Best UK proxy providers of 2026
A UK proxy is a powerful tool for anyone who needs to access the web as if they were located in the United Kingdom themselves. Whether you’re an individual who wants to access UK-only content, or a business looking to monitor your campaigns for your UK audience, a proxy will give you a UK IP address to make it all happen.
To help you find the best UK proxy, the Cybernews research team and I tested a number of proxy services. We evaluated the available proxy types and their features, speed and overall performance, plans and pricing, customer support, and user experience.
Best UK proxy providers – shortlist
- Oxylabs – best proxy for UK in 2026
- Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) – cheap proxy for UK
- Webshare – high-speed proxies based in the UK
- SOAX – city-targeting UK proxy
- Bright data – UK-proxy servers with web scraping APIs
We take proxy testing seriously – every service is put through real-world scenarios, benchmark checks, and hands-on feature evaluations. Our in-house team collects the data, and experts review and verify the results. Take a look at how we test proxies and what truly stands behind their performance.
Things to consider before choosing UK proxy provider
Proxies can seem complicated if you’ve never used them before. A lot goes in choosing the right proxy for your needs. Here’s what you should consider before choosing a proxy provider for the UK:
- IP pool size. The bigger the pool size, the more IP addresses you can choose from. This is particularly important in avoiding being banned by websites you’re trying to scrape.
- Speed and uptime. Look through speed and uptime tests to ensure that your chosen proxy maintains high-speed connections.
- Geo-targeting. Crucial for local tracking or city-specific testing. Look for proxy providers that let you target specific cities in the UK.
- Protocol support. Protocols are necessary for proxies to function properly. However, some proxies only support one protocol. Ensuring that your proxy provider supports most common protocols such as HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS4/5 guarantees a hassle-free experience.
Best UK proxy providers – detailed list
Together with the research team, I tested each proxy provider to ensure that they offer a quality service. We evaluated a variety of factors such as proxy types, IP pool size, geo-targeting options, use cases, and price-to-value ratio. Read below to find an overview of each proxy and find out which one is the best for you.
1. Oxylabs – best UK proxy in 2026
| Proxy types: | Residential, datacenter, mobile, and ISP |
| IP pool size: | 6M+ UK IPs,175M+ residential IPs, 2M+ datacenter IPs, 100K ISP, 20M+ mobile |
| Free trial: | ✅ Yes, 3-day for personal and 7-day for business use |
| Customer support: | 24/7 live chat, email, documentation |
Oxylabs is our top pick for a proxy server in the UK. It has over 6 million IPs in the United Kingdom alone and even lets users target specific locations. Our testing showed excellent results in speed and overall performance, making it a great choice for everything – local content access, localized scraping, or testing localized ads.
Proxy types and features. There’s a large variety of proxy types you can choose from: residential IPs, datacenter, mobile, and ISP (static residential). I like that Oxylabs enables city-level targeting for the UK, including cities like London, Loughborough, Millwall, and Norwich – perfect for verifying ads or local SEO monitoring. It also supports IP rotation, which helps avoid getting blocked.
Performance and reliability. We have tested Oxylabs in the past, and while its not the fastest on this list, it’s still super reliable for any task you may have. During our testing for the UK proxies,Oxylabs maintained a success rate of 100% and an average response time of around 2 seconds.
Pricing and free trial. Oxylabs is somewhere between mid-range to expensive, which may seem too much for some, but it’s worth it for the premium service it offers. You can choose from a subscription or a pay-as-you-go model for its UK proxies, which start at $4.00/GB. There’s also a 3-day trial for individuals and a 7-day trial for businesses.
Customer support and user experience. Oxylabs impressed me with the customer support it offers – you can really feel that it’s dedicated to help its users have the best experience possible. There’s a 24/7 live chat, which I found super convenient. You can email them as well – I was surprised how quickly I received a response. The platform itself is also built for a smooth user experience. It’s easy to navigate and you can always jump into the knowledge base if you can’t find something.
2. Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) – budget-friendly UK proxy
| Proxy types: | Residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile |
| IP pool size: | 1.7M UK IPs, 125M+ across 195 countries |
| Free trial: | ✅ Yes, 3-day for proxies and 7-day for Web Scraping API |
| Customer support: | 24/7 live chat, email, WhatsApp, and Telegram |
Decodo, previously known as Smartproxy, is a budget-friendly proxy provider that’s great for testing, tracking, and monitoring in the UK. Even though Decodo has a much smaller IP pool for the UK than Oxylabs, only 1.7 million, it’s still a strong contender due to reliable performance and variety of tools for localized data scraping.
Proxy types and features. Decodo offers residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile proxies based in the United Kingdom. Like Oxylabs, it includes city-level targeting in London and other UK locations, enabling access to geo-restricted content. You can select a rotating (changes IP on every connection) or sticky (maintains your IP over multiple requests) session, which are crucial for efficient data gathering. Plus, it includes data scraping tools (web, eCommerce, SERP).
Performance and reliability. We tested Decodo’s UK proxies and were blown away by the result. It has a 100% success rate and, most importantly, an average response time of less than 1 second – it’s the best result we had testing UK proxies on this list.
Pricing and free trial. Decodo lets you choose between paying for the GB used or just the IP. Prices start at $1.50/GB for residential IPs, but if you don’t want any commitments, you can opt for the pay-as-you-go plan, which starts at $3.00/GB.
Customer support and user experience. When we contacted Decodo, we received a swift and helpful response via live chat, but some users report slower response times and less knowledgeable support agents. There’s also a comprehensive knowledge base with guides you can refer to if you want to troubleshoot yourself, which I found most helpful. As for the interface, it’s pretty simple and easy to navigate, even if you’re using a proxy server for the first time. Decodo includes a desktop app for testing and a browser extension for easier management.
3. Webshare – UK proxy with 100% success rate
| Proxy types: | Residential, static residential, and datacenter |
| IP pool size: | 54,756 IPs in the UK, 80M+ residential, and 500K+ datacenter |
| Free trial: | ❌ No free trial, but free proxies available |
| Customer support: | Chatbot, email, help center |
Webshare is another one of our favorites for UK proxy providers, mainly because of its perfect success rate and overall performance during our testing. While it’s more limited than Oxylabs or Decodo, it’s an overall strong solution for bypassing geo-restrictions and basic web scraping tasks.
Proxy types and features. Webshare has residential (rotating and static) as well as datacenter proxies. Unlike Oxylabs and Decodo, it doesn’t let you target a specific city in the UK, so it could make local tracking difficult. However, Webshare includes a user-friendly dashboard for easier session management. Plus, it’s compatible with scraping and other automation tools – great for UK-specific data-gathering
Performance and reliability. Webshare impressed me with a 100% success rate and an average response time of 6.8 seconds. While the response time could use some work, the success rate shows that Webshare is great for any proxy task.
Pricing and free trial. A residential proxy for the UK starts at $2.38/month for 1GB. You can also buy a proxy per IP, which starts at 0.029/IP. Webshare doesn’t offer a free trial but it has 10 free proxies you can use – premium features included.
Customer support and user experience. Webshare doesn’t have a 24/7 live chat – you can only contact them via email. While it’s slower than a live chat, email support was surprisingly efficient. Plus, you can get a dedicated account manager for larger scale projects. Unsurprisingly, Webshare also has extensive documentation, which is super helpful when you’re just starting out.
The platform itself is beginner-friendly. Its minimalistic design is easy to navigate even for someone who has never used a proxy server before.
