diff --git a/apps/api/src/__tests__/snips/lib.ts b/apps/api/src/__tests__/snips/lib.ts
index f87be6d4..8b32c6bc 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/__tests__/snips/lib.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/__tests__/snips/lib.ts
@@ -31,6 +31,11 @@ function expectScrapeToSucceed(response: Awaited<ReturnType<typeof scrapeRaw>>)
 export async function scrape(body: ScrapeRequestInput): Promise<Document> {
     const raw = await scrapeRaw(body);
     expectScrapeToSucceed(raw);
+    if (body.proxy === "stealth") {
+        expect(raw.body.data.metadata.proxyUsed).toBe("stealth");
+    } else if (!body.proxy || body.proxy === "basic") {
+        expect(raw.body.data.metadata.proxyUsed).toBe("basic");
+    }
     return raw.body.data;
 }
 
diff --git a/apps/api/src/__tests__/snips/scrape.test.ts b/apps/api/src/__tests__/snips/scrape.test.ts
index ead78ac0..2bcad148 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/__tests__/snips/scrape.test.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/__tests__/snips/scrape.test.ts
@@ -275,6 +275,26 @@ describe("Scrape tests", () => {
           timeout: 120000,
         });
       }, 130000);
+
+      it.concurrent("auto works properly on non-stealth site", async () => {
+        const res = await scrape({
+          url: "http://firecrawl.dev",
+          proxy: "auto",
+          timeout: 120000,
+        });
+
+        expect(res.metadata.proxyUsed).toBe("basic");
+      }, 130000);
+
+      it.concurrent("auto works properly on 'stealth' site (faked for reliabile testing)", async () => {
+        const res = await scrape({
+          url: "https://httpstat.us/403",
+          proxy: "auto",
+          timeout: 120000,
+        });
+
+        expect(res.metadata.proxyUsed).toBe("stealth");
+      }, 130000);
     });
     
     // Temporarily disabled, too flaky
diff --git a/apps/api/src/controllers/v1/scrape.ts b/apps/api/src/controllers/v1/scrape.ts
index d492156f..ea43ead6 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/controllers/v1/scrape.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/controllers/v1/scrape.ts
@@ -140,6 +140,7 @@ export async function scrapeController(
   if ((req.body.extract && req.body.formats?.includes("extract")) || (req.body.formats?.includes("changeTracking") && req.body.changeTrackingOptions?.modes?.includes("json"))) {
     creditsToBeBilled = 5;
   }
+
   if (req.body.agent?.model?.toLowerCase() === "fire-1" || req.body.extract?.agent?.model?.toLowerCase() === "fire-1" || req.body.jsonOptions?.agent?.model?.toLowerCase() === "fire-1") {
     if (process.env.USE_DB_AUTHENTICATION === "true") {
       // @Nick this is a hack pushed at 2AM pls help - mogery
@@ -155,7 +156,7 @@ export async function scrapeController(
     }
   }
 
-  if (req.body.proxy === "stealth") {
+  if (doc?.metadata?.proxyUsed === "stealth") {
     creditsToBeBilled += 4;
   }
 
diff --git a/apps/api/src/controllers/v1/search.ts b/apps/api/src/controllers/v1/search.ts
index 5e90f272..7cb2f573 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/controllers/v1/search.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/controllers/v1/search.ts
@@ -145,6 +145,7 @@ async function scrapeSearchResult(
       metadata: {
         statusCode,
         error: error.message,
+        proxyUsed: "basic",
       },
     };
   }
diff --git a/apps/api/src/controllers/v1/types.ts b/apps/api/src/controllers/v1/types.ts
index 1a39037a..02911125 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/controllers/v1/types.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/controllers/v1/types.ts
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ const baseScrapeOptions = z
     fastMode: z.boolean().default(false),
     useMock: z.string().optional(),
     blockAds: z.boolean().default(true),
-    proxy: z.enum(["basic", "stealth"]).optional(),
+    proxy: z.enum(["basic", "stealth", "auto"]).optional(),
   })
   .strict(strictMessage);
 
