Best Proxy 2021
13 Best Proxy Server Services for 2021 – Free and Paid
195 locations worldwide
Unlimited proxy connections
Dedicated IPs
Firefox/Chrome extensions
Smartproxy offers one of the best proxy services for both residential and business use. It’s best suited for conducting basic online scrapping tasks such as data harvesting. You get back-connect proxies, anonymous browsing, global connectivity – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
The setup process is straightforward. You have the option of choosing between Firefox and Google Chrome extensions. The dashboard of both is very easy to navigate. All features are well-arranged. Best of all – support is available via chat to help you at all times.
This is a feature-rich proxy service. It has 195 data centers spread across 8 cities worldwide. This enables you to benefit from over 40 million IPs. You can comfortably access geo-blocked services. The service supports simultaneous proxy connections.
Smartproxy provides robust and reliable residential proxies. IPs are assigned to physical devices such as computers and smartphones. That way, internet service providers recognize IP addresses as actual visitors. This lessens the risk of getting blocked. You’ll also find data center proxies that support an unlimited number of concurrent connections. Unlike the former, it’s cheap and comes with a substantial bandwidth allotment.
This proxy service limits IP sessions to a maximum of 30 minutes. A different address is immediately assigned once the allocated time elapses. It prevents users from engaging in abusive behavior.
On the downside, some users complain of slow internet speeds when using this service. But that’s not surprising – there’s no SOCKS5 protocol. Other than that, the pricing starts at $50, which is reasonable. Should it disappoint, you’ll have up to 3 days to claim your money back.
Cloud proxy manager
Website unblocking
Mobile device IPs
Pay-as-you-go plans
Bright Data is one of the best alternatives to free proxy services online. It offers feature-rich tools for gathering information. Over 10, 000+ professionals currently trust this vendor globally.
You’ll be greeted with a neat dashboard. It has a quick walkthrough guide of the available services. Each feature also has a snippet preview.
Moreover, you can manage the online proxy server services from the console. That’s because it offers pay-as-you-go plans (PAYG). Here, bandwidth, IP pool size, and network ports are easy to allocate.
As for the features, it’s a bed of roses.
Data unblocker unlocks websites with toughened anti-crawling technologies. In addition, you get access to over 72 million real-user IPs to enhance its effectiveness. The company also bills you for successful requests only.
The proxy service has a wide range of options. Firstly, it has a search engine crawler. It provides real-time data collection by scrapping Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and others.
Secondly, it comes with mobile proxies that use 3G/4G connections. These are assigned to actual mobile carriers from around the world. Furthermore, it comes with over seven million residential IPs.
But that’s not all.
You can use Bright Data’s application programming interface (API) to create custom apps. It’s compatible with Java,, C Sharp (C#), and Shell. Public proxy server providers, on the other hand, don’t offer such a feature.
Proxy management is incredibly flexible. There’s a Google Chrome extension for a start. Installing a custom web server script is a good alternative. You can also use its cloud manager that costs $150/month extra.
The company provides a dedicated account manager for support. While that sounds good, they’re available during business hours only.
But, on a more positive note, it offers a 7-day risk-free trial. Should it impress, you can upgrade from as little as a dollar on PAYG.
Real-time web crawler
Over 100 million IPs
Automatic proxy rotator
24/7 support
Oxylabs ranks highly among the best proxy servers for businesses. It offers global coverage and a pool of over 100 million IPs. Its services are ideal for performing various proxy-driven jobs, e. g. marketing intelligence tasks.
It has a colorful dashboard that’s easy to navigate. You can use it to access statistics of your usage. There are separate sections for billing and ordering new services as well.
You can’t manage proxies from the dashboard. However, Oxylabs’ products plugin well into the software that supports proxies. Oxylabs even offers a Google Chrome extension, which allows users to test the proxies or browse around the internet. Likewise, proxies work well with third-party proxy managers such as FoxyProxy.
You’ll find different types of server proxies for various needs. SOCKS5 Proxy comes in handy for using proxies with custom programs or protocols.
Residential Proxy pools handle bulk scrapping. They provide unlimited simultaneous connections for by-passing IP blocks online. It’s also possible to geo-target locations up to the city level.
You can optimize your business activities using datacenter proxies. For example, datacenter proxies help companies to find markets with counterfeit products. This type of proxy service can also be used for the identification of malicious attacks. Examples include finding viruses in files, identification of phishing links, and locating data breaches published online.
You’ll find a proxy rotator that automates IP switching. It enables you to forget about proxy management while carrying out scraping operations.
What’s more?
Oxylabs Real-Time Crawler can help gather data from websites that employ advanced anti-bot solutions with a higher success rate. The Real-Time Crawler also supports providing already parsed data from select websites.
The downsides?
The high price tag is the only disadvantage. Plans start from $180/month for the cheapest options.
On the upside, customer support is excellent. You can request help via email or live chat 24/7. Its higher tiers even come with a dedicated account manager.
Automatic IP rotation
Time-based sticky IPs
Dedicated 4G mobile proxies
Caching for bandwidth saving
IPRoyal is among the best proxy platforms that has extensive network coverage. It includes top locations such as:
US
UK
China
Germany
And more.
Best of all, it has affordable prices with no minimum requirements.
The vendor takes pride in offering a wide selection of services. Apart from the usual ones, it provides sneaker proxies for lovers of sports shoes. It bypasses restrictions in fashion sites that limit customers from making bulk purchases.
Another notable mention – the 4G mobile proxy. It’s powered by real user devices and residential IPs from cellular networks. The setup boosts trust and reduces the chances of getting banned. So you can do web scraping, competitor research, and complete SEO tasks with confidence.
The company has a pool of over two million IP addresses. And it adds hundreds of new proxy sites daily thanks to the IPRoyal Pawns program. It uses a peer-to-peer (P2P) approach that allows customers to share their bandwidth. In exchange, the vendor pays them for using their internet connections as proxies.
You can use randomize that frequently rotates your IP on autopilot. But sticky is the best option if you want to use one address. It comes with a time limit of 24 hours before it changes. That’s, however, not a guarantee – the system can swap it any time.
SOCKS5 enhances security by using multiple authentication methods to process data. Likewise, there’s HTTPS for end-to-end encryption between your device and the internet.
IPRoyal also claims it uses caching to save bandwidth and supercharge internet speeds. We were able to use less data when testing its proxy network. However, it took ages to load websites and download files. To add salt to injury, the vendor doesn’t have a refund policy. The good news is you can buy its proxy services for as little as $1. 00. The payment options include credit cards and bitcoin.
Offers free unlimited browsing
Support for any browser
BitTorrent client support
Fast ping times
is one of the best free proxy server software on the market. This solution offers a long list of features that you will love – auto-connect, IP leak protection, and BitTorrent support among others. The best thing about it – you’ll experience zero ads by using this product.
So, is it worth it?
is lightweight and easy to set up. All you need to do is install the Google Chrome/Firefox extension. There’s also an in-browser tool available, great for those that don’t like add-ons.
The features side is where it gets interesting. Unlike Smartproxy, gives you SOCKS5 for free. It allows you to enjoy swift response times during gaming and media streaming. Torrent lovers will enjoy the fast peer-to-peer file-sharing that this free proxy server offers. You also get to enjoy limitless bandwidth usage throughout.
has WebRTC in place to shield your IP from leaking. You can use an auto connection to switch between servers. To maximize protection, this vendor doesn’t record any logs of your activity.
This free proxy service lets you choose server locations. Only three regions are supported – Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Of course, nothing is perfect. We couldn’t find the total number of IPs offered. The support team couldn’t tell us anything about it. also doesn’t support multiple connections. But given it’s a free proxy program, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
Over 40 million IPs
Rotating sticky IPs
Avoid bot detection
Scalable
ScraperAPI is one of the best proxy sites for web scraping. It has over 40 million IPs from many countries, with a user-friendly scraping tool. It can handle CAPTCHAs and other forms of bot detection, as well as JavaScript.
Proxies automatically rotate in the background. Just enter the URL of any site and you will get the raw HTML in return. If you’d like a more permanent session, you can easily use a static IP as well.
