# Decodo vs Webshare: 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; zero named Webshare. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/it-data/proxy-networks/decodo-vs-webshare/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decodo | 41% | #1 of 11 | 0% | 45 | 14 of 14 |
| Webshare | 13% | #3 of 11 | 8% | 24 | 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)
- GPT-5.4 mini: neither first, one named (first choices: Bright Data, Oxylabs) (alternatives: Decodo, NetNut, SOAX)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: Smartproxy) (alternatives: Bright Data, Oxylabs, SOAX, Webshare)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither named (first choices: SOAX, Smartproxy) (alternatives: Bright Data, NetNut, NodeMaven, Oxylabs, SimplyNode)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: neither named (first choices: Smartproxy) (alternatives: Oxylabs, SOAX)
- MiniMax M2.5: neither named (first choices: Rayobyte, Smartproxy) (alternatives: Oxylabs)

## 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 Webshare

- "More straightforward and budget-oriented, but less ideal if you need a more robust mid-market setup" (Perplexity Sonar, direct prompt, soft negative)
- "great for quick demos, but limited support & reliability compared to above" (MiniMax M2.5, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "Best overall affordable all-rounder: Webshare ... It's the most recommended "best cheap proxy provider" for small businesses." (Muse Glimmer 30B, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Webshare is often recommended for datacenter proxies due to its affordability and decent performance for small businesses" (Mistral Small, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Webshare — Best Overall Value ... Start with Webshare's free 10 proxies or their $2.99/month datacenter plan." (DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget 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.