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ const extractTransform = (obj) => {
     obj = { ...obj, timeout: 300000 };
   }
 
-  if (obj.proxy === "stealth" && obj.timeout === 30000) {
+  if ((obj.proxy === "stealth" || obj.proxy === "auto") && obj.timeout === 30000) {
     obj = { ...obj, timeout: 120000 };
   }
 
@@ -748,6 +748,7 @@ export type Document = {
     statusCode: number;
     scrapeId?: string;
     error?: string;
+    proxyUsed: "basic" | "stealth";
     // [key: string]: string | string[] | number | { smartScrape: number; other: number; total: number } | undefined;
   };
   serpResults?: {
diff --git a/apps/api/src/scraper/scrapeURL/engines/fire-engine/index.ts b/apps/api/src/scraper/scrapeURL/engines/fire-engine/index.ts
index 37d3c870..1463104f 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/scraper/scrapeURL/engines/fire-engine/index.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/scraper/scrapeURL/engines/fire-engine/index.ts
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ export async function scrapeURLWithFireEngineChromeCDP(
     timeout, // TODO: better timeout logic
     disableSmartWaitCache: meta.internalOptions.disableSmartWaitCache,
     blockAds: meta.options.blockAds,
-    mobileProxy: meta.options.proxy === undefined ? undefined : meta.options.proxy === "stealth" ? true : false,
+    mobileProxy: meta.featureFlags.has("stealthProxy"),
     saveScrapeResultToGCS: meta.internalOptions.saveScrapeResultToGCS,
     // TODO: scrollXPaths
   };
@@ -304,7 +304,7 @@ export async function scrapeURLWithFireEnginePlaywright(
     wait: meta.options.waitFor,
     geolocation: meta.options.geolocation ?? meta.options.location,
     blockAds: meta.options.blockAds,
-    mobileProxy: meta.options.proxy === undefined ? undefined : meta.options.proxy === "stealth" ? true : false,
+    mobileProxy: meta.featureFlags.has("stealthProxy"),
 
     timeout,
   };
@@ -360,7 +360,7 @@ export async function scrapeURLWithFireEngineTLSClient(
     atsv: meta.internalOptions.atsv,
     geolocation: meta.options.geolocation ?? meta.options.location,
     disableJsDom: meta.internalOptions.v0DisableJsDom,
-    mobileProxy: meta.options.proxy === undefined ? undefined : meta.options.proxy === "stealth" ? true : false,
+    mobileProxy: meta.featureFlags.has("stealthProxy"),
 
     timeout,
   };
diff --git a/apps/api/src/scraper/scrapeURL/engines/index.ts b/apps/api/src/scraper/scrapeURL/engines/index.ts
index 6a2a2e40..08fb4a3b 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/scraper/scrapeURL/engines/index.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/scraper/scrapeURL/engines/index.ts
@@ -14,8 +14,12 @@ import { scrapeCache } from "./cache";
 export type Engine =
   | "fire-engine;chrome-cdp"
   | "fire-engine(retry);chrome-cdp"
+  | "fire-engine;chrome-cdp;stealth"
+  | "fire-engine(retry);chrome-cdp;stealth"
   | "fire-engine;playwright"
+  | "fire-engine;playwright;stealth"
   | "fire-engine;tlsclient"
+  | "fire-engine;tlsclient;stealth"
   | "playwright"
   | "fetch"
   | "pdf"
@@ -37,9 +41,13 @@ export const engines: Engine[] = [
   ...(useFireEngine
     ? [
         "fire-engine;chrome-cdp" as const,
+        "fire-engine;chrome-cdp;stealth" as const,
         "fire-engine(retry);chrome-cdp" as const,
+        "fire-engine(retry);chrome-cdp;stealth" as const,
         "fire-engine;playwright" as const,
+        "fire-engine;playwright;stealth" as const,
         "fire-engine;tlsclient" as const,
+        "fire-engine;tlsclient;stealth" as const,
       ]
     : []),
   ...(usePlaywright ? ["playwright" as const] : []),
@@ -112,8 +120,12 @@ const engineHandlers: {
   cache: scrapeCache,
   "fire-engine;chrome-cdp": scrapeURLWithFireEngineChromeCDP,
   "fire-engine(retry);chrome-cdp": scrapeURLWithFireEngineChromeCDP,
+  "fire-engine;chrome-cdp;stealth": scrapeURLWithFireEngineChromeCDP,
+  "fire-engine(retry);chrome-cdp;stealth": scrapeURLWithFireEngineChromeCDP,
   "fire-engine;playwright": scrapeURLWithFireEnginePlaywright,
+  "fire-engine;playwright;stealth": scrapeURLWithFireEnginePlaywright,
   "fire-engine;tlsclient": scrapeURLWithFireEngineTLSClient,
+  "fire-engine;tlsclient;stealth": scrapeURLWithFireEngineTLSClient,
   playwright: scrapeURLWithPlaywright,
   fetch: scrapeURLWithFetch,
   pdf: scrapePDF,
@@ -126,7 +138,7 @@ export const engineOptions: {
     features: { [F in FeatureFlag]: boolean };
 