You also get custom header support, automatic retries, and desktop and mobile user agents. In other words, you can make your traffic appear like it’s coming from a computer or a phone.
Nonetheless, it is not as advanced as others, meaning you’ll have to parse the data yourself. Its simplicity and full API access, however, make it ideal for developers with their own scraping solutions. You can even call the API via web browser, as follows:
“yourAPIkey]&url=[URL]”
A seven-day free trial for up to 5, 000 requests lets you see if it’s the right fit. This requires no credit card, so you won’t accidentally get billed.
After the trial expires, you can decide whether to upgrade to one of three well-priced plans or negotiate an Enterprise solution.
The good news is low-volume users can access a free proxy server that permits 1, 000 requests per month. Here’s what the rest of the plans offer:
Hobby: $29/mo – 250, 000 requests, and 10 concurrent threads.
Startup: $99/mo – One million requests, 25 concurrent threads, and US geotargeting.
Business: $249/mo – Three million requests, 50 concurrent threads, 12-country geotargeting, and access to residential proxies.
If you still decide it’s not for you after purchasing a plan, there’s a seven-day money back guarantee.
Although all plans use rotating proxy pools, it is only the business plan that unlocks access to residential IPs.
Its dedicated proxy pools for different types of scraping really stand out. This includes products, search engine results, social media content, and more.
As for customer support, staff are available 24/7 by email or live chat. Business users get priority in the email queue, while Enterprise customers get a dedicated support channel. Everyone has access to documentation and help pages.
To manage your account ScraperAPI provides a web-based dashboard. Here you can access billing and view usage statistics. You’ll also find your API key and lots of useful code for PHP, Node, Ruby, Bash, and Python/Scrapy. A lot of this can be pasted directly into your custom scripts.
To sum up, ScraperAPI is an excellent solution for web scraping. It takes the hassle out of managing proxies by doing all the hard work in the background. Plans are affordable and it gets extra points for providing one of the best free proxy plans on the market.
Affordable pricing plans
Offers ads-free experience
Unlimited bandwidth allocation
Portable KProxy browser
Kproxy is one of the best proxy server options, no matter what budget you have. This solution is great for both novice and expert users that have undemanding web browsing needs.
Let’s check out the features.
The configuration process is fast. You can choose between Google Chrome and Firefox extensions. If you lack either, Kproxy’s proxy browser is readily available. Also, the product is currently compatible with the Kiwi Internet Access App for Android.
Kproxy has a lot to offer in terms of functionality. For starters, it automatically selects a server for you. You also have the option of switching between 5 countries, among which Canada, France, and the USA.
IP leak protection is enabled by default for hiding your location at all times. WebRTC’s protocol also allows you to browse restricted websites easily. But it gets better – this proxy program has a separate plugin for bypassing network filters. This inclusion helps you to access blocked sites by system administrators at work or school.
At times, users can engage in abusive behavior leading to a ban of IPs. Such an incidence usually affects user experience. To avoid that, you can use server management to delist affected regions. You can isolate slow proxies from your network.
Just as, Kproxy gives you limitless bandwidth. But there’s a catch. It limits downloads/uploads to a maximum of 300 megabytes. This means that you can’t use this service to transfer large files.
Another drawback is the limited choice of private proxies on the free plan. But that shouldn’t worry you. From just $10/month, you can enjoy 120+ servers located in North America and Europe. That’s quite a bargain.
Free proxy service
Unlimited bandwidth support
Online proxy browser
IP leak protection
HideMyAss (HMA) is an easy-to-use free proxy server that has basic features for browsing. First-time users will surely appreciate using this solution to browse online anonymously.
Unlike other developers that provide browser extensions, HMA comes with none. It has a simple web-based proxy for accessing online sites. All you need to do is enter a web address and select a preferred server to connect to.
This solution has many great features. The use of bandwidth is unrestricted. You can browse, mine data, and download an unlimited number of files. There are no ads whatsoever.
On the server side, you have a choice of six countries to use, including two regions in the US and one in the UK. But that’s just it. Crucial features such as Kproxy’s IP blocking are missing. You also won’t be able to select a network based on server location.
Security is another area of interest when using dedicated proxy services. HMA offers URL encryption for hiding your IP address. You can also block scripts such as JavaScript used for tracking visitors on websites. You can also disable cookies.
However, it lags behind the competition on various fronts. SOCKS5 for speeding up internet speeds is lacking. This makes the use of demanding services such as gaming and streaming problematic. IP leak protection only does a basic job of shielding your address, so your service provider may still be able to track your online activity.
Overall, this free proxy service works okay in accessing blocked websites online.
Free web-based service
Auto IP selection
Four locations available
Dedicated IP per session
If you’re looking for the best free proxy server, get VPNBook. The service provides dedicated IP and unlimited browsing sessions. As if not enough, there’s a web browser to make it better.
Getting started with this product is easy. Just as HMA, it offers an online proxy browser. You can pick the fastest server for you. You can also select a preferred region from the dropdown list of data centers. During sessions, a sticky bar is always available for swapping websites fast.
VPNBook tops the best proxy server list when it comes to security. It provides SSL browsing by utilizing AES-256bit data encryption. WebRTC is in place to protect your IP from leaking. It also blocks other scripts, which websites use for tracking user activities. To cover one’s tracks, it doesn’t keep your history.
But wait – there’s more.
Finding a solution that’s compatible with all devices is a challenging task. To address this problem, VPNBook loads websites via iFrames. This feature combines HTML and CSS, fitting for all screen sizes. You’ll have a smooth experience browsing from mobile phones.
Whereas other online proxy sites offer dynamic addresses, VPNBook gives you a static one. This lessens interruptions in platforms sensitive to IP changes. The vendor also blacklists people that abuse their servers. In doing so, it preserves the integrity of the service for other users.
On the downside, this product is strictly for personal use. It’s also ad-supported. Apart from the bad side, you can get a premium version for $7. 95/month. It provides support for gaming, VoIP, torrents, and much more.
Lightweight on system resources
Quick links access
Limitless bandwidth support
Fast gigabit connection
When it comes to functionality, ProxySite tops the list of the best free proxy services. This solution is not only feature-rich but also built for performance. Users that need to access blocked websites will greatly appreciate this product.
The setup process is simple. ProxySite comes with a browser-based proxy. It has shortcuts for accessing popular sites such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. You also have the option of selecting one of 25+ servers between the US and EU.
But it doesn’t end there.
ProxySite comes with proxy configurations. It provides an endless list of custom presets to utilize. With it, you can easily simulate popular browsers, devices, and operating systems. The most notable ones include Blackberry, iPhone, macOS, and Windows 7/10.
Developers are also not left out. There’s a slot for changing the user agent of your browser. This enables you to test websites that you’ve created. It’s also ideal for running custom bots for data mining tasks.
This is the best paid proxy server software for managing cookies. It gives you a list of all the browsing data stored on your device. This allows you to use or selectively delete them before visiting any website. As simple as it sounds, some sites rely on these files to track you. And removing them helps you cover your steps.
Speed is also worth mentioning. ProxySite has a gigabit network that delivers faster connectivity. When combined with SOCKS5, you’ll be able to stream on the fly.
Of course, ProxySite isn’t perfect. During testing, sites such as Google blocked our requests. The user interface of most websites that we visited also appeared distorted.
The pro version that includes a VPN will set you back $9. 99/month. It offers premium security, more servers, and compatibility with most websites.
Supports multiple browsers
Standalone apps for smartphones
Good speed
Servers in 17 countries
Whoer is the best proxy server software for people that have multiple devices. It has an app for Windows, Mac, Linux, web browsers, and smartphones. It’s ideal for families/groups of friends of up to 5 members.
When using Whoer, you’ll find a dedicated application/extension for your favorite device. Once you install, it takes a single click to get started. The free plan only allows you to use one server location. Premium users get to choose from 17 regions.
The browser extensions have WebRTC for protecting you against IP leaks. There’s also a kill switch. When the internet connectivity fails, it will shield your address from being visible. A great reason to put Whoer on our Best Proxy Server list.
