A proxy server is an intermediary between a device connected to the Internet and the rest of the Internet. But why would you need such an intermediary? Well, suppose you have considered improving your company’s data security or taking your work with data to another level. In that case, you probably already know much about proxy servers and their benefits. We have researched and compared the best proxy services online for your convenience. As a result, we found the ones best suited for business and personal use.
PAID options
FREE options
A proxy server is an intermediary between a device connected to the Internet and the rest of the Internet. All the user data passes from a device to a destination server through a proxy server. This connection scheme can be used in many ways to make the Internet browsing experience more efficient.
Work with data
Browsing anonymously and securing the data are essential parts of any data-gathering operations. Proxies are in high demand for such use cases: SEO monitoring and optimization, SERP tracking, web scraping, data aggregation, web testing, lead generation, and social media (boost followers’ engagement).
E-commerce and Finance
Some purchasing and finance schemes require high anonymity, fast connections, and bot integration. Thus, intermediary servers are useful for collecting stock market data, data mining, crypto exchanges, retail, and e-commerce.
Cybersecurity
According to the annual FBI report for 2021, the overall number of complaints of suspected online crimes has exceeded 847.000 in the USA. It is almost twice the amount in 2019. In 2019 the FBI reported 467.000 complaints. Most of the cases were the consequence of identity loss or a data leak.A proxy server is a data security technology that can help to avoid scammers and hackers. It masks a user’s IP with another IP and works as a firewall to avoid malware and threats. Many companies buy intermediaries for security reasons: malware protection, preventing hacker attacks, DDOS protection, brand protection, identity protection, and software protection.
Asocks is a paid proxy service that doesn’t charge you much, though. Offering residential and mobile proxies — the most reliable options at the moment — this top free and paid proxy provider doesn’t charge you for anything but the number of gigabytes you are using. Here is how it looks: you just pay $3 per single GB:
The pricing is the same for all proxy types — so it doesn’t matter whether you want to pick a rotating, static, mobile, or residential IP. And you don’t require any KYC or other special procedures to begin: simply sign up, choose the necessary proxy and traffic volume, and you are ready to go.
Key features
Best suited for Internet security, SMM and SEO tasks, market research, and working with bots.
Drawing from extensive expertise in VPN product development, in 2017, AnyIP discerned the unfolding potential within residential and mobile proxies. Engineered for superior scalability in the first place, I must say its infrastructure is meticulously constructed.
AnyIP.io stands as the best proxy server with valid payment mechanisms. Bolstered by a TrustPilot rating of 4.5 stars, affirming the satisfaction of a majority of clients, this top proxy provider assures users access to the swiftest and most efficient residential and mobile proxies available.
The company underscores its commitment to optimal success rates by routinely scrutinizing and refreshing the proxies. It’s crucial to acknowledge, though, that proxy speeds may fluctuate, influenced by variables such as your Internet Service Provider (ISP), geographical location, and proximity to the proxy server. Additionally, a marginal speed reduction is a customary outcome of the server rerouting process.
However, 30M+ IP addresses in 14 countries worldwide should comply with all and any of your needs, blowing over any potential speed issues!
Key features:
Best suited for scraping, sneaker copping, and SEO.
One of the relatively new providers of proxy services on my list is MangoProxy. It specializes in top-quality residential proxies. It has an enormous IP pool with over 90 million IP addresses from more than 220 countries, which it ethically harvests to ensure its users enjoy high anonymity.
MangoProxy offers free geo-targeting options, enabling you to target countries, cities, and even ASNs. Such granular targeting is very helpful in tasks that include access based on geographical location. Moreover, if your objectives require frequent IP changes, you can configure IP rotation intervals from 0 to 120 minutes.
You’ll also be satisfied with the pricing structure. MangoProxy has various tariff plans for regular users and businesses. Thus, you can choose what kind of offer you need regarding your aims and scale of operations. If, say, your business requires much traffic, you will be able to buy more than 1900 GB for $2.50 per 1 GB.
Key features:
Best suited for affiliate marketing, multi-accounting, web scraping
SOAX is a proxy service that offers a huge pool of residential, ISP, and datacenter proxies. With an IP pool that reached 191 million IPs in 2023, SOAX is currently one of the top solutions when you need very precise GEO targeting. Besides, SOAX offers extra tools, such as Web Optimizer and MaxIP (for better proxy performance) as well as web scrapers.
SOAX has developed a flexible pricing model based on subscription packages. While there is no free trial, you can start with a 3-day trial plan:100 MB for $1.99. Subscription prices depend on proxy types and traffic volumes, obviously.
