Residential proxies are often one of the first infrastructure costs an early-stage company runs into, and one of the hardest to plan for. Usage tends to grow faster than revenue, enterprise pricing is built around volumes most startups are nowhere near, and every GB comes out of a budget that has plenty of other claims on it.
The Byteful Startup Program is our answer. It gives qualifying startups up to 3TB of free residential bandwidth for their first three months, followed by exclusive discounted pricing for up to two years, so the proxy bill stays predictable while you figure out what your usage actually looks like.
A Tier for Every Startup
Every tier follows the same shape. From day one, you get free Residential Proxy Data each month for three months, alongside exclusive discounted pricing on quantities from 1GB to 5TB. A further year of tapered pricing follows.
After a year of tapered pricing, you move to standard rates. Every member also gets access to a Slack channel with a senior Byteful developer for 1:1 assistance.
The differences come down to who qualifies, how much bandwidth you receive, how deep the discount goes, and how long it lasts.
| At a glance | Bootstrapped | VC / Accelerator Backed | YC Deal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Self-funded, no external investment | Pre-Seed to Series A, or any accelerator | Y Combinator companies |
| Open to | New customers only | New customers only | New and existing customers |
| Company age | Under 5 years | Under 5 years | No limit |
| Free residential bandwidth | 250GB/month for 3 months | 1TB/month for 3 months | 1TB/month for 3 months |
| Exclusive Residential Data discount | 30% off for 12 months, then 20% off for 12 months | 50% off for 12 months, then 25% off for 12 months | 50% off for 24 months, then 25% off for 12 months |
Note: All discounts apply to Residential Data catalog pricing for quantities between 1GB and 5 TB. Full eligibility details for each tier are below.
Bootstrapped
This tier is for companies building on their own money. There is no MRR threshold, so you do not need to prove revenue to qualify. We only ask that your company and domain are registered and that you have not taken any external funding or investment.
VC / Accelerator Backed
This tier is for teams that have raised, anywhere from Pre-Seed to Series A, or that have come through an accelerator. Any accelerator program qualifies, and there is no cap on how much you have raised. The bandwidth allowance increases to 1TB a month, and the discount deepens to 50%.
YC Deal
This tier is for Y Combinator companies, and it is the most generous of the three. There is no company age limit, no funding limit, and it is the only tier open to existing Byteful customers as well as new ones. The 50% exclusive pricing also runs for two full years, not one.
Found the tier that fits? You can apply for any of them on the Byteful Startup Program.
How do the discounts actually work?
Percentages and free allowances tend to raise the same questions: off what price, from when, and what happens afterward? Startup programs often look generous on the landing page and confusing on the first invoice, so here is exactly how ours works.
- Residential only: The free allowance, the exclusive pricing, and the tapered pricing all apply to Byteful's residential proxy network.
- Catalog only: The exclusive discounts apply only to catalog pricing between quantities of 1GB - 5TB. The discount can’t be applied to bespoke or wholesale pricing.
- Percentage-based: Byteful's catalog is volume-based, so the per-GB rate changes with how much you buy. Your discount applies to the catalog price at the volume you purchase. Buying 100GB at 50% off means 50% off the 100GB rate, not the rate for a 5TB block.
- Active from day one: The exclusive pricing period begins the day you join and runs alongside your free bandwidth, not after it. If you work through your free allowance before the three months are up, you can top up straight away at your discounted rate.
- Standard rates after: Once your tapered pricing year finishes, your account continues on Byteful's standard catalog rates.
What about Static ISP, Datacenter and Mobile Proxies?
Our discount programs currently cover residential proxies only. If you need Static ISP, Datacenter, or Mobile proxies, contact your account manager, and we will put together a bespoke deal for your use case.
How to Apply?
Applications go through a short form on the Startup Program page. For the Bootstrapped tier, you will be asked for your name, company name, company email, company website, date incorporated, and proposed use case. VC / Accelerator-backed applicants should have their press release, directory listing, or confirmation email ready. YC applicants apply with their YC verification link.
Once you are in, you'll get a Slack channel invite so you can get your integration running with someone who knows the network inside out.