Another great addition is end-to-end encryption via SSL. It utilizes a 256-bit file encoding, which secures the connection between your server and device. Whoer’s servers leave no trace of your online activity.
For pro users, internet speeds are blazing fast. You can watch Netflix, play online games, and share torrent files. In comparison, the free version throttles connections to a maximum of 1mb/s. Even though you won’t be able to run heavy tasks, it’s still okay for browsing.
But.
Whoer offers fewer server locations in the US and UK. Similarly, the limitation of bandwidth on the free plan is a turnoff. It’s also impossible to select an IP proxy.
Then again, the free version covers all the important bases. If you like it, you can go pro for $9. 90/month. Whoer has a 30-day unconditional money-back guarantee.
2. 5 million IPs
Mobile VPN
Static and Residential
Extensions for Chrome and Firefox
If you want to buy proxy services, GeoSurf is one of the longest-running providers on the web. The Tel Aviv-based company covers every major city in the world via 2. 5 million IP addresses.
It offers both residential and static IPs. The former is delivered on rotation by an API. Therefore, you can make as many simultaneous requests as needed without being blocked or slowed down.
If you’d prefer a static IP, GeoSurf covers over 130 countries in over 30 designated market areas in the US. They are more prone to identification, though.
Georsurf’s other key feature is a VPN for mobile. VPNs easily allow you to hide behind proxies as you browse or otherwise use the internet. This one complies with Android and iOS and uses numerous protocols, including OpenVPN and PPTP. This feature is limited to 120 locations.
For a proxy site, GeoSurf is certainly pricey. But it comes with a long track record and many extra features.
The starter plan is $450/month for ‘130+ IPs’ and 38GB of traffic. At the top end, you get unlimited IP access for $2, 000/month, and 250GB of traffic. All plans are auto-recurring. Enterprise plans can be negotiated if you contact the team. Due to the price, GeoSurf is more suitable for medium to large businesses than individuals.
The sign-up process is a little labored. First, you must give your name, email, and country, and then a salesperson will arrange a Skype chat. You can’t just buy a plan and get going.
Once you’ve been prodded and chosen a plan, you can manage your account from a web dashboard. Here you can see billing info, traffic usage, and access the gateways.
There are many ways to implement your proxies, including mobile. A toolbar can be added to Chrome and Firefox browsers. You can delete your browser data and switch IPs with just a few clicks.
To set your whole computer behind a proxy, you can use the Desktop VPN – some of the best proxy server software Windows, Mac, and Linux. Users can surf the web with any browser this way, but it also allows you to use other applications.
Meanwhile, developers might connect to the API directly to run scripts and other operations that can benefit from some of the best proxy servers around the globe. All it really lacks is support for SOCKS5 protocol.
Although its service is brilliant, the current incarnation of the website could do with improvement. Many pages have stock text filling up space. Moreover, there are pages for ‘Instagram Proxies’ and ‘Ad Verification Proxies’. This, however, is just marketing for the exact same plans. There are no dedicated proxies for Instagram or ad verification. Nonetheless, you can use GeoSurf for those purposes.
Performance-wise, it provides a lot of unique IPs, but falls short to Bright Data and Smartproxy. It also doesn’t quite match up to the speed of Smartproxy or Oxylabs.
In conclusion, we found their IPs to be clean and plentiful, and the overall infrastructure to be fast and secure. A legally binding agreement that states they don’t pass on your personal info was good to see. In the future, we’d like a clear free trial (you have to ask for a live demo or wait for a special promotion). And, SOCKS support would be nice.
Great scraping tool
Automatic proxy management
Residential proxies available
Lots of plans
Zyte grew as an internal platform for web scraping company ScrapingHub. After using the name Crawlera for over a decade, it’s gone for something a little more inclusive now.
Under the hood, however, it is a continuation of the same rotating proxy network. It’s one of the best proxy sites for bots and scraping. Most importantly, it doesn’t trigger CAPTCHAS or IP bans.
Zyte does not sell users on the number of IPs it has access to or how clean they are. Instead, it applies its own complex rotation system over IPs it rents from other providers. That is to say, you’re buying a robust web scraping tool that utilizes proxies, rather than the proxies/IPs themselves.
The IPs aren’t well suited for other purposes, which is a downside. Furthermore, plans are based around the number of requests.
Two key features make up the Zyte experience. First is a ‘Smart Proxy Manager’ of thousands of data centre IPs from across the world. Everything is rotated automatically in the background. The tool is able to assess your requested site for its load and ban likelihood. Then, it adjusts your request rate to keep you on the green list.
If an IP proxy is blocked, it assesses why and retries with a new IP address.
Second, is the ‘Automatic Extraction’ tool. This saves you using a third-party crawler. Simply enter a URL into the intuitive dashboard and it will pull the data without coding.
Product databases, news articles – there are lots of possibilities. Plus, you can use the Extraction API with your own more advanced methods off the back of Zyte’s infrastructure.
The proxy manager starts from $29/month for up to 50, 000 requests, 50 of which can be concurrent. The $349/month ‘Advanced’ plan supports 2. 5 million monthly requests, 200 of which can be concurrent. Enterprise solutions start at $999.
For automatic data extraction, pricing starts at $60 per 100, 000 requests. The upper limit is 500, 000 requests per month. Alternatively, you can rely on bespoke data services from $450 per month, but you’ll need to speak to a sales rep.
You can try both tools for free for 14 days, with a limit of 10, 000 requests.
Residential proxies are now available, but they’re a paid extra, on top of any other plans you purchase. The smallest plan is $300 per month for 25GB of traffic and access to over 500, 000 IP addresses.
At the other end, you can get 200GB of traffic and priority in the support queue for $1, 000 a month.
Customer support is excellent, albeit tiered. On the cheaper plans you must rely on a ticket, reading the help pages, or asking the community forum. Responses are guaranteed within one business day, but we received a reply within an hour for a test question.
The high-priced plans get priority in the queue, while Enterprise clients have a dedicated account manager.
In short, Zyte is an excellent proxy program for those that need to use many IPs for data mining. You can find better services, however, if you require proxies for other means.
What is a Proxy?
A proxy is an access point that acts as a gateway to the internet. All traffic requests to and from a website are processed by a computer server. This approach protects your real identity from being exposed.
Under typical circumstances, workplaces, schools, and libraries block specific sites from access. Likewise, some websites are geo-restricted. Using a proxy helps you freely access those web pages.
Some of the best private proxy server services offer enhanced security features – SSL encryption, audit logs, firewall, and more. They provide an additional layer of defense between computer systems and outside traffic. This plays a huge role in shielding users/organizations from hackers.
Paid Proxies Versus Free Proxies
Both have upsides and downsides. While the former provides more options, the latter has basic functions to get the job done.
Here are the details.
Pros
Service providers offer free proxy services to you at zero costs. However, vendors enforce restrictions on bandwidth, server resources, and more. Such limitations are usually in place to maintain the quality of service. That way you handle lightweight tasks such as browsing and opening blocked sites. It allows users to test the waters before going pro.
Paid proxies offer more features at a premium price. You can choose between different regions and specific IP addresses. It also guarantees you 99% anonymity and privacy online. You’ll experience fast connections by browsing at full speeds.
Over the years, competition has drastically lowered the cost of these services. A good example is Whoer that charges $9. 90/month with support for up to 5 users. That’s as cheap as a cup of Starbucks coffee.
Cons
The majority of best internet proxy server providers have a zero cost plan in place. But the truth is – there’s nothing as free lunch. Vendors usually use this approach to upsell products and services.
Web browsers store cookies when you visit websites. These are small files that are generated based on user behavior online. When you use free proxies, developers collect and sell this data to third-party advertisers. Vendors such as VPNBook directly serve advertisements to you. In simple terms – you indirectly pay for the service.
The other drawback is related to security. When using free proxy services, your anonymity isn’t guaranteed. IP leaks are bound to happen and this can expose your real identity. However, if you’re an occasional user, that shouldn’t be a matter of concern.
On the flip side, paid proxies aren’t that reliable. Downtimes and server breakdowns can occur at any time. Dealing with them is extremely annoying.