Here is, for example, a selection of pricing plans for residential proxies:
Key features
Best suited for: market research, ad verification, and SEO purposes.
Since 2018, Webshare Software has been specializing in the finest yet cheapest datacenter proxies. It still reveals a sustained emphasis on them, although having already strategically introduced residential and ISP proxies. Webshare.io targets primarily entry-level and mid-level businesses that strive to thrive in e-commerce scraping, multiple account management, and general web scraping.
Webshare top proxy servers feature real-time 7/24 monitoring and provide multiple IP rotation options. It significantly distinguishes itself by internally developing all of its technology, showcasing a commitment to in-house expertise. Webshare.io features a global proxy network, ensuring continual encryption and protection. Additionally, their proxies provide users with additional IP or password authentication choices.
And, most importantly, upon entering the Webshare platform, you gain access to ten free data center proxy IPs, entirely free of charge, each with a monthly usage cap of 1 gigabyte!
Key features:
Best suited for lead generation, accessing geo-restricted content, and travel-fare aggregation.
Proxy-IPv4.com offers the cheapest proxy options: IPv4 and IPv6. Besides, it has mobile proxies that cost higher yet have automated rotation and ensure better anonymity.
All the proxies from Proxy-IPv4 are private. It means users won’t share their addresses with anyone else — and will get the maximum possible speed with no traffic limits. In addition, the provider constantly checks all addresses it sells — so no proxies are blocklisted. Anyway, you have a guaranteed refund or address change in case of any issues.
There is a coverage of 20 countries for IPv4 and IPv6 proxies and 14 for mobile ones. Prices depend on your choice, but the minimum package lasts three days.
Here are some pricing examples:
Although pricing doesn’t look like some corporate solution, you can make a special request to customer support and ask for special offers. For example, a big chance you can get a discount for a 30-day package.
Key features
Best suited for personal use, traffic arbitrage, SEO & SMM.
ProxyEmpire is a reputable proxy provider offering great solutions for individuals and businesses. Though the proxy pool is not the largest on the market, this provider ensures its quality. The company delivers 1 million unique IP addresses daily and 10+ million IPs — monthly. Secure and paid proxies are fast and have 99% uptime.
What sets ProxyEmpire apart is the excellent integration with other services. You can use these proxies free with any software that supports user & password authentication — undetectable browser, ShadowRocket, and other tools you need for your work.
The price for these finest-features proxies is charged per gigabyte, ensuring you will find the most convenient plan. Here is the price range for each proxy type:
Key features:
Best suited for web scraping, ad verification, account management, SEO tasks.
Smartproxy is a premium proxy provider offering a P2P network and stable proxy servers. The platform can boast an excellent price-to-quality ratio and flexible pricing. Its rotation proxies guarantee you don’t get banned and avoid CAPTCHAs, and its fast 0.3s response time will allow you to save time.
Smartproxy also presents multiple free options for easy IP management. The anonymous multi-session X-Browser helps avoid detection by using anonymous fingerprint profiles. Firefox and Chrome add-ons allow you to keep and configure proxy server lists inside your browser. Address Generator lets you use and manage the whole proxy pool.
Smartproxy payment plans are pretty affordable. An example of the pricing is listed below:
Key features:
Best suited for market research, social media, and retail.
Oxylabs is one of the most known data security companies. The service provides comfortable solutions for individuals and stable and reliable business offers. The service has its own residential proxy network and servers for demanding clients. Corporate pricing plans with terabyte traffic and special terms are available.
The range of purchasing options is impressive. The packages include datacenter, residential, ISP, and mobile servers. There are private proxies, servers with IP rotation, and IPs based on AI technology. Moreover, Oxylabs offers its proxy management software, such as Android Manager and Chrome browser extension.
Oxylabs offers payment plans based on traffic. An example of pricing is listed below:
Key features
Best suited for market research, brand protection, SEO monitoring, ad verification, and web scraping.
Infatica is a P2B proxy network offering residential, datacenter, and mobile proxies. It also offers SEO software such as Web Scraper API and SERP Scraper to help your business optimize its marketing content. Infatica.co is a service with a constantly growing IP pool and countries-based geo-targeting.
It offers a splendid variety of payment plans. An example of Infatica pricing is listed below:
There are custom payment options for companies. To get your flexible plan, contact Infatica to create it.
Key features
Best suited for brand protection, cybersecurity, SEO services, and marketing.
NetNut is a premium proxy provider best known for its ISP proxy network. It offers stable and fast residential, datacenter, and mobile servers.