     // This defines the order of engines in general. The engine with the highest quality will be used the most.
-    // Negative quality numbers are reserved for specialty engines, e.g. PDF and DOCX
+    // Negative quality numbers are reserved for specialty engines, e.g. PDF, DOCX, stealth proxies
     quality: number;
   };
 } = {
@@ -160,7 +172,7 @@ export const engineOptions: {
       mobile: true,
       skipTlsVerification: true,
       useFastMode: false,
-      stealthProxy: true,
+      stealthProxy: false,
     },
     quality: 50,
   },
@@ -177,10 +189,44 @@ export const engineOptions: {
       mobile: true,
       skipTlsVerification: true,
       useFastMode: false,
-      stealthProxy: true,
+      stealthProxy: false,
     },
     quality: 45,
   },
+  "fire-engine;chrome-cdp;stealth": {
+    features: {
+      actions: true,
+      waitFor: true, // through actions transform
+      screenshot: true, // through actions transform
+      "screenshot@fullScreen": true, // through actions transform
+      pdf: false,
+      docx: false,
+      atsv: false,
+      location: true,
+      mobile: true,
+      skipTlsVerification: true,
+      useFastMode: false,
+      stealthProxy: true,
+    },
+    quality: -1,
+  },
+  "fire-engine(retry);chrome-cdp;stealth": {
+    features: {
+      actions: true,
+      waitFor: true, // through actions transform
+      screenshot: true, // through actions transform
+      "screenshot@fullScreen": true, // through actions transform
+      pdf: false,
+      docx: false,
+      atsv: false,
+      location: true,
+      mobile: true,
+      skipTlsVerification: true,
+      useFastMode: false,
+      stealthProxy: true,
+    },
+    quality: -5,
+  },
   "fire-engine;playwright": {
     features: {
       actions: false,
@@ -194,10 +240,27 @@ export const engineOptions: {
       mobile: false,
       skipTlsVerification: false,
       useFastMode: false,
-      stealthProxy: true,
+      stealthProxy: false,
     },
     quality: 40,
   },
+  "fire-engine;playwright;stealth": {
+    features: {
+      actions: false,
+      waitFor: true,
+      screenshot: true,
+      "screenshot@fullScreen": true,
+      pdf: false,
+      docx: false,
+      atsv: false,
+      location: false,
+      mobile: false,
+      skipTlsVerification: false,
+      useFastMode: false,
+      stealthProxy: true,
+    },
+    quality: -10,
+  },
   playwright: {
     features: {
       actions: false,
@@ -228,10 +291,27 @@ export const engineOptions: {
       mobile: false,
       skipTlsVerification: false,
       useFastMode: true,
-      stealthProxy: true,
+      stealthProxy: false,
     },
     quality: 10,
   },
+  "fire-engine;tlsclient;stealth": {
+    features: {
+      actions: false,
+      waitFor: false,
+      screenshot: false,
+      "screenshot@fullScreen": false,
+      pdf: false,
+      docx: false,
+      atsv: true,
+      location: true,
+      mobile: false,
+      skipTlsVerification: false,
+      useFastMode: true,
+      stealthProxy: true,
+    },
+    quality: -15,
+  },
   fetch: {
     features: {
       actions: false,
@@ -264,7 +344,7 @@ export const engineOptions: {
       useFastMode: true,
       stealthProxy: true, // kinda...
     },
-    quality: -10,
+    quality: -20,
   },
   docx: {
     features: {
@@ -281,7 +361,7 @@ export const engineOptions: {
       useFastMode: true,
       stealthProxy: true, // kinda...
     },
-    quality: -10,
+    quality: -20,
   },
 };
 