4. SOAX – best UK proxy with city-targeting
| Proxy types: | Residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile |
| IP pool size: | 2.7M+ UK IPs, 191M+ IPs across 195 countries (155M+ residential, 33M+ mobile, 2.6M+ ISP, and 300K+ datacenter) |
| Free trial: | ✅ Yes, 3-days and limited to 400MB |
| Customer support: | Chatbot, live chat, email, help center |
SOAX made our list for best UK proxies because it lets you target over 40 cities in the UK, making it ideal for more than just accessing local content but also testing ads and marketing campaigns in specific regions in the UK.
Proxy types and features. Like most proxy providers, SOAX lets users choose between residential, mobile, ISP (in the US), and datacenter proxies with IP rotation and data parsing. In addition, there’s a Web Data API plan to bypass proxy management entirely – perfect for small to large businesses who need localized data scraping services in the UK. You can also target specific cities, and SOAX has a huge selection of over 40 cities in the UK, including large cities and smaller towns, which is particularly useful for localized testing and tracking.
Performance and reliability. I was pleasantly surprised at how stable and reliable SOAX was during our testing. It had a 100% success rate without any errors. Plus, it maintained an average response time of 1.9 seconds, which is an excellent result.
Pricing and free trial. While it’s not the cheapest proxy service provider, SOAX is still relatively affordable. Its residential IP prices start at $2.00/month for businesses and a pay-as-you-go plan is an option for those who don’t want to commit. Plus, there’s a 3-day free trial you can use, although it’s quite limited – only 400MB.
Customer support and user experience. SOAX has a live chat, but I was disappointed to find out it’s only available during business hours, which can be a bit confusing if you’re not in the same time zone as SOAX’s customer support team. There’s also a contact form, email, a help center, and even dedicated account managers, although they’re only available for large projects.
I also liked the look and feel of SOAX’s dashboard. It’s minimalistic with a dash of personality. All in all, SOAX is easy to use, but if you’re a complete beginner, it may take some time to figure out what all of the settings mean.
5. Bright data – feature-rich proxies for the UK
| Proxy types: | Residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile |
| IP pool size: | 1.4M+ UK IPs, 150M+ residential, 770K datacenter, 700K ISP, 7M+ mobile |
| Free trial: | ✅ Yes, 7-day |
| Customer support: | 24/7 live chat, email, help center |
Bright Data stands out as a feature-rich UK proxy provider with easy management and built-in tools for UK-based data scraping. During testing, we were able to access geo-restricted content while outside of the UK, so it’s a solid option for local content access, verifying and tracking ads, and monitoring prices in the UK market.
Proxy types and features. Individuals and businesses can choose from over 1.4M residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile proxies in the UK. Bright Data also supports IP rotation and sticky sessions. Plus, you can target specific cities, ASNs, or ZIP codes. Management is made easy with a built-in Proxy Manager, while you focus on the important stuff with advanced tools like Web Unlocker, SERP API, and automated browser for localized web scraping.
Performance and reliability. Our in-house tests showed decent results with Bright Data proxies in the UK. It had a 96% success rate with an average response time of 11.4 seconds, which is a bit disappointing.
Pricing and free trial. You can get residential UK proxies starting at $2.50/month, or, if you want a pay-as-you-go plan, at $4.20/GB. There’s a 7-day free trial, which is quite generous compared to other providers, but there’s no money-back guarantee once you purchase a plan.
Customer support and user experience. Bright Data has a 24/7 live chat. What I appreciate the most is its extensive knowledge base, which include blog, case studies, and documentation for more technical users. As for the UI, it’s clean and user-friendly, although the variety of features to choose from can be a bit overwhelming for new users.