Types of Proxies
There are many proxies available. They mostly differ on essentials such as configuration, software, and functionality.
Here we’ve covered 6 of the most common proxy types:
Shared Proxy
This type of proxy is built on an extensive computer networking infrastructure. It’s normally used to serve several clients at the same time. This allows vendors to split the costs amongst users; hence, make the service affordable. To ensure quality, the majority proxy of service providers utilize load-balancing to handle traffic spikes. It helps to distribute large requests across a web of interlinked data centers. This setup enables users to enjoy a smooth experience all through.
Semi-Dedicated Proxy
This is a type of proxy that combines the benefits of shared and dedicated proxies. It usually allows a maximum of 5 users per server. This grants superior service at budget-friendly prices. However, you risk service interruption due to overloading by a single user. It’s a great option for casual users that need privacy online.
Dedicated Proxy
A dedicated proxy allows a single user to utilize all resources. This solution offers more agility and computing power to the client. It’s also efficient, stable, and secure. The chances of getting your IP banned are minimal. You’ll have greater control over managing your online tasks. All these benefits do come at a high price, though.
Socks5 Proxy
Security is a top priority for people that prefer to be anonymous online. That’s where SOCKS5 proxy comes into the picture. It covers the highest standards of data encryption. It supports protocols such as TCP/UDP layer 4 and SSL layer 7. Using it allows you to transfer coded information over HTTP/HTTPS, SFTP, P2P, and more.
Residential Proxy
If you need the best anonymous proxy server, get a residential proxy. With it, IP addresses get attached to actual devices – smartphones, gaming consoles, or computers. Connections generated by this solution are usually undetectable. The service makes websites give you the greenlight by identifying you as an actual visitor.
Reverse Proxy
A reverse proxy is a computer network that mediates between a web resource and visitors. It usually retrieves information from the source server on behalf of users. This configuration is ideal for organizations that need a high level of security. It’s useful for filtering bad traffic and blocking cyberattacks.
Proxy vs VPN – What is Better?
VPN and proxy do the same task of protecting the identities of users online. While both serve the same purpose, their mode of operation is different.
A proxy program transfers your data across the internet in raw format. This approach increases the likelihood of exposing your real identity.
A VPN provides end-to-end encryption between your device and the remote computer. You
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The best proxy service providers allow an easy option to protect your privacy online. Effectively, a proxy serves as a gateway between you and the internet, so when using a proxy server the details of the websites you visit and other online history is saved to that server, rather than to your allows for a degree of anonymous surfing, with the caveat that proxy servers will often save at least some details. This means a full investigation of the server records may make it possible to personally identify ever, this is unlikely to be a problem for most people, and proxy servers otherwise provide a useful if basic way to avoid the extensive advertiser tracking and routine privacy intrusions that are now commonplace note that a lot of proxy server providers also provide paid-for VPN services, because VPN (Virtual Private Network) can offer better security and privacy than a proxy service alone. In which case, it may be worth considering getting a free VPN or pay for one of the best premium services instead. If you’re not sure whether a proxy server will be better, check out our guide Proxy servers vs VPN: Why VPNs are better. In the meantime, here we’ll feature the best proxy services, free and paid-for, which will overlap with some VPN services. Exclusive discount specialGet an exclusive discount with SmartProxy, active for three Residential Proxies Micro, Starter and Regular plans. With this discount, you will save 15% from the overall Deal(Image credit: Smartproxy)1. SmartproxyAffordable proxies for most use casesSpecificationsCoverage: Over 195 locations IP addresses: over 40 millionReasons to buy+Unlimited threads+Browser extensions+Mobile IPsReasons to avoid-Restricted geotargetingYou can get both residential and data center proxies from Smartproxy. Its pool of over 40 million rotating residential IPs comes from desktop and mobile devices and is shared between all the users. While this can be disadvantageous as you can get flagged IPs, the provider ensures its quick rotation policy ensures its proxies don’t get banned. Smartproxy limits plans by bandwidth but allows you to run an unlimited number of concurrent threads. You can select the proxy you want to use from a list of backconnect gateway servers in your dashboard. By default, Smartproxy displays all the different gateways for the countries and cities that it supports. You can however filter down the proxies based on a couple of useful parameters such as the location, and the type of session (rotating or sticky). Depending on these, the dashboard will show the appropriate proxy gateway that you can then use in your apps and you plan to use the proxy to browse the web, Smartproxy also has extensions for both Chrome and Firefox. You can use the extension to again narrow down the location and type of proxy you want and even choose the authentication our full Smartproxy review. (Image credit: Bright Data)2. Bright DataExpensive but feature richSpecificationsCoverage: All countries and citiesIP addresses: Over 72 millionReasons to buy+Huge pool+Mobile IPs+Detailed targeting optionsReasons to avoid-Complex pricing mechanismThe first that strikes you about Bright Data (formerly Luminati) is its huge proxy pool of over 72 millions IPs. The service offers all kinds of proxies. In addition to rotating residential IPs, the service also offers static ones, which are a group of 6 to 100 residential addresses for your exclusive use that haven’t been previously used with your target domain. Bright Data also sells mobile IPs that cost more than the usual residential IPs but are more resilient and will work on particularly difficult to please you have very specific targeting requirements, you’ll appreciate Bright Data’s support for ASN (Autonomous System Number) in addition to the usual targeting options such as country, state, and use its proxies, you can use the Proxy Manager, which is an open source tool that can be installed on top of Windows, macOS and Linux for free. The Proxy Manager can help you define rules for IP rotation, blacklist IPs that give bad results, optimize bandwidth usage by routing some requests through your regular non-proxied connection, and Data’s residential proxies support all the main protocols including HTTP, HTTPS and even SOCKS5. The service also has a comprehensive support infrastructure with multiple avenues of help including video tutorials and ever, all the features and dexterity comes at a price. While the service advertises a base rate for all types of proxies, specifying additional parameters such as the targeting levels has an effect on the final cost of the proxy. The service also has multiple payment plans to accommodate different users. In addition to the standard monthly subscriptions, Bright Data also offers a pay-as-you-go plan. The plans are on average more expensive than many of its peers, but will seem reasonable particularly to large scale proxy users and those with very specific our full Bright Data review. (Image credit: RSocks)3. RSocksAll kinds of proxies in easily consumable plansSpecificationsCoverage: LimitedIP addresses: Over 3 millionReasons to buy+Unlimited bandwidth+Single-day packages+Mobile IPsReasons to avoid-Limited geotargetingRSocks offers residential, data center and even mobile IPs. You can either share its list of over 3 million proxies with other users or get some for your exclusive use. One of the best features of the service is that it doesn’t restrict the amount of bandwidth on any of its plans. As long as the plan is valid, you can continue to use the proxies. RSocks also allows users to run upto 500 concurrent threads on many of the plans. To top it all, the proxy provider supports all the popular protocols including HTTP, HTTPS, and also offers separate plans for mobile IPs. You can buy these mobile proxies from 10 countries and can even specify a specific city and even a provider for some of them. The service updates its list of proxies automatically and the duration depends upon the plan, Some proxies are rotated every 5 minutes, others hourly, and some every 2 hours. The number of new proxies after every update also varies from one plan to the other. The important thing to note however is that you don’t get the option to rotate the proxies manually from inside the of the RSocks’ unique features is the ability to pause proxies, when not in use, to elongate their expiry. But the number of such pauses are limited, so you’ll have to use them judiciously. While it doesn’t offer any browser add-ons, RSocks has a cross-platform proxy checker tool that’ll be useful for sorting through the list of shared proxies. The tool can help you find the most useful proxies that’ll work best for you based on parameters like their location, speed, and their presence in popular spam databases. Also, unlike most of its peers, RSocks has about three dozen pricing plans for its various proxies. That’s because instead of creating plans based on limitations, such as bandwidth or the number of IPs, RSocks, has created separate plans based around individual parameters. Read our full RSocks review. (Image credit: Oxylabs)4. OxylabsHas its own web scraperSpecificationsCoverage: All countries and citiesIP addresses: Over 70 millionReasons to buy+Large proxy