The company’s main products are static ISP proxies. NetNut has more than 1 million static IPs. These ISP connections show high speed and excellent performance due to ISP direct connectivity. The company cooperates with DiviNetworks for direct ISP connectivity instead of a P2P network. This feature makes NetNut the fastest service in the market.
The prices for ISPs start at $1,000 for 100Gb to $5000 for 1Tb.
Key features
Best suited for web data extraction, market research, brand protection, and anonymous data aggregation.
StormProxies offers proxy packages and plans for niche solutions. Its target audience is resellers who make money by browsing sneaker websites, ticket sites, and social networks.
Storm sneaker proxies work with sneaker bots like AIO Bot, Nike bot, Sole Slayer, etc. They help to buy the latest boots collections anonymously at lightning speed.
Unfortunately, StormProxies cannot boast of an extensive list of countries. Its servers are located in the USA and EU only.
Unlike many other services, this website is straightforward. There is no extra content and no pop-up ads. It offers only the brief information a user needs to know. You can find a quick explanation about what sneaker and ticket proxies are. You can also look at a comparison of different proxy server types. And, of course, you can find price lists on the site.
To see different payment plans switch between various proxies and find the package suitable for you. StormProxies offer proxies by quantity: 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, or 200 ports. An example of pricing for residential proxies is listed below:
Key features
Best suited for e-commerce and retail.
ProxySale combines everything you need for your private usage – a 95 MB/sec speed, stable operation, and a 24/7 dedicated support team. It is also the universal option. With this service, you will enjoy access to any site or program and flawless gaming and social media use.
ProxySale allows choosing IPv4 or IPv6 proxies with HTTP(s) and Socks5 support. Last but not least, this service puts affordability as its top priority. That is why you can enjoy reasonable prices or use free proxies for your needs. Despite not being as speedy and well-optimized as paid ones, free proxies are a good option for regular day-to-day usage.
Key features
Best suited for private usage, social media, and web scraping.
ProxySeller is a service that allows you to buy an individually customized proxy. The process is quite straightforward.
You do not need to buy any package or subscription. Instead, you choose the protocol version – IPV4 or IPV6, country, term, IPs amount – and immediately see the proxy address and the “Buy” button to proceed to the purchase order. ProxySeller provides IPv4, IPv6, and Mobile LTE proxies.
You can also buy a package for 2, 3, 6, 9, or 12 months for a discount. An example of ProxySeller pricing is listed below:
Note that the pricing will vary depending on the country you have selected.
The service also offers related software on its website. You can use a free proxy checker, port scanner, and IP ping tool.
Key features
Best suited for social media, web scraping, gaming, crypto, and marketplaces.
ProxyHub is a perfect place if you are looking for a certain number of semi-dedicated private proxies. Semi-dedicated proxies are a hybrid of shared and private intermediaries. They are well-known for their over-the-average price-quality ratio.
The packages on ProxyHub vary according to the number of proxies: 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 pieces. An example of ProxyHub pricing is listed below:
Although the website does not offer a user-friendly interface and live support, the prices are very affordable and attractive.
Key features
Best suited for SEO services, social media, and online gaming.
IPRoyal provides various proxy types: residential, sneaker, private, datacenter, mobile, and static proxies. This service is one of the best places to buy private proxies for superior anonymity.
Another IPRoyal feature is its support of sneaker proxies. If you are looking for sneaker proxies or any information about them, IPRoyal has proxies specially optimized to work with sneaker bots. The website also has a detailed guide about how sneaker proxies work.
The platform lets you download the related software: Chrome and Firefox browser extension managers and a proxy tester tool.
IPRoyal pricing example is listed below:
Key features
Best suited for data scraping, social networking, and retail.
LimeProxies offers proxies from 50+ countries. It also has 4G and 5G mobile and SOCKS proxies. The company claims to have the ultimate speed of 1 Gbps, which is impressive. Fortunately, LimeProxies have a free trial to see if this blistering speed is true for your tasks.
The exciting thing about LimeProxies is that it offers a good learning base. You can find books, guides, tutorials, and videos by the link “Learn” in the menu. The “Blog” submenu is the complete database on this website. Here you can find many specific topics for all situations, like “Ways to reduce the risk of getting blocked” or “Mobile 5G proxies”.
Key features
Best suited for data mining, web testing, brand protection, e-commerce, ad verification, and SEO monitoring.
Rayobyte provides intermediaries for an impressively wide range of use cases. There are rotating, datacenter, ISP, residential, and dedicated and semi-dedicated proxy servers with targeting by countries.