Best UK proxy providers compared
| Provider | Proxy types | IP pool size | Geo-targeting options | Use cases | Starting price | Refund policy/trial availability | Customer support |
| 1. Oxylabs | Residential, datacenter, ISP, mobile | 6M+ UK IPs,175M+ residential IPs, 2M+ datacenter IPs, 100K ISP, 20M+ mobile | Continent, country, state, city, ZIP, ASN, coordinates | Enterprise scraping, SEO tracking, ad verification, account management | From $3.49/GB | 3-day for personal and 7-day for business use | 24/7 chat, email, dedicated account manager |
| 2. Decodo | Residential, ISP, datacenter, mobile | 1.7M UK IPs, 125M+ across 195 countries | Country, city, US states (includes UK cities) | SEO, scraping, bots, ad verification, social media, market research | From $1.50/GB | 3-day for proxies and 7-day for Web Scraping API | 24/7 live chat, email, dedicated account manager |
| 3. Webshare | Datacenter, static and rotating residential | 54,756 IPs in the UK, 80M+ residential, and 500K+ datacenter | Country‑level only | Budget scraping, small‑scale bots, basic data gathering | From $2.38/GB | No free trial, but free proxies available | 24/7 live chat, email, chatbot, forum, Discord |
| 4. SOAX | Residential, ISP, datacenter, mobile | 2.7M+ UK IPs, 191M+ IPs across 195 countries (155M+ residential, 33M+ mobile, 2.6M+ ISP, and 300K+ datacenter) | City, region, ISP, carrier | Local eCommerce scraping, SEO, market research, ad verification | From $3.60/GB | 3-days and limited to 400MB | Chatbot, live chat, email, knowledge base |
| 5. Bright Data | Residential, ISP, datacenter, mobile | 1.4M+ UK IPs, 150M+ residential, 770K datacenter, 700K ISP, 7M+ mobile | City, state, ZIP, ASN | Enterprise‑scale scraping, SERP tracking, ad verification, market research | From $2.94/GB | 7-day | Tiered support (Standard SLA; Premium 24/7; Enterprise with TAM) |
How we tested the best UK proxies
The Cybernews research team and I tested each and every proxy on our list to give you an overview of its capabilities for the UK market. Here’s what we evaluated:
- Proxy type and flexibility (25%). We started by analyzing the types of proxies each provider offers for the United Kingdom – the more types of proxies, the more flexibility for your business needs.
- Geo-targeting and IP pool size (20%). We examined the IP pool size for proxies in the UK. We were also on the lookout for geo-targeting, particularly for UK cities, which is crucial for tasks like price monitoring or ad verification.
- Performance (20%). Our team put each proxy service to the test, analyzing success rates and connection speeds of UK proxies, mainly for web scraping.
- Ease of use (15%). We evaluated the ease of use from setup to proxy management. Proxies shouldn’t be complicated and a user-friendly dashboard reflects that – all of the proxies that we tested had clean and intuitive interfaces, which I appreciated.
- Pricing and trial options (15%). We analyzed the pricing model, available subscriptions and pay-as-you go plans, free trials, and refund policies. Our goal was to find a cost-effective solution for your project and the possibility to try it out without spending a dime.
- Support and extras (5%). Our team contacted the customer support and evaluated its efficiency and speed. We also had a look at any additional features or tools that could simplify data scraping or proxy management.
Final thoughts
Simply put, UK proxy providers let you access part of the web that’s restricted to the United Kingdom. Whether it’s for personal needs like unblocking geo-restricted content or business use such as web scraping, a proxy service is your best bet.
Our tests have shown that Oxylabs is the best proxy for UK in 2026. It has a large IP pool for the UK market and delivers excellent performance. Other notable mentions include Decado, which is a strong contender for those on a tight budget. All in all, each proxy provider has pros and cons, and you should choose a proxy based on your individual needs.
FAQ
Where can I get a UK proxy?
You can get a UK proxy by signing up with a reputable proxy provider, such as Oxylabs, Decodo, or Webshare. Most of them have a free trial you can use to test out the service before committing long-term.
What is a UK proxy?
A UK proxy is a gateway between you and the internet. By connecting through a proxy server, you can access data from the UK that would otherwise be restricted.
Are proxies illegal in the UK?
No, proxies themselves are not illegal in the UK. However, using proxies for illegal activities, such as scraping restricted data or click fraud, could land you in trouble with the law.
