Stop overpaying for proxies
ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer is a proxy cost optimization tool that scans your entire Apify actor fleet, detects target platforms, and recommends the cheapest proxy type that works for each actor — Datacenter, Residential, SERP, or none at all. Residential proxies cost 8x more than Datacenter. ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer finds actors using expensive proxies they don't need, with typical savings of $10-50/month at $0.50 per analysis.
Many Apify actors default to residential proxies when cheaper datacenter proxies would work fine. ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer matches each actor against 13 known platforms and recommends the least expensive proxy type that won't get blocked.
Matches 13 platforms from actor name and description: LinkedIn, Facebook, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter/X, Reddit, Yelp, Craigslist, Yellow Pages, Glassdoor, and Indeed.
Maps each platform to optimal proxy: Datacenter (cheapest, for most sites), Residential (for protected sites like LinkedIn/Facebook), SERP (for search engines like Google/Bing).
Identifies actors in AI/DEVELOPER_TOOLS/INTEGRATIONS categories that access public APIs rather than scraping websites. These actors don't need proxies at all — removing proxy config eliminates proxy costs.
Total actors by recommended proxy type — see where your proxy budget goes. Identifies the biggest cost-saving opportunities across your entire fleet at a glance.
Every actor gets a specific recommendation with the detected platform, recommended proxy type, and plain-English reasoning for why that proxy type is optimal.
Click Run and ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer scans your entire fleet automatically. Zero configuration — reads everything from your connected Apify account metadata.
There are several ways to optimize proxy usage across your Apify fleet. Each trades off accuracy, effort, and coverage.
| Method | Coverage | Time per actor | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer | Entire fleet, 13 platforms | Under 1 second (automated) | $0.50/fleet analysis |
| Manual proxy testing | One actor at a time | 15-30 minutes (trial runs) | Compute cost per test run |
| Apify proxy documentation | General guidance, no actor-specific | 10-20 minutes reading | Free |
| Default configuration | No optimization | Zero | Potential $10-50/mo overspend |
{
"totalActors": 45,
"byProxyType": {
"DATACENTER": 30, "RESIDENTIAL": 12, "SERP": 3, "NONE": 0
},
"recommendations": [
{
"actorName": "google-maps-email-extractor",
"detectedPlatform": "google",
"recommendedProxy": "SERP",
"reason": "Google search requires SERP proxies"
}
],
"tips": ["12 actors need residential — 8x more expensive than datacenter"]
}Connect your Apify token — no other input needed
ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer scans your entire fleet and detects target platforms
Get per-actor proxy recommendations with cost-saving opportunities
Several approaches exist for optimizing proxy usage, from manual testing to reading documentation.
Run each actor with different proxy types (datacenter, residential, SERP) and check which ones succeed. Accurate but extremely time-intensive: 15-30 minutes per actor, 3 test runs per actor, plus compute costs for each failed attempt.
Best for: verifying a specific actor's proxy requirements when the recommendation needs validation.
Read Apify's proxy documentation for general guidance on when to use each proxy type. Good for understanding the concepts but does not provide actor-specific recommendations or fleet-wide analysis.
Best for: new users learning about proxy types before making decisions.
Use whatever proxy type is configured by default in each actor. Zero effort but often results in overspending — many actors default to residential proxies when datacenter would work. Costs $10-50/month more than necessary across a typical fleet.
Best for: users who don't care about proxy costs (not recommended).
Use external proxy providers (Bright Data, Oxylabs, etc.) instead of Apify's built-in proxies. More configuration options but adds complexity, requires separate billing, and may not integrate cleanly with Apify's actor framework.
Best for: enterprise users with specific proxy requirements beyond Apify's offerings.
Automated fleet-wide analysis that detects target platforms and recommends the cheapest proxy type for each actor. $0.50 per analysis with zero input required. Covers 13 platforms and identifies actors that don't need proxies at all.
Best for: Apify users who want data-driven proxy optimization without manual testing.
Every proxy analysis executes on your own Apify account at the standard pay-per-event rate of $0.50 per analysis. ApifyForge has no platform fee or subscription. If the analysis saves you $10/month in proxy costs, it pays for itself 20x over.
ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer scans your entire Apify actor fleet, detects the target platforms each actor scrapes, and recommends the cheapest proxy type that works for each: Datacenter (cheapest), Residential (for protected sites like LinkedIn/Facebook), or SERP (for search engines like Google). It also identifies API-based actors that don't need proxies at all. The goal is to find actors using expensive proxy types they don't need.
Each ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer run costs $0.50, charged as a pay-per-event (PPE) fee on your own Apify account. The tool reads actor metadata (name, description, categories) from the Apify API — it does not trigger any actor runs or test any proxies. If the analysis saves you even $1/month in proxy costs, it pays for itself in 2 weeks.
Apify proxy pricing varies significantly by type. Datacenter proxies are the cheapest at approximately $0.10 per 1,000 requests. Residential proxies cost approximately 8x more. SERP proxies (for Google, Bing) cost approximately 12x more than datacenter. Many actors default to residential proxies when datacenter would work fine — ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer identifies these overspends.
ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer matches actor names and descriptions against 13 known platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter/X, Reddit, Yelp, Craigslist, Yellow Pages, Glassdoor, and Indeed. Each platform maps to an optimal proxy type based on the platform's anti-bot protection level. Actors not matching any platform default to datacenter proxy recommendations.
Yes. ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer identifies actors in API-oriented categories (AI, DEVELOPER_TOOLS, INTEGRATIONS) that access public APIs rather than scraping websites. These actors typically don't need proxies at all. Removing unnecessary proxy configuration eliminates proxy costs entirely for these actors.
No. ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer requires zero input beyond your Apify API token. It scans your entire actor fleet automatically, analyzing each actor's metadata to detect target platforms and recommend proxy types. Just click Run.
Run ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer whenever you add new actors to your fleet or notice increased proxy costs in your Apify billing. For active development, quarterly analysis catches new actors that may have been configured with default (expensive) proxy settings. The $0.50 cost per analysis is negligible compared to potential monthly proxy savings.
No. ApifyForge Proxy Analyzer is read-only — it analyzes your fleet and provides recommendations but does not modify any actor configurations. You implement the recommendations manually by updating each actor's proxy settings in the Apify Console or via the API. This gives you full control over which changes to apply.