It is no surprise because the Rayobyte service is built especially for reselling. The Rayobyte team will help you to find the proper combination for your clients. The API is developer-friendly and easily integrated. Rayobyte officially uses a white-label strategy and does not require mentioning the origin of proxies you buy.
The variety of customized options is massive. Rayobyte offers proxies purchased by country and subscription length: 1, 3, 6, or 12 months. You can choose from 4 payment plans: Starter (5-99 IPs), Personal (100-999 IPs), Corporate (1K – 4,999 IPs), and Enterprise (5K+ IPs). For example, 10 US proxies for one month cost $25, while 1000 rotating proxy servers cost $2810.
Key features
Best suited for web scraping, e-commerce, SEO services, and ad verification.
Here are the best free proxy servers provided on the Internet. Most of the services listed below are not free by their origin. But they have free proxy lists as a bonus to their products – VPN or proxy packages. Free lists are usually published for users to compare paid and free proxies.
HideMy.name is one of the quality VPN services available for Windows, Android, macOS, iOS, Linux, Reddit, and router configuration. There is a free VPN trial available for 24 hours.
The service provides a database of VPN-related bonus materials such as ping tests, proxy checkers, and free proxy lists. You can go to a proxy lists database and select a country, proxy speed, and proxy type to find a free proxy list. Export options are available only for customers with HideMy.name subscriptions.
Key features
Best suited for web scraping and connecting to restricted websites.
Bright Data is a premium proxy giant on the market. It offers data security solutions for businesses and demanding clients. It provides all types of proxy server IPs: datacenter, ISP, and mobile, as well as many helpful server management tools.
Bright Data has a free VPN solution to download directly from the Bright VPN website. This free VPN works as efficiently as VPN services with a subscription. Bright Data claims the tool has full functionality because it is already sponsored – by the companies who benefit from removing the restrictions. The major con of this tool is that Bright VPN is a secure and malware-free desktop app.
Key features
Best suited for anonymity and data protection.
Smart DNS Proxy offers DNS server IPs to bypass DNS blocks on websites anonymously.
DNS blocks are often used in a workplace to prevent employees from visiting social networks. Sometimes a website can be DNS-blocked by an ISP. If you know there is a DNS block, a Smart DNS Proxy service is for you.
However, Smart DNS publishes a free proxy list also. You can use it to configure your router, computer, or mobile device manually. To use this free option, go to the Smart DNS servers list, choose a server, and use it in your network configuration. All the instructions are also available on the Smart DNS website.
Key features
Best suited for avoiding DNS-block.
CroxyProxy is an easy-to-use online service that does not need any configuration on your device. CroxyProxy redirects your URL online via a proxy directly. All you need to do is go to CroxyProxy, enter your link, and let the service redirect you to a destination page.
Unfortunately, you cannot directly see what IP address CroxyProxy is using.
Key features
Best suited for quick access to restricted sites.
You should consider several classifications of proxy services before choosing the option to fit your needs. The main classification methods are by hosting type, by type of connection, and by the number of users assigned to a proxy (private or shared).
Every proxy is, basically, an IP address. An IP address defines every device on the internet. The device can be real, artificial, or artificial with approval. There are three main types of proxies specified by hosting type: datacenter, residential, and static ISP servers.
Residential
Key features:
Residential IPs are real IP addresses that exist physically. They are attached to real existing devices connected to the Internet. Internet service providers usually provide these IP addresses. Since residential IPs belong to real homeowners, their amount is limited, and the price is higher than average. However, these addresses look natural and are doubtful to be deny-listed.
For example, if you use intermediaries to make multiple requests on the website – for data gathering or multiple purchases – the website will consider it the activity of hundreds of different real users.
Datacenter
Key features:
Datacenter proxies, unlike residential IP addresses, do not exist in the real world. Datacenters and hosting services generate these IPs in bulk and manage them through cloud servers.
This server type is much cheaper and faster. It can be created in an unlimited number without any expenses while not being affiliated with Internet providers.
The negative side is that the data center proxies look suspicious for websites. Modern website protection systems can reveal a fake address and block it, especially if your activity differs from the activity of an average user. Thus, the datacenter server is insufficient for data analysis or research.
Static Residential (ISP)
Key features:
Static proxies, also known as ISP, are not, in fact, residential. ISPs are artificial in the same way as datacenter servers are. However, these addresses have the approval of Internet Service Providers (ISP). In simple terms, an ISP-approved address is an artificial address officially recorded as a real address.
