Ever wondered why the price you see for a flight, hotel, or even a pair of shoes changes depending on where you are or what device you’re using? It’s not your imagination. Retailers often use dynamic pricing strategies that adjust costs based on your location, browsing history, device type, time of day, and even your account status. This means two people looking at the same product might see two very different prices—sometimes within minutes of each other.
So how do you make sure you’re getting the best price? You use proxy services. By masking your real IP address and simulating access from other regions or devices, proxies allow you to compare prices from multiple perspectives—giving you the power to sidestep location-based markups and find the best possible deal. In this guide, we’ll break down how proxy services work, the different types available, and which tools are actually worth your time (and money) if you want to level the playing field while shopping online.
1. Understand what proxy services are (and why they matter)
Proxy services are basically middlemen between you and the websites you’re visiting. They make it look like you’re browsing from another location (or even as a new user), so you can see what other people are paying.
Think of it like trying on different disguises before checking out a product page.
This is how it might look in code:
import requests
def check_price_with_proxy(product_url, proxy_location):
proxies = {
'http': f'http://{proxy_location}',
'https': f'https://{proxy_location}'
}
headers = {
'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64)'
}
response = requests.get(product_url, proxies=proxies, headers=headers)
return response.text # You’d parse the price from here
Alright—so now you know why proxies are useful.
Let’s look at the actual tools you can use to compare prices like a pro.
2. Use Roundproxies if you need enterprise-level data collection
If you want the Rolls-Royce of proxy networks, Roundproxies is it.
They’ve got over 72 million IPs, across nearly every country on the map. And their Residential Proxy network is powerful—because the IPs come from real devices, not servers. That makes them way harder for websites to detect and block.
TL;DR:
- Best for: Serious price monitoring at scale
- Pricing: Starts around $500/month
- Bonus: Excellent documentation and API tools
Bright Data is overkill for casual use, but if you’re running price intelligence at a business level, it’s hard to beat.
3. Try Oxylabs if you want e-commerce-specific scraping
Oxylabs is another big name. What’s cool is they offer a dedicated E-Commerce Scraper API—so instead of building complex parsers for Amazon or Walmart, you just send a request and get structured data back.
Like this:
import requests
import json
payload = {
'source': 'amazon',
'url': 'https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L5TNJHG',
'geo_location': 'United States',
'user_agent_type': 'mobile'
}
response = requests.post(
'https://realtime.oxylabs.io/v1/queries',
auth=('user', 'pass'),
json=payload
)
print(json.loads(response.text)['results'][0]['content'])
TL;DR:
- Best for: Scraping e-commerce sites without writing a parser
- Pricing: Starts around $300/month
- Bonus: Lets you focus on insights, not maintenance
Great option if you’re targeting retail pricing at scale without writing custom scrapers.
4. Go with SmartProxy for a more affordable, user-friendly option
If Bright Data and Oxylabs feel too enterprise-y, SmartProxy is a solid middle ground.
They’ve got a browser extension (great for manual checks) and a simple API if you want to automate things. It’s a good mix of power and simplicity.
const axios = require('axios');
const HttpsProxyAgent = require('https-proxy-agent');
const checkPrice = async (url, country) => {
const proxy = `http://username:password@gate.smartproxy.com:7000`;
const proxyAgent = new HttpsProxyAgent(proxy);
const res = await axios.get(url, {
headers: { 'X-Country': country },
httpsAgent: proxyAgent
});
return res.data; // You'll extract the price here
};
TL;DR:
- Best for: Smaller teams or solo users
- Pricing: Starts around $75/month
- Bonus: Easy to switch regions manually
It’s perfect if you want a lightweight solution to quickly compare prices without going full-blown enterprise.
5. Use ProxyMesh if you’re just getting started
Just want to dip your toes in the proxy world?
ProxyMesh is great for that. It’s simple, transparent, and cheap (starting at just $10/month). You won’t get millions of IPs, but you will get solid, rotating proxies in 10 key locations.
import requests
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
def check_prices(url, proxies):
prices = {}
for country, proxy in proxies.items():
session = requests.Session()
session.proxies = {'http': proxy, 'https': proxy}
response = session.get(url)
soup = BeautifulSoup(response.text, 'html.parser')
price = soup.select_one('.product-price')
prices[country] = price.text.strip() if price else 'N/A'
return prices
TL;DR:
- Best for: New users and simple scraping tasks
- Pricing: Starts at $10/month
- Bonus: No bandwidth surprises
Use it if you’re price-checking manually or just testing the waters.
6. Choose GeoSurf for hyper-targeted location control
Need to compare pricing in specific cities? GeoSurf is your tool.
Most proxies let you choose a country—GeoSurf goes deeper. You can target down to the city level or even specific ISPs. That’s gold for price-sensitive sectors like travel, hotels, or delivery services.
import requests
import json
headers = {
'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}
data = {
'url': 'https://www.retailer.com/product/12345',
'country': 'us',
'city': 'new_york',
'device': 'desktop'
}
res = requests.post('https://api.geosurf.io/v1/scrape', headers=headers, data=json.dumps(data))
print(res.json())
TL;DR:
- Best for: Travel and location-sensitive price monitoring
- Pricing: Around $450/month
- Bonus: Pinpoint accuracy with geo-targeting
If you’re trying to see price gaps within the same country, GeoSurf is one of the few that can go that deep.
Final tips before you dive in
Whichever service you go with, keep these in mind:
- Rotate your IPs – Otherwise, sites might block you
- Respect the site – Add delays, follow their terms
- Match real user behavior – Use browser headers, mimic mobile/desktop
- Compare at the same time – Prices change throughout the day
Final thoughts
Proxy services are like X-ray vision for online pricing. They let you peek behind the curtain and see what other users see—no matter where they are.
You don’t need to spend hundreds to get started. Try something like ProxyMesh or SmartProxy first. Then move up to Bright Data or Oxylabs if you need enterprise power.
The key is picking the right tool for your goal: Are you checking prices for fun? Tracking competitor pricing? Building a data product?
Choose your proxy like you’d choose your travel adapter: based on where you’re going, how long you’re staying, and how serious the job is.
Got a favorite tool or story from using proxies for price hunting? Drop it in the comments—I’d love to hear it.