pool+SOCKS5 support, albeit limitedReasons to avoid-No separate mobile IPsOxylabs has an extensive network of over 70 million residential proxies that cover all the countries and cities in the world. In addition to the country and city you can also target proxies based on the ASN (autonomous system number). However these residential IPs use backconnect gateway servers and you’ll have to manually modify this address to add parameters for targeting information. Oxylabs claims that their residential proxies include mobile IPs as well, but the service provider doesn’t give you the option to choose them specifically for your tasks. These residential proxies rotate IPs at every request to ensure the target cannot block you. The proxy provider also offers static non-rotating residential proxies that it procures straight from ISPs. Oxylabs claims these give you the best of both data center and residential proxies, in terms of speed and resilience. Also these static ones support the SOCKS5 protocol, unlike the standard rotating ones that don’ pool of over 2 million data center IPs that aren’t shared but dedicated for your exclusive use, also support the SOCKS5 protocol. These also offer a proxy rotator add-on to automatically rotate the data center IPs. The one unique offering in oxylabs portfolio is the next-gen residential proxy that employs machine learning and AI to more successfully mimic a regular user’s browsing behavior and work around blocks and captchas. Oxylabs also has a web scraping tool of its own called Real-Time Crawler that’ll fetch the data for you in either HTML or JSON format. The service has tiered plans that get more cost effective as you increase your our full Oxylabs review. (Image credit: Storm Proxies)5. Storm Proxies Good for sneaker copping and individual scrapersSpecificationsCoverage: US & EUIP addresses: About 70, 000Reasons to buy+Quite cheap+No bandwidth capsReasons to avoid-Small proxy pool-Minimal geotargeting-No SOCKS5Storm Proxies is designed for individual and small time proxy users that will happily trade many of the features you get with some of the proxy heavyweight for affordable pricing plans. The service provider offers rotating residential proxies, private dedicated proxies which offer data center IPs, and backconnect rotating proxies which have a mix of data center and residential IPs. The best thing about Storm Proxies is that all its proxies come with unlimited bandwidth. Instead its private dedicated proxies limit accounts on the number of IPs, the backconnect rotating proxies bases plans on the number of simultaneous connections, while the rotating residential proxies with prices based on the number of ports. Each port is capable of running up to 50 simultaneous Proxies also doesn’t shy away from accepting the limitations of its proxies, which it clearly states for each of its supported proxy backconnect rotating proxies come from a pool of 70, 000 IPs and only allow you to choose between three broad regions namely US, EU, and worldwide. These are backconnect proxies that are served via different gateways, each with its separate rotating time. The 5-minute rotating residential proxies come from an even smaller pool of around 40, 000 IPs. They only cover the US and EU locations and don’t allow you to choose which countries or cities you want to target. There are several plans for each of the different types of proxies, but rest assured they are cheaper than most of the other proxy services. Read our full Storm Proxies free proxy servers(Image credit: Hidester)1. HidesterEasily masquerade your browsing sessionsReasons to buy+Doesn’t keep logs+Useful privacy controlReasons to avoid-No extensions for FirefoxIf you want to bypass geo-blocks and avoid being snooped, you can use Hidester’s proxy service to browse the web anonymously. Hidester doesn’t require any signup nor do you need to install any software. Just head to the website, from your desktop or your mobile device and enter the URL you want to visit in the space provided. By default it routes your request through US-based servers, but you also get the option to switch to European servers. Hidester also has a number of options to further ensure your privacy. By default it will encrypt URLs, and remove scripts. It does allow cookies by default, but you have the option to even turn that off though that’ll ruin your browsing experience. You can however choose to clear your cookies when closing the proxy session using the helpful Hidester bar at the top of the page. You can even change the browser’s referrer string from a pull-down list of preset values in the top service claims it doesn’t keep any logs of your visits and assures that they are in full control of their servers with no third party IP proxy our full Hidester review. (Image credit: VPNBook)2. VPNBookSpeedy, anonymous proxy serviceReasons to buy+Extremely fast performance+Blocks adverts and other nuisances+Clear logging policyIn addition to its titular virtual private network, VPNBook provides a free SSL-encrypted web proxy for a spot of anonymous browsing. Take your pick from proxy servers based in the US, UK, France, or Canada, or let the proxy pick one at random. In our tests, VPNBook was extremely fast, and its address bar/banner was unobtrusive. It also blocked ads and some scripted elements from web pages, which can be beneficial for privacy (though we’d appreciate being given a choice), and it supports HTTPS that VPNBook keeps web logs, which it can use to report illegal activity, but these are deleted automatically after a week. It’s not perfect, but VPNBook’s speed, convenience and clear policy on logging make it our pick for the best free web proxy. Read our full VPNBook review. (Image credit:)3. fastest free proxy serverReasons to buy+Fast proxy+Browser extensionsReasons to avoid-Pop up advertises itself as the fastest free proxy server, due to not keeping their own logs in order to help speed up the service. Whether that title is deserved or not it’s still a decent free proxy you should consider using. You can use it directly through the website, or alternatively use the Firefox or Chrome browser extensions to use the service. The service only has proxies in Europe, specifically in the Netherlands, Germany, and Finland. Also while it does give you various privacy enhancing options like the ability to encrypt URL and pages, you don’t get these options while you are visiting a some of the other free services, displays annoying pop-up adverts for their paid-for VPN service. If you can live with that then you should probably be fine using our full review. (Image credit: KProxy)4. KProxyKProxy is fast and free, with a portable browserReasons to buy+Dead easy to set up+Comes built into a portable version of FirefoxReasons to avoid-Some restrictions on usageKProxy offers a browser-based service, an extension for Chrome or Firefox, and a portable version of Firefox available with the extension already installed – a nice touch that lets you use the proxy on PCs at school, university or is a piece of cake – once the extension is installed, pick a remote server (the free version offers several options in Montreal and Munich) and click ‘Connect’. Secure HTTPS connections are service does have some limitations: you can only browse freely for three hours at a stretch, or until you’ve reached your 300MB data cap. Once you hit this limit, you might see a tab prompting you to purchase a premium account, but this isn’t mandatory – you can reconnect again free after taking a breather for 30 it comes to KProxy’s privacy policy, the firm notes: “You also understand that despite our best efforts this service may not provide a 100% guarantee of privacy and anonymity. In accordance with our privacy policy, KProxy reserves the right to turn over the IP addresses of users who abuse our system either to the appropriate legal authorities, or to those against whom abuse has been perpetrated. ”(Image credit: Hide My Ass)5. Hide My AssOffers multiple way to protect your posterior onlineReasons to buy+City-specific servers+Can encrypt URLsReasons to avoid-Confirms before loading websiteHide My Ass offers a free web proxy service that’s very handy when you want to browse privately, but don’t have time or permission to download additional software or browser extensions. There are limitations – the premium software offers faster speeds, more secure encryption, and active malware protection – but for a quick bit of browsing, it’s a good My Ass’s free proxy masks your identity and IP address. It is one of the few services that allows you to select specific cities instead of just countries to route your requests through. The free service supports servers in New York City, Seattle, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, London, and Prague. Hide My Ass’s web proxy service collects log files, which include your IP address, the URLs you visit, which pages and files you viewed, and when. It stores this data for 30 days – a policy that pushed it down our list of our full Hide My Ass following section was authored Cerniauskas, CEO of OxylabsWhat is a proxy? A proxy is an intermediary between the user and the web that adds an additional layer that connects to any website. Proxies have their own IP addresses, so the website the user is visiting will only see this proxy IP address.
In terms of origin, there are two types of proxies, data centre and residential:
A data center proxy is a private proxy that is not affiliated with an ISP because it comes from a secondary corporation and provides a private IP authentication, high-level anonymity and rapid data request response times. Usually, data center proxies are used for infrastructure, such as servers and web hosting.
A residential proxy is an intermediary using an IP address attached to a physical location provided by an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to a homeowner. It is a genuine IP address that can be used to imitate organic users are proxies used for? As mentioned before, individuals and businesses widely use proxies. Let’s explore the reasons behind it.
