Best Paid Proxy Servers

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

Best proxy of 2021: free and paid services | TechRadar

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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.

13 Best Proxy Servers Review [Update Aug’21] – Hacker Noon

Dmitry LeikoEntrepreneur, product owner, SEO specialist, cryptocurrency enthusiast. All you need to know;) [email protected]Privacy and data security are crucial for every Internet user. We all want to keep personal information secure and protect the internal network from any threats or undesirable attacks. That is why so many people benefit from using proxy servers. A proxy server appears to be an intermediary between your computer and the web. It works as a web filter, preventing a flow of excessive information from floating around your internal network. Besides, proxy servers significantly expand opportunities for web surfing. Overall, there are paid and free proxy servers providing different features and types of IP addresses. The final rating in this article includes 13 proxy and VPN portant! As always, I have agreed on special rates for my readers, which will be available only by clicking on my referral links. Enjoy! ;)10 Best PAID Proxies:Smartproxy – The most universal solution;BrightData – Top choice for the business;Proxy-Seller – The most cost-effective packages;RSocks – The most flexible choice; – Large IP pool;ProxyHub – Reliable prices;SmartDNSproxy – Best for streaming platforms;NetNut; – Best for personal use;StormProxies. 3 Best Free Options:Hide My Ass;Hidester; using a proxy server, you do not leave any traces around the web as the details of your internet surfing are saved not to your computer but to this specific server. It makes your web activity more secure and anonymous. However, as the server does store some information about you, sometimes it is possible to identify your web activities. Although, it does not seem to be a problem if you deal with a good and reliable proxy server. Overall, most people use proxies to get rid of intrusive advertiser tracking and annoying privacy instructions. Besides, there are quite enough proxy server providers letting you benefit from paid (or even free) VPN (Virtual Private Network), to provide better privacy and security. So, if you seek a reliable tool to protect your data from unauthorized collection, you’d better consider both of these options or choose an instrument that combines them. More about the difference between Proxy and VPN you can learn more from this video:In other words, if you do not use a proxy, advertisers, government agencies, and hackers can easily track your online activity, type of device, and location when you visit a non-secure website. Unfortunately, the number of such sites dramatically increases over time. This fact makes it possible to block you from browsing through certain content or to overwhelm you with annoying ads. Providing anonymity and online privacy is crucial for most internet users. Thus, using proxies becomes a part of our everyday routine. However, it is not always clear how to choose the best proxy server. Thus, I have prepared this rating of the best proxies in 2021. To select the most appropriate options, I made sure to pay attention to the following criteria:Functionality;High anonymity;Affordability;Reliability;Minimal traffic allowance limitations;Types of IPs in the pool;Any specific features you can benefit I proceed to detailed consider the best proxy servers out there, let’s look into the types of proxies and what they are used is a Proxy? As aforementioned, a proxy is a gateway between your computer and the Internet. The proxy server provides an additional security layer that interacts with any website you visit. Proxies allow using different IP addresses that make it impossible to identify you. Thus, any website you are visiting cannot see your real IP address, but only the IP address provided by a proxy server. Herewith proxies IPs are regularly changed. Proxies are widely used among individual users as well as businesses. There are several reasons why people turn to proxy servers:Getting access to blocked content;Optimizing web surfing and speeding up common requests;Improving security and privacy by data encryption;Gathering information about competitors (data on products, pricing, services, marketing trends, etc. );Providing email security (to avoid any suspicious links or malicious content);Enhancing brand protection by scanning the web to indicate false representation or plagiarized es can significantly benefit from using proxy servers. Otherwise, they would not be able to gather and process competitors’ data. The point is when you try to process a large amount of information from a competitor’s website, where this activity is often identified as suspicious. Thereupon, this website can easily block your IP. But it will never happen if you use a good proxy server that changes IPs over time by a proxy rotator (or rotating proxies). There are different types of proxies – residential / data center, shared, semi-dedicated, and dedicated sidential proxies: they provide genuine IPs that allow imitating user’s behavior;Datacenter proxies: they provide private IPs coming from intermediary organizations. Proxy servers of this type usually guarantee better anonymity and accelerated data request responses. Shared proxies: they provide IPs used by multiple users at the same time. They are cheaper than private proxies but still suitable for getting access to banned content and avoiding other particular restrictions. Semi-dedicated proxies: they are similar to shared proxies but the number of IP users is limited. Only 3 users can benefit from one IP simultaneously. If you use this type of proxy for surfing on social media websites, your account can be blocked because of other users’ suspicious activities. Dedicated proxies: these are private proxies implying you do not share your IP with anyone else. Proxies of this type can guarantee the highest level of security. They are usually used by 10 Best Paid Proxy Service in 2021Disclaimer: In this article, I only describe my experience. 