@@ -293,7 +373,7 @@ export function buildFallbackList(meta: Meta): {
     ...engines,
     
     // enable fire-engine in self-hosted testing environment when mocks are supplied
-    ...((!useFireEngine && meta.mock !== null) ? ["fire-engine;chrome-cdp", "fire-engine(retry);chrome-cdp", "fire-engine;playwright", "fire-engine;tlsclient"] as Engine[] : [])
+    ...((!useFireEngine && meta.mock !== null) ? ["fire-engine;chrome-cdp", "fire-engine(retry);chrome-cdp", "fire-engine;chrome-cdp;stealth", "fire-engine(retry);chrome-cdp;stealth", "fire-engine;playwright", "fire-engine;tlsclient", "fire-engine;playwright;stealth", "fire-engine;tlsclient;stealth"] as Engine[] : [])
   ];
 
   if (meta.internalOptions.useCache !== true) {
diff --git a/apps/api/src/scraper/scrapeURL/index.ts b/apps/api/src/scraper/scrapeURL/index.ts
index baf29752..d5d5a680 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/scraper/scrapeURL/index.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/scraper/scrapeURL/index.ts
@@ -261,16 +261,22 @@ async function scrapeURLLoop(meta: Meta): Promise<ScrapeUrlResponse> {
         (engineResult.statusCode >= 200 && engineResult.statusCode < 300) ||
         engineResult.statusCode === 304;
       const hasNoPageError = engineResult.error === undefined;
+      const isLikelyProxyError = [403, 429].includes(engineResult.statusCode);
 
       results[engine] = {
         state: "success",
         result: engineResult,
-        factors: { isLongEnough, isGoodStatusCode, hasNoPageError },
+        factors: { isLongEnough, isGoodStatusCode, hasNoPageError, isLikelyProxyError },
         unsupportedFeatures,
         startedAt,
         finishedAt: Date.now(),
       };
 
+      if (isLikelyProxyError && meta.options.proxy === "auto" && !meta.featureFlags.has("stealthProxy")) {
+        meta.logger.info("Scrape via " + engine + " deemed unsuccessful due to proxy inadequacy. Adding stealthProxy flag.");
+        throw new AddFeatureError(["stealthProxy"]);
+      }
+
       // NOTE: TODO: what to do when status code is bad is tough...
       // we cannot just rely on text because error messages can be brief and not hit the limit
       // should we just use all the fallbacks and pick the one with the longest text? - mogery
@@ -368,6 +374,7 @@ async function scrapeURLLoop(meta: Meta): Promise<ScrapeUrlResponse> {
       url: result.result.url,
       statusCode: result.result.statusCode,
       error: result.result.error,
+      proxyUsed: meta.featureFlags.has("stealthProxy") ? "stealth" : "basic",
     },
   };
 
diff --git a/apps/api/src/services/queue-worker.ts b/apps/api/src/services/queue-worker.ts
index 72efb5d8..d9da9ea1 100644
--- a/apps/api/src/services/queue-worker.ts
+++ b/apps/api/src/services/queue-worker.ts
@@ -1384,7 +1384,7 @@ async function processJob(job: Job & { id: string }, token: string) {
         }
       }
 
-      if (job.data.scrapeOptions.proxy === "stealth") {
+      if (doc.metadata?.proxyUsed === "stealth") {
         creditsToBeBilled += 4;
       }