Personal use A proxy used for a personal case will be attached to a particular location. This can enable certain access to geo-blocked content. For example, consumers can browse and purchase flights from locations that offer the most advantageous prices.
Secondly, proxies can optimize user’s web activity and improve security levels by encrypting requests.
Business use In most cases, businesses use proxies to gain advantage over competitors by gathering insightful information. The proxy gives them the ability to extract and process large amounts of publicly available data on competitor prices, products, services, reviews or even market trends that can accelerate businesses in their decision-making process regarding adapting marketing, sales and pricing strategies.
Such information would be impossible to extract without proxies in place due to recurring blocks. When data gathering is in progress, a large number of requests are made to a web server.
The difficulty arises when these requests come from the same IP address because websites identify this activity as suspicious and block the IP address for security reasons. Proxies prevent this as IP addresses can be constantly changed if rotating proxies or a proxy rotator is used. This way data gathering can continue to take place anonymously and efficiently.
In addition to data gathering, many businesses use proxies for email security as there are huge amounts of emails that contain malware attachments, ransomware or suspicious URLs. Proxies help to scan each inbound email and filter out malicious content.
Another common use case is brand protection, as proxies are employed to scan the web searching for stolen content or counterfeit is the difference between paid proxies and free proxies? With a free proxy you can access almost every proxy benefit, which is great until something goes wrong. Utilizing such services means that no one is responsible for technical faults, which happen to be a common occurrence in this case.
It is not easy to find a free, long-life proxy as they quickly become outdated and the providers usually turn into paid ones or disappear over time. Furthermore, using free proxies can pose a serious threat because you never know if your data is secure and you may run the risk of falling victim identity theft.
Paid proxies are responsible for their services, with contracts and agreements in place to protect the user. For businesses, there is no other option but to pay for a dedicated proxy service and avoid any potential security issues. If you choose a reliable proxy provider, you should not need to worry about servers crashing or disappearing for no reason as many will offer dedicated account support.
A reliable proxy provider will also have ethically sourced proxies. Deciding what proxy provider to choose is not an easy task as there are many criteria to consider, but we have singled out a few key points:
Reliability: 24/7 customer support and account managers, service trials and a money-back guarantee are must-haves for a reliable proxy provider. Pay attention to client reviews as well
IP pool size and location: IP pool size and location variety are critical for those who will be scraping large amounts of data from various countries
Success rates and speed: a reliable proxy network success rate should be at least 90%, with the best providers guaranteeing 95% or higher
Integration and support: proxy providers must ensure their documentation is clear and understandable, including integration tutorials and clear instructions
The future of proxiesBusinesses mostly use proxies for large-scale data gathering and extraction, but this is not an easy process. It consists of many complex tasks, especially when anti-data gathering measures are becoming more sophisticated and making it harder to collect publicly available information without being blocked. To address this, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) innovations are gradually being applied. Ultimately, proxies are extremely valuable solutions for both individuals and businesses that need to make accurate data-driven decisions. For individuals, proxies can help to access geo-blocked content, improve security levels, and optimise a web activity. For businesses, not only will they provide an extra layer of security, but they are quickly becoming an indispensable tool to gather publicly available information.
30 best free proxy sites to surf anonymously online in 2021
Last updated June 29, 2021 by Ali Raza Claim your online freedom and unblock all the geo-blocked sites you want to access with these free proxy sites safely and anonymously. If you want to protect your online privacy without spending a penny, all you need is a credible proxy website. Look no further because this article provides you with 30 top free proxy sites – all reliable and tested. But why does the world need services like proxies? I hear you ask. Today, internet users are always under attack from botnets and ransomware. The most targeted devices include private ones like baby monitors, phones, and PCs, thus posing a continuous threat to online privacy. Consequently, people continually look for ways to make their online activities anonymous. Besides, many other factors also compel web users to consider surfing the internet in incognito mode. For instance, content geo-blocking by an organization, school, or the government restricts you from accessing certain websites and information of interest. Such censorship by your university, government, or any other institution suppresses your internet freedom Another major reason why more people are turning to free proxy servers is privacy. That is a good thing. You should keep your privacy intact, always. Folks keep getting attracted to privacy tools as they do not want anyone to monitor or track them, including the Internet Service Providers (aka ISPs). That’s where the tools like proxies come into play. However, many people get confused about web proxies and VPNs, considering them the same. Nonetheless, both are different. If you’re also confused about the differences in functionalities when it comes to VPN vs. proxy, then look no further. With this article, you’ll find the answers to all your queries alongside getting an updated list of the top proxy sites available today. Best proxy sites 2021 – Quick list Are you in a rush to get straight to the top proxy websites that work in 2021? Check out this list of the top 10 free web-based proxies. Whoer – Fastest free proxy, but it’s not web-based. It rather comes as an extension for all popular browsersCroxyProxy – Boasts advanced IP hiding technologyTor – Not a proxy technically. But it is among the most-used services by proxy users online for accessing censored and restricted websitesProxify – Not free for life but offers a free 3-day trialNinja Cloak – Allows surfing the internet anonymously without costing anythingPrivoxy – Has advanced filtering facilitiesUnblockProxy – Excellent compatibility on both desktop and mobile devices’ browsersTurboHide – Provides added privacy comparedZend2 – Best for unblocking social media platformsProXurf – Boasts robust encryption alongside script removal capabilities Want to discover some more? Read along to get your hands on the complete list of 30 best free proxies. Heads-up: If you need to access some sensitive information, perform an online transaction, or become completely anonymous online for any reason, you should only go with a premium VPN like ExpressVPN. However, if you have an insignificant task such as accessing information blocked in your region, free proxy sites online will do the job. Also, some proxy domains are blocked for users in certain countries. In such cases, you’d need to connect to a VPN to be able to use your desired proxy. What is an online web proxy? Online web proxy and Virtual Private Network are two primary tools to remain safe and secure online. In essence, a proxy is a secure mediator between you and the websites you visit. You often do not need to sign up and log into a web proxy server before accessing any site. A proxy server acts as a ‘go-between. ’ It facilitates your internet traffic to flow through it before traveling to the desired website. In this way, it communicates your request to the website, using a unique IP address that is different from your public IP address. This, in turn, hides your identity from the websites you visit. See Also: Proxy Service Providers Virtual Private Network (VPN) – What is it? The most popular, reliable, and safest way to protect your online activities is through the use of a Virtual Private Network. By using a virtual private network (or a VPN), you can hide your IP address, similar to a web proxy, but in a better way. To put it simply, when you connect to your preferred VPN service provider before going online, it hides your real identity using a virtual IP address. However, the service also encrypts your data, rendering it uncompromisable as you surf the internet. You can say robust encryption is what makes VPNs superior to web proxies. Difference between web proxy and Virtual Private Network (VPN) Both VPNs and web proxies assist you to surf the internet anonymously. So, the question arises which option among two is better than the other? Although they both bypass geolocation restrictions and provide users with internet confidentiality, they have some differences. Below is a quick look at the key factors that distinguish these two services. Speed Virtual Private Networks, particularly if you go with free ones, tend to be slower than proxy servers. That is because web proxies do not encrypt user information. However, purchasing a premium VPN service ensures you enjoy a faster-online experience that is safe and secure. Technology Both a VPN service and free online proxy serve a similar purpose as they both act as an intermediary. Both service providers mask your IP address and respond to your requests. Yet, Virtual Private Networks require a channeling process. It facilitates a direct and secure connection between a user and the VPN server. At the same time, a web proxy is an open port that is available for internet users. Besides, web proxy users share a single IP address while VPN users are assigned different IP addresses every time they connect to a server. While most VPN servers also have shared IPs and not dedicated ones, compared to free proxy servers, VPNs offer more IPs. Cost Thanks to the lesser technology-costs involved for the provider as compared to VPNs, web proxies usually are cheaper or even free. Yes, VPNs are affordable nowadays (costing as little as 3. 