1. – The Most Universal SolutionSmartproxy provides data center and residential proxies. They also have mobile IPs available. The pool of rotating residential IPs collates with more than 40 million addresses. Driven by the quick rotation system, proxies provided by the service are rarely banned. While there are certain limitations on the bandwidth in accordance with your pricing plan, the number of concurrent threads you can run is unlimited. The service gives you an opportunity to choose a proxy you need from the list of servers in the dashboard. Thus, you can select an appropriate option according to the type of session, location, or other parameters. Smartproxy provides browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. Besides, pro customers can benefit from a functional API. The service has good customer support that operates 24/7. The prices depend on the types of proxies you need, as well as upon the traffic allowance. For example, the minimal pricing plan including residential proxies and 5 GB of bandwidth will cost you $75 per month. While the minimal plan for data center proxies (with a 100 GB traffic limit) will cost you $50 per month. These two options are suitable for individual professionals and freelancers. Conversely, the service also provides extended and more complex options for businesses. Regarding the range of use, Smartproxy is highly effective in avoiding blocks or cloaking, ad verification, conducting competitor research, affiliate testing, etc. You can also use residential proxies to manage your social media accounts without the risk of being blocked. Pros:Live customer support operates 24/7;Browser extensions provided;Comparatively affordable prices;Unlimited threads;Mobile IPs are available. Cons:Geo-targeting is quite restricted;Traffic limits. 2. BrightData () – Top Choice for the BusinessWhat is so special about this proxy server? First of all, it aggregates more than 72 million IP addresses. Luminati provides all types of proxies including rotating residential IPs, static addresses, and mobile IPs. You can benefit from LPM (Luminati Proxy Manager) which allows optimizing bandwidth usage, setting rules for IP rotation, excluding certain IPs, etc. This tool can be easily integrated with macOS, Windows, or Linux. Luminati is effectively used for business purposes providing all necessary features for data gathering, price comparison, ad verification, brand protection, SEO monitoring, and many more. However, not only companies but also individual professionals can benefit from this platform. For example, affiliate marketers can use Luminati to validate ad placement, verify affiliating links, and optimize marketing sidential proxies provided by Luminati support HTTPS, HTTP and SOCKS5 protocols. Regarding customer service, there are multiple ways to get assistance. If you have any questions about the platform, you can contact them directly by phone, email, social media, or messengers. There are also a lot of tutorials, video lessons, webinars, and documentation to learn more about the product. The service provides various payment plans. For example, you can buy a monthly subscription or make up your own custom plan, paying only for specific features you need. The prices for a monthly subscription start at $500, which is more expensive when making comparisons to other competitors. However, this is one of the best proxy providers, targeting the audience with very specific IP pool;All types of IPs are available;Specific targeting options;Free trial provided;Free proxy manager. Cons:Prices are comparatively high;Minimum deposit $20. 3. Proxy-Seller – The Most Cost-Effective PackagesUse promo code “HACKERNOON15” to get 15% off for any order. Enjoy! The first thing that catches the eye while dealing with Proxy-Seller for the first time is the alluring pricing options. It is fairly ranked first among the most cost-effective and versatile solutions. Though the service is comparatively new and the server network is not that vast, it is earning loyalty for the ease of use, impressive performance, and a variety of proxies available. In particular, you can benefit from SOCKS proxies as well as from packages of IPv4 and IPv6 proxies. While highlighting Proxy-Seller’s affordability, you can buy one proxy for a week just to try the service that will cost you $0. 76. Or you can opt for the 1-month, 2-month, 6-month, or 1-year pricing plan. Plus, the number of proxies in your package can vary according to your needs. You can buy one or one hundred proxies – pick as many as you need, customize your payment plan however you want, and you will find out it is still the most cost-effective solution on the has excellent around-the-clock customer service and various channels to reach them out such as live chat, email, and even social media. Besides, it allows using numerous payment methods, including Bitcoin, QIWI, WebMoney, and some other less popular ones. As for the overall performance, the tests demonstrated great results. The ping duration varies between 50-150 ms, the average speed reaches 50 Mbps, and the upload speed exceeds 350 Mbps in some cases. Although the refund policy is pretty limited, you can get your money back within 24 hours after you have paid for your proxies. Apart from that, refreshing your proxies is possible every month that is a nice touch for SEO variety of pricing plans and opportunities to customize them;24/7 customer support;Numerous payment methods;Money-back guarantees;Great performance. Cons:No free trial;Smaller server network when comparing with competitors. 