# Decodo vs Smartproxy: which do AI models recommend for proxy and web data, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Proxy and web data providers. Nine of fourteen models named Decodo first on the direct prompt; four named Smartproxy. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/it-data/proxy-networks/decodo-vs-smartproxy/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decodo | 41% | #1 of 11 | 0% | 45 | 14 of 14 |
| Smartproxy | 15% | #2 of 11 | 5% | 21 | 12 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Claude Haiku 4.5: decodo first (first choices: Decodo, Oxylabs) (alternatives: Bright Data, SOAX)
- Perplexity Sonar: decodo first (first choices: Decodo) (alternatives: Oxylabs, Proxy-Seller)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: decodo first (first choices: Decodo) (alternatives: Oxylabs, SOAX)
- Mistral Small: decodo first (first choices: Decodo) (alternatives: Oxylabs, ProxyWing)
- Llama 4 Maverick: decodo first (first choices: Decodo) (alternatives: Infatica, Oxylabs, ProxyWing)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: decodo first (first choices: Decodo) (alternatives: Oxylabs)
- Kimi K2: decodo first (first choices: Decodo) (alternatives: DataImpulse, SOAX)
- GPT-6 Luna: decodo first (first choices: Decodo) (alternatives: Bright Data, Oxylabs)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: decodo first (first choices: Decodo) (alternatives: Infatica, SOAX)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: smartproxy first (first choices: SOAX, Smartproxy) (alternatives: Bright Data, NetNut, NodeMaven, Oxylabs, SimplyNode)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: smartproxy first (first choices: Smartproxy) (alternatives: Oxylabs, SOAX)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: smartproxy first (first choices: Smartproxy) (alternatives: Bright Data, Oxylabs, SOAX, Webshare)
- MiniMax M2.5: smartproxy first (first choices: Rayobyte, Smartproxy) (alternatives: Oxylabs)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither first, one named (first choices: Bright Data, Oxylabs) (alternatives: Decodo, NetNut, SOAX)

## What the models said about Decodo

- "Go with Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) if you want the best balance of price, performance, and ease of use with ISO-certified compliance." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) - offers 115M+ IPs across 195+ countries, with a balance of enterprise capability and accessibility." (Llama 4 Maverick, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Oxylabs or Decodo tend to offer the best balance of reliability, support, and scalability without enterprise-level complexity" (Claude Haiku 4.5, direct prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Smartproxy

- "free tiers from providers like Luminati or Smartproxy, but these often come with limitations in terms of speed and IP pool size" (Mistral Small, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "For most mid-market B2B companies, Smartproxy (Decodo) offers the best combination of network quality, feature set, and pricing" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, direct prompt, first choice)
- "For most mid-market B2B companies, Smartproxy (Decodo) offers the best combination of features, pricing, and ease of use" (GLM 4.7 FlashX, direct prompt, first choice)
- "I recommend focusing on providers like Smartproxy or Rayobyte due to their mid-market positioning" (MiniMax M2.5, direct prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.