5 US dollars per month). Yet, the market is flooded by good free proxies that promise stealthy security and privacy. Both services get the job done if you wish to access a restricted site. But I would recommend using a VPN service if one can afford to pay a few bucks a month. Why? Because VPNs provide the highest possible level of security, especially if you expect the service provider to take care of your digital safety and privacy. Though there are a few reliable free VPN services in the market, users should approach them cautiously. Anything free today boasts a hidden cost; in the case of free VPNs, this cost might be your privacy. Security As mentioned above, even the best online web proxy is usually less secure as compared to VPNs. A web proxy will only grant you access to a geo-blocked site by replacing your IP address without encrypting your data. While a quality VPN like ExpressVPN will do both. Please note a VPN or any security tool alone cannot cover all your digital tracks. Some advanced methods can allow third-parties to uncover your online identity. Two such techniques include browser fingerprinting and WebRTC leak vulnerability. However, a VPN shields you against both in most cases, at least, better than a proxy would do. Things to consider before picking a free proxy (123RF) Like anything free online, free web proxies boast some constraint. But if one needs to access the blocked content for a quick session or short-term anonymity online, proxies serve a good purpose. Of course, every single proxy service claims to be the best, which isn’t the case. Therefore, you should research well before picking one to use. Here are a few key points to keep in mind before choosing a free proxy service. Reliability of the proxy provider Reputation is everything. The first thing you should look at in a free web proxy website is that it has a solid reputation. Besides carrying a risk of adware and other malware, untested or unknown proxies might not perform as advertised. Servers offered Among the features of a proxy, the first thing you need to check is the variety and number of servers. The more, the better. Also, your chosen proxy service should have servers near your location. That’s because a nearby server will likely offer faster internet speeds, which you might not get when connected to a distant server. You should be skeptical if a proxy site doesn’t provide servers detail or allow you to pick them by yourself. Though, this isn’t a weird behavior since even some of the best free proxies do not offer server selection. Here again, the reputation comes in. If other people have had a fine experience with the service, then you might be okay with letting the proxy service choose a server for you automatically. Customizability Alongside hiding your IP address, a top free web proxy should offer some additional customizability, too. For instance, look for the options to disable cookies, encrypt page content and URLs, and block objects and scripts. Fortunately, most web proxies listed in this post boast these additional security features and customizability. Hence, you can expect to get a decent protection online when using these proxies without paying anything. But remember, if you fancy an absolute best protection tool, nothing beats a top quality VPN. One of the many fun facts that I can tell you right now is, you might even need a premium VPN to unblock proxy sites sometimes. That’s mostly at places like school and office as such places often succeed in blocking proxy servers. Note: Since proxies merely unblock sites and hide one’s IP address, they are not an alternative to VPNs. In cases where you need absolute protection online or a proxy asks you to upgrade, you should better use a tested VPN like ExpressVPN. Top 30 free web proxies in the market today (all working) Now that you’ve learned all the basics, it is time to jump onto the list of top proxy websites that you can use. You will also find some necessary details here about each handpicked (and tested) free proxy site online that I recommend. Let’s dive in. 1. Whoer Direct link: Voted as one of the best web proxy servers in the world today by users, Whoer is more than your typical free web proxy. Apart from the usual web proxy security functions, Whoer allows users to change their IP addresses faster than most other rival proxies. Aside from providing fast speed, the Whoer proxy network allows users to test their internet speeds. It also allows you to follow the information on specific websites and run ping tests to determine server response times. Users are allowed to choose between nine proxy servers that are scattered in European countries as well as the United States. Whoer is not a web-based free proxy online. Instead. it’s available as a browser extension that you need to add to your respective browser. It is available for Opera, Google Chrome, Mozilla, and Yandex browsers. 2. CroxyProxy Direct link: This web-based proxy service allows users to conduct their online activities in incognito mode. CroxyProxy ensures your security and privacy are unbreakable by hackers and spies. The proxy does that all using its advanced IP hiding technology. Generally, CroxyProxy bears a user-friendly interface. While using this service, all it takes is to paste the URL of the target website to unblock it. The service also offers a premium proxy that delivers an ad-free experience. Based on your country, you might receive an error message such as “this website cannot be reached” when accessing CroxyProxy. If so, you can either connect to a VPN first to unblock it or turn to its Chrome extension to use the proxy that way. 3. Tor As one of the most trusted web proxy services, the Tor browser is popular among users who want to hide their identity online. Especially while accessing blocked websites. Technically speaking, Tor is not a free web proxy site. It rather is a free project that envisions protecting general users’ privacy and security. Also, it offers uncensored and unrestricted access to websites to all users globally. With Tor, users can easily mask their IP addresses and original location online. 4. Direct link: Proxify ensures user anonymity by directing internet traffic through encrypted connections. It works on all major web browsers and operating systems including Windows, Mac, and Linux. The service is not completely free. Instead, it’s a pro proxy with a free 3-day trial. With this proxy, you can choose from over 1000 different servers around the world. Agreeably, that much huge pool of proxy servers can help access blocked websites easily. 5. Ninja Cloak Direct link: Next on this free proxy list is Ninja Cloak, which has now been moved to It is a free website that allows you to surf the internet incognito by masking your IP address. Besides, Ninja Cloak Proxy also creates a barrier between you and the visited website. That protects you from hackers, Trojans, Worms, and other malicious stuff online. 6. Direct link: Privoxy is another customizable free proxy that boasts advanced filtering facilities. Privoxy allows users to enhance privacy by modifying HTTP headers, web page data, and controlling access. This free program also helps remove obnoxious internet junk such as ads. Being licensed under the GNU GPLv2, this proxy is actually free software. It has apps for both multi-user networks and stand-alone systems. 7. Direct link: Being a simple web proxy, acts as an intermediary server between a user and the internet by changing its original geographical location. That allows users to access blocked websites in a particular jurisdiction. This proxy works on smartphones, PCs, and all the devices equally well. 8. Direct link: TurboHide is another free web proxy service that not only hides your IP address but also offers SSL encryption feature for better privacy. 9. Zend2 Direct link: Zend2 is among the best free proxy websites for social media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook. While not all web proxies available today support social platforms, Zend2 does. That is because it runs on the online anonymous online casino server. If you are up to watching videos on the Google-owned video-sharing platform Youtube, this is probably the best (and straightforward to use) unblock YouTube proxy you can have. 10. ProXurf Direct link: ProXurf offers users some encryption and script removal capabilities on top of enabling them to unblock all blocked websites free of charge. 11. Megaproxy Direct link: Megaproxy is a unique free proxy service as it not only masks a user’s IP address but also hides the browser and the operating system from prying eyes online (at least as it claims). 12. VPNBook Proxy () Direct link: VPNBook is a robust proxy service offered by a fine VPN service provider. It provides its users with encrypted connections with different IP addresses that support HTTPS. 13. Hidester Proxy () Direct link: Hidester is a free web proxy that also has a Chrome extension allowing limited proxy locations similar to As like other proxies, Hidester allows you to bypass geo-restrictions. It also supports SSL encryption and ensures user protection from malicious programs and scripts. 14. Direct link: The XRoxy website allows users to easily hide their IP address, allowing them access to blocked sites. It offers a wide range of unique IP addresses and locations that allow users the freedom to access any restricted content. 15. Direct link: As the name suggests, NewIPNow allows users to select a new IP address that fits their preferences. It does not choose an IP address automatically but offers its users the liberty to select a foreign IP address that best suits them. 16. FilterByPass () Direct link: is a web proxy that is suitable for video sites, providing quick incognito access to several popular platforms. Being among the top proxy sites for Youtube and other video portals, it supports the leading streaming platforms. The sites include Facebook, YouTube, NowVideo, and DailyMotion, to name a few. The best thing about this fast and free proxy is it offers a free Chrome extension. 17. Direct link: offers its users five outstanding online privacy enhancement options. Its features include page encryption, URL encryption, and object removal. You can also enable or disable cookies alongside eliminating scripts on a page. While it is an easy-to-use service, it has a major flaw. The site lacks an SSL certificate, which means your traffic might remain exposed when you use it). Therefore, you should only use this service for accessing non-sensitive information online. 