4. – The most flexible choiceThis service provides data center, residential, and mobile IPs. The pool of proxies exceeds 3 million IPs that you can share with others. The service offers several payment plans and does not set limits on traffic allowance. RSocks supports HTTPS, HTTP andSOCKS5 protocols. One of the most specific features of this platform is that it has particular pricing plans for mobile IP addresses. The list of IPs is regularly updated depending on the payment plan (every 5 minutes, or every hour, or two hours). RSocks has one distinguishing feature that makes it stand out among competitors. If you do not use your proxies for some time, you can pause them saving your money. Similarly, you can benefit from a proxy checker to select shared proxies according to your parameters. RSocks’ pricing plans do not imply limitations on the number of IPs in use or the bandwidth. Instead, you can choose an appropriate option based on your personal needs and requirements. Thus, the prices for shared proxies start at just $10 per month. While the residential proxies’ minimal plan will cost you around $30 per pricing options;Unlimited traffic allowance;Good customer support;Different types of proxies provided;Mobile IPs are availableCons: Geo-targeting options are quite limited. 5. – The Most Flexible ChoiceOxylabs is a Lithuanian company that specializes in providing mainly residential and data center proxies. This is one of the most appropriate options for business purposes. So, if you seek the proxy server that will help you with business intelligence, brand protection, marketing research, and ad verification, you can rely on service provides a great many tools apart from proxies. For example, extracting data tools help in marketing research and brand protection. Oxylabs has a vast pool of data center IPs including more than 2 million addresses covering over 80 locations around the globe. As for residential proxies, they provide even wider choices as there are around 70 million IP addresses in every country and city of the world. You can also opt for static or rotating residential proxies to ensure the speed of your web-performance. Another special feature worth mentioning is next-gen residential proxies based on AI and machine learning. They are meant to improve your overall browsing experience and better bypassing of any for pricing, the minimal plan for the set of residential proxies starts at $300 per month and implies limitations on traffic allowance (20 GB). As for data center proxies, you are freer to define a comfortable pricing plan. For example, you may opt for a set of 100 IPs that will cost you $180 per month or prefer to pay $1. 8 for one IP choice of proxies;A lot of pricing plans; Good customer support;Variety of special all proxies support SOCKS5 protocol;Mobile proxies are only available together with residential proxies. 6. – Reliable pricesThis is probably the most universal solution out there. Both individual users and businesses can benefit from Proxy-Hub. The service provides dedicated and semi-dedicated private proxies. There are no restrictions and limits on the bandwidth. Besides, Proxy-Hub offers various payment options including online wallets, Bitcoin, and credit cards. All proxies support HTTP protocol and guarantee a high level of anonymity. You can get a fresh set of IPs every month or keep the same from the previous oxies provided by the service work well with social media accounts, on such platforms as Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and YouTube. Proxy-Hub supports all types of SEO tools (BDM, SrNukeXcr, Scrapebox, GSA, Ultimate, etc. ). Furthermore, you can benefit from the Proxy Manager, which is available on both Chrome and Firefox. Regarding the prices, they depend on the number of proxies you need, as well as their type. Thus, the minimal package including 10 semi-dedicated proxies will cost you $10 per month. While the price for the same number of dedicated proxies reaches $20 per month. The service provides a 3-day trial period and clear refund guarantees. Thus, if you are not satisfied with ProxyHub’s functionality, you can request a refund within 3 days and get full and dedicated proxies provided;Fresh proxies every month;Affordable prices;Refund guarantees;A high level of security and anonymity provided. Cons:Only two types of proxies available. 7. – Best for the streaming platformsThis is one of the most affordable services out there and definitely one of the best options for personal use. Smart DNS Proxy is useful for unblocking content and keeping your private data secure. It also provides a VPN service included in the cost of the subscription. You can use Smart DNS Proxy on every device as there are mobile and desktop apps for Mac, Windows, Android, and service targets the audience of individual users that seek anonymous online surfing and web security. Thus, you can benefit from unblocking websites and streaming platforms, as well as from utilising the VPN service itself. Overall, Smart DNS Proxy aggregates all necessary tools for secure web surfing and protecting personal information within several payment plans. It provides several smart DNS servers in over 30 countries around the globe (the UK, the US, Canada, Europe, plus some regions of South Africa, etc. Moreover, the VPN servers cover even more locations (up to 40 worldwide). However, if you use the VPN service, the speeds can be less impressive while comparing with the smart DNS service providing a much smoother performance. On the other hand, the VPN service provides unlimited bandwidth, great encryption, and no logs. You can rely on a safe connection while using public main advantage of the smart DNS service is that it allows you to get access to over 300 streaming platforms in more than 30 locations, as well as bypassing geo-restrictions. Whilst the level of anonymity and security could have been higher, this is still one of the best solutions for individual users due to its affordability. The prices for a package of basic services (including VPN) start at just $5. 