of the machine that runs your software in the control panel. A second server adds 10% to the package price, which usually costs less than a second package. Residential proxies over HTTP connect with the username and password from the proxy line.
Keep the threads in your tool within the package limit. A tool set to 1,500 threads needs a package with at least 2,000.
Errors you may see and what they mean
A 403 or a captcha page comes from the target site, and the proxy has nothing to do with it: the site decided that the address sent too many requests. Spread the load over more lines, add pauses between requests and send the headers of a real browser.
A timeout means the line is slow or has just left the pool. Retry through another address and reload the list on schedule. If no line connects at all, check the authorized IP: add the address your software actually goes out from.
On packages your software never gets a 407 error, because access goes by IP and the list carries no passwords. On residential proxies a 407 means a wrong username or password in the line: generate the line again.
HTTP proxies in code
In Python requests give both schemes one value: dict.fromkeys(("http", "https"), "http://ip:port"). In curl use -x http://ip:port, and in PHP put ip:port into CURLOPT_PROXY. Load the list from the link once, keep it in memory and pick a random line for each request; the rotating proxies page has more on this.
Prices and periods
Packages bill per hour, day, week or month. An hour from $0.50 works as a cheap test, and a month gives the lowest price per day. All periods and sizes sit on the price list; for tight budgets see cheap proxies.
We do not meter traffic, so large downloads leave the bill unchanged. You pay for the list size, the threads and the period.
Test first
Ask support on the contact page for a free hour of any package. For a one-off check of your code a line from the free proxy list also works, but public proxies die fast, and their owners can watch plain HTTP traffic.