18. ProxyScrape Direct link: ProxyScrape’s anonymous proxy is an incredible collection of web proxies allowing users to enjoy the best anonymous browsing experience. On top of enabling users to access the blocked sites, the site boasts fast speeds and customizability. You can connect to any HTTP, Socks4, or Socks5 proxy by choosing one from the lists of proxies available here. Unlike most sites listed above, it deploys all the security features automatically without requiring your input. The features include URL encryption, page encryption, and scripts, and object removal. It also allows you to enable/disable cookies. Like many other options on the list, this one might also be blocked by your ISP if you’re in a heavily censored country such as China, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan (to name a few). In that case, you’ll need to connect to a VPN first and then visit the site. 19. Direct link: SSLSecureProxy is a fast proxy site with no bandwidth limitations. Like other best proxies listed in this article, SSLSecureProxy helps bypass firewalls and internet filters securely and anonymously. That means you get to avoid blocks imposed by offices, schools, or countries. In essence, the service ensures your online activities remain private while surfing through their servers. It also claims to implement a no-logs policy, and any user data gets automatically deleted within 2 hours. 20. Direct link: 4everproxy is one of the best free proxy sites for videos. It helps you unblock YouTube and other videos. The service changes your geographical location without compromising speeds that much. 21. Direct link: KProxy is an ad-free web proxy that is portable and free. The proxy is available as an extension on the leading internet browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Google Chrome. KProxy also offers KProxy Browser for users that do not have either Firefox or Chrome. KProxy Browser is a downloadable portable Firefox browser that’s configured with the KProxy Extension. 22. Direct link: AnonyMouse is yet another good quality free web proxy. It is a multilingual proxy and also has a premium version. As one can understand, the paid version offers enhanced privacy and security options to the users. 23. Proxy () Direct link: is a premium VPN service provider. It offers a free web proxy that does not store any of your databases or IP addresses for a long time. The premium VPN services that the firm offers to the users save them from popup windows and annoying advertisements. When compared with all other popular web proxies, Proxy has emerged as the fastest free web proxy. The provider has made a name of itself for keeping users anonymous online already. 24. HideMyAss () Direct link: HideMyAss proxy is the best web proxy option available today as far as the popularity among users is concerned. HMA is probably the oldest web proxy available on the internet. It is a collection of VPN proxies from all corners of the world. As like, HMA offers both VPN and proxy services to its customers. 25. Direct link: is another quality free web proxy that offers premium VPN options alongside its wide array of services. On top of standard features that other best proxies featured in this list boast, ProxySite offers some advanced features, too. You can make changes in the ‘settings’ tab on ProxySite to set your preferred browser that you want the target site to see. Meaning, you can fake your browser alongside masking IP address with ProxySite. 26. Direct link: ProxFree is an authoritative free anonymous proxy site. It has four servers in Europe and seven in North America. It serves a wide geographical area with robust security. 27. Direct link: provides its users the opportunity to choose one of its 13 proxy servers spread across the US and UK. With this relatively new but promising free proxy site, you also have the option of picking a random IP. 28. Direct link: Weboproxy is a Tor-powered web proxy that enables users to access the blocked sites with additional security online. It is a compelling proxy option as you get the opportunity to surf any website either with Tor on or off. 29. Anonymizer/ Direct link: Anonymizer is a free and reliable web proxy list provider. It features proxies operating around filters that help unblock social media platforms. Users also use it to access video streaming websites such as Facebook and YouTube. 30. Direct link: The last on this list of free web proxies is GenMirror. Designed to be a YouTube unblocker, it is the preferred proxy for binge-watchers. Hold on, where can I get a Netflix proxy? You should better not waste your time and energy searching for a proxy to unblock Netflix. Why? I hear you ask. First up, Netflix filters and detectors are hard to fool. As soon as you access it using a free Netflix proxy, it won’t take the giant media services and production firm to find out that you are spoofing your real location. Netflix detects that you’re using a proxy and blocks your streaming session within 5-10 minutes at max. (That stands true as per my personal experience and the extensive tests by our team at PrivacySavvy. ) Hence, you get that annoying Netflix proxy error to ruin your streaming experience. Secondly, on top of getting caught, remember that free web proxies are not entirely safe. And your Netflix account boasts your personal data, including credit or debit card details, that you can’t really afford to lose at the hands of perpetrators. So it is advisable to never log into your Netflix account under a proxy site. Instead of turning to free Netflix proxies, you can opt for reputed VPN services. Use a top Netflix VPN such as ExpressVPN or NordVPN to watch Netflix content that you cannot watch in your country otherwise. To give you my personal example, I personally recommend and use ExpressVPN to watch US Netflix while sitting in Pakistan or even when I travel to the UK or other countries for work. Is there any Pirate Bay proxy for me? You probably have heard about TPB (The Pirate Bay), or perhaps you visit the site regularly. Since Pirate Bay is the biggest torrent website in the world, that is not a surprise. However, there is no guarantee that you can use Pirate Bay whenever you wish to download some new music, e-books, software, movies, or other content. At times, the website may be down for some unknown reason. But mostly, it is blocked for users deliberately by the concerned authorities. Your ISP might block traffic to TPB purposefully for limiting your access to copyrighted content depending on your location. Internet service providers also throttle your torrent downloads to control the amount of data you can transfer using torrent websites like TPB or Pirate Bay alternative sites in a certain timeframe. Most free proxies mentioned above won’t work with Pirate Bay and other torrent portals. That is because even the best torrent websites bring in serious heat from authorities around the world. So, for people who want to access torrent sites such as TPB, I have come up with a list of Pirate Bay proxies below: Note: We have picked the Pirate Bay proxies listed above after thoroughly testing numerous proxies. These are all secure (use SSL) and fast. Also, the article is updated regularly as we keep testing all the proxies and replace any that stops working. Drawbacks of proxy sites Regardless of which free proxy you pick, you will always face some limitations. You might notice that each month you could encrypt only a specific number of cookies. And the worst thing about these proxies (especially free ones) is, you get to face traffic limits. Another notable disadvantage of proxies is that they sometimes make a site to not display properly while trying to block certain elements on it to keep you safer. All proxy sites, let them be paid or free ones, are only good enough to unblock a specific amount of content and get around firewalls. You cannot access all the blocked sites with proxies. Rather than that, they cannot guarantee you protection against your ISP (Internet Service Provider) or hackers’ monitoring. Also, with free proxies, you always run with a risk of some of your activities (if not all) being tracked. Let me quickly list the disadvantages of proxies here: They offer only very basic privacy cannot access blocked sites without needing to access web proxy all sites can be mited servers and traffic usually experience bad performance. If you want robust protection from hackers, malware, and monitoring, you might want to better opt for a premium VPN such as ExpressVPN or SurfShark. In many aspects, a VPN is the best tool for privacy protection that lets you unblock Youtube or any other site on the planet securely. A VPN hides your IP alongside encrypting all internet traffic, thus keeping your online activities anonymous all the time. Conclusion All the proxy services listed-above are good options to consider when choosing a reliable proxy site for your short-term secure browsing session. Yet, even the very best free proxy sites online are inferior when compared to virtual private networks (VPNs). That is because they simply cannot offer 100 percent anonymity. If you wish to know about VPNs in detail, feel free to read this beginner’s VPN guide. Featured image courtesy of Pixabay. About the author Ali Raza Experienced in web journalism and marketing, Ali Raza holds a master’s degree in finance and enjoys writing about cryptocurrencies and fintech. He is very passionate about the internet privacy. Ali’s work has been published in several valuable publications.
Frequently Asked Questions about best proxy 2021
Which proxy site is best?
1. Whoer. Voted as one of the best web proxy servers in the world today by users, Whoer is more than your typical free web proxy. Apart from the usual web proxy security functions, Whoer allows users to change their IP addresses faster than most other rival proxies.Jun 29, 2021
What is a good proxy?
In order for a variable to be a good proxy, it must have a close correlation, not necessarily linear, with the variable of interest. … Proxy variable must relate to unobserved variable, must correlate with disturbance, and must not correlate with regressors once disturbance is controlled for.
Is proxies now legit?
Scam, no response from support, bad proxies.Apr 19, 2021