90 per month. There is a 14 days free trial. Pros:Smooth performance provided by smart DNS service;VPN service is included in the cost of subscription;Affordable prices;5 simultaneous connections;Effective for bypassing geo-restrictions. Cons:The speed can be lower if you use a VPN service;The level of security and anonymity could have been higher. 8. NetNut mainly targets businesses and companies that seek residential proxies together with the highest degree of anonymity and enhanced web performance. This is not the cheapest proxy provider out there, but it is definitely good value for money. NetNut has a pool of more than 10 million residential IP addresses. It provides advanced features for geo-targeting, residential and static IPs, plus different pricing options, etc. Otherwise, you can benefit from a 7-day free has anonymous proxies in every location around the globe. There are two main advantages of this platform. First of all, it is fast; secondly, it is easy to use due to its smart rotation system. NetNut has several payment plans. Some of them are based on the bandwidth, whilst others are request based. The minimal 20GB plan including static residential IP addresses, email support, and Chrome extension, will cost you $300 per month. Subsequently, when using this service you can rely on the highest level of security, full anonymity, and access to any content, in spite of restrictions. This is a classic type of proxy server that conceals your IP when you surf on the Internet. Also, it contributes to the faster web performance as your own server is not used when you browse websites. You are able to contact a customer support manager 24/7. When your package is running out you will get informed by email. The service provides money-back guarantees. So, if it does not meet your expectations, you can request a refund within 7 Huge pool of IPs;Money-back guarantees;Various pricing plans;Free trial;Customer support available 24/ for businesses than for personal use;This is not one of the most affordable services. 9. – Free Proxies and Best VPNI think this is the best choice for personal use. has a skillset similar to SmartDNSproxy, providing a lot of useful tools for secure online surfing. The service targets an audience of individual users and offers multiple content-unblocking functions at affordable prices. The customer support operates around the clock. Additionally, there is a free trial and refund guarantees. Being mainly a VPN provider, the service can guarantee sufficient speed and satisfyingly smooth performance. While using this service, you can rely on the full anonymity and security of your personal data. Yet, by far not every VPN service can satisfy the needs of customers who instead turn to more expensive proxy services. However, appears to be a good alternative. By using this platform, you can benefit from over 300 shared IP addresses, covering more than 81 locations. Thus, there is no problem getting access to the most popular streaming services like Netflix or Hulu. There are various pricing plans that are equally affordable. For example, if you need a monthly subscription, it will cost you $8. While the price of an annual subscription reaches $36 (that is $3 per month). Apart from that, if you think the service does not meet your requirements, you can get a full refund within 30 of the most suitable solutions for personal use;Affordable prices;High level of security and anonymity;24/7 customer support;Good VPN service that does not affect the speed. Cons:There are not so many proxy options. 10. service collects around 70 000 IPs. While the pool of proxies is not that large, the prices are comparatively affordable. StormProxies mainly targets individual users and small-scale businesses. The platform provides multiple types of proxies. You can find private dedicated proxies with data center IP addresses, rotating residential proxies, and more specific backconnect rotating proxies. The last option implies a combination of residential and data center IP addresses. The first thing about StormProxies to highlight is that it does not have limits for traffic allowance. However, the final price of the package depends on the number of IP addresses in use, along with simultaneous connections. The pool of IPs covers a variety of locations. However, if you need a 5-minute rotating residential proxy, consider that their number is more limited (about 40K IP addresses). The service is easy to use and provides 24/7 customer support. All basic requirements such as high levels of anonymity and security are guaranteed. In addition to this, you can benefit from browser extensions and APIs. Regarding the pricing, the platform has various options for different budgets and requirements. Considering the quality of all basic features, this is one of the most effective, competitive and affordable