As a result, a company that sells ISPs offers fast datacenter IP addresses yet with the low possibility of being blocklisted. Although ISP proxies are datacenter servers, eventually, they are not as cheap as unapproved datacenter ones.
Private
This proxy, also known as a dedicated one, is an IP address that can be used only by one user of a proxy network at a time. A proxy provider only sells an IP address to one user, so only this user can access the Internet via this server for an agreed period.
Providers usually sell these IPs by amount – for example, 1, 5, 10, or more addresses for a month. The average price of a private server is much higher than the price of other server types.
Semi-Dedicated
Semi-dedicated IP addresses are available to a limited number of users simultaneously. A certain number depends on the provider. You can share a proxy address with 5, 10, or 50 users – a compromise between expensive private and inconvenient shared proxies.
If you choose semi-dedicated IPs, always check how big is the pool of users simultaneously using an IP address. There may be no reason to pay more, or it is better to buy private servers.
Shared
Shared proxies are available for multiple users at the same time. These intermediaries are usually cheap, but using shared intermediaries often causes errors, blocks, and a high possibility of running into a captcha.
Several criteria can help you to evaluate the difference between payable and free proxy services. Most of the providers offer trial versions of their products. Free proxy lists are available online, so comparing the best free and payable services is easy using the below criteria.
Server Speeds
Free proxy IP addresses are always slow. Many users use them simultaneously without any limitations. Even shared proxies from a provider service are divided into pools and do not intersect with each other.
As a result, when you choose payable services, you may be more or less happy with the result, but free services guarantee you a low connection and browsing speed.
Access Guarantee
The very fact of paying for proxies does not guarantee you a seamless experience. Only a trusted platform and an adequately chosen package for your tasks ensure success.
At the same time, free proxy guarantees you nothing, no matter how carefully you choose them. Massive connections via a single IP address cause errors and endless captcha inputs.
With free intermediaries, you sometimes get to the website, sometimes not. A free proxy is a good option if you are okay with waiting. If you use intermediaries at work, it is better to use payable services for guaranteed access.
Security
Most free intermediaries are untrustworthy because they do not use secure protocols. Always check for an HTTPS connection if you want to use free IPs. Public proxy services can log your information.
You can use a public proxy to access a website or hide your identity, but using these IPs for security makes little sense.
Server Locations
You will probably choose several most efficient servers if you do not need to use specific locations at work. The most efficient proxy locations are usually the nearest to your accurate geolocation.
There are usually no limitations based on locations for free proxy lists. They often have the same countries listed as paid proxies. However, the proxy pools of the best proxy server providers are much more significant.
For example, a free proxy list can have one proxy in the USA, while a proxy provider usually has no less than 10 US servers.
Proxy Type
Free proxies leave little choice to users: usually, they are shared data center servers. It means you can not configure or use these intermediaries in a package.
Meanwhile, the payable service can offer more flexible solutions for each use case.
However, it is not advisable to choose such a service by chance. Not all intermediaries can be compatible with your tasks. An incorrect choice of a proxy will not become correct only because you pay for this service.
VPN and proxies are completely different inherently. VPN encrypts your traffic, while a proxy just routes your traffic through a proxy server. VPN is considered a more secure tool, but at the same time more complex and expensive.
Yes, you can find free intermediaries online or choose a free VPN tool. These tools are not secure and have much fewer advantages. However, it is possible to use these tools for personal use if you are not demanding.
Yes, you do. When building a business strategy based on market research, you must send multiple requests to a search engine or a competitor’s website. It is known as web scraping. Intermediaries solve this problem perfectly. Remember that, in this case, you cannot rely on free, unstable, or untrusted intermediaries.
The captchas are triggered only if the website considers your activity suspicious. You will prevent captchas by acting via a proxy like a real human. If you get captchas too often, try changing the strategy to be more human-like.
Use static servers to make your intermediary look like real existing IP addresses.
Use rotating servers to change (rotate) IP every time you enter the website. Try to avoid direct links to enter the website.
SOCKS5 is the latest version of the SOCKS protocol, which supports IPv6 and UDP. UDP is a much faster and more efficient communication protocol than TCP.
SOCKS5 sends smaller data packages than previous versions to reach a new level of speed.
However, the TCP communication protocol is still considered to be more reliable. IPv6 Internet protocol solves the problems of its predecessor, IPv4, and gives better performance.
To summarize, SOCKS5 is faster and causes fewer errors than other protocols.
Do you want to find out the up-to-date information, news, and expert feedback about modern proxy solutions? That all is at your fingertips:
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