services. The package of 5 private proxies will cost you $10 per month. While if you need backconnect rotating proxies, the minimal price starts at $39 per month (the package includes 40 simultaneous connections). Pros:No limits on the bandwidth;Various types of IPs provided;Affordable prices;Good customer support;High levels of anonymity and security are guaranteed. Cons:The pool of IPs is not huge enough;Geo-targeting options are limited. Overall, paid proxy servers expand opportunities for anonymous online surfing and enhancing the security of your personal information. They are essential for businesses as they allow doing research on competitors, optimizing SEO, verifying ads, and developing brand protection. However, if you plan to use proxies for personal needs such as bypassing geo-restrictions or getting access to blocked content, SmartDNSproxy and are the best options. Although they cannot guarantee the highest level of anonymity or provide a variety of proxies, they are the most affordable and still 3 Best Free Proxy Servers in 2021Free proxy servers can give you the same benefits as paid ones. However, the highest level of security and anonymity is rarely guaranteed. Correspondingly, free proxy servers cannot offer so many types of proxies to choose from. Also, they rarely deal with dedicated proxies. While using these services, you can face technical bugs that are a common thing among free options. If you succeed to find a reliable free proxy server, take into account that one day it could become a paid one. Regarding reliability, free proxy services can unexpectedly leave the market forcing you to search for alternatives. Besides, there are no strong guarantees that your data is absolutely secure when you use a free proxy server. Overall, it is much easier to lose a reliable free platform than to find one. As a rule of thumb, they do not consistently offer customer support, trials, or a huge pool of IPs. However, if this is not an issue for you, let’s look into the best free proxy servers. – Best Choice for Free and Paid PlansHideMyAss does not require you to install any extensions or software. You can benefit from a wide range of proxy servers for free, enhanced speeds, and a strong encryption system. While using this service, you can rely on fully anonymous surfing and the security of personal data. HMA gives you an opportunity to choose a particular city or a preferred IP address. It is a nice touch while considering that by far, not every free proxy service can offer such an option. There are available servers in the US and European cities. Overall, this service is fairly reliable. However, HMA can collect some of your personal details (IP, URLs, files, etc. ) and store them for 30 encryption system;An opportunity to select a server in a particular city;Sufficient speed;No limits on the bandwidth. Cons:The service stores some personal information for 30 days. – Best Free Web ProxyThis service hides users’ browsing activities and allows bypassing geo-restrictions. While using Hidester there is no reason to worry about anonymity as nobody will be able to track your web activity. The service is very easy to use. You do not need to sign up or download any software. The only thing it requires you to do is to enter a web address of the site you want to browse on Hidester. There are a pool of US and European IPs and some basic features to protect your privacy. For example, the service provides URL encryption, along with an opportunity to turn off cookies and remove scripts. Conclusively, there are no logs during sessions. The service assures you that it does not share your personal data with other resources or websites. According to customer reviews, the service seems to be reliable. Nevertheless, Hidester is a comparatively new platform, so nobody can guarantee how long it will be available for users. The service also provides some additional tools to ensure your web security. For example, there is a DNS leak test and a password level of privacy and security is assured;Useful features and tools;Easy to use;Cons:It does not have an extension for Firefox. mThis service has extensions for both Chrome and Firefox, including a portable Firefox version with all of the necessary tools integrated. KProxy provides proxy servers coming from Munich and Montreal for free. Overall it is a quite reliable proxy service for personal use, improving anonymity and the security of personal data. KProxy supports an HTTPS protocol and does not imply any limits on the speed. Still, there are some limitations on the bandwidth. In this regard, you can use a service for 3 hours at a stretch for free. Then, you have two available options – to pay for further use or to reconnect in 30 minutes. While taking into account this limitation, this service is still recommended due to the number of servers you can use. There are about ten available proxy servers that can guarantee at least 90% privacy and to use;Multiple proxy options;Two available extensions including a portable Firefox version;High level of security and anonymity. Cons:Limitations on time and traffic allowance for the free version. FAQ1. What is a Proxy? A proxy is a gateway between your computer and the Internet. Thus, any website you are visiting cannot see your real IP address, but only the IP address provided by the proxy server. Herewith proxies IPs are regularly changed. 2. Why Should I use a Proxy? There are numerous reasons why people use proxies. First, they provide anonymous online surfing, better speed, the security of your personal data, and so on. Second, proxies allow bypassing restrictions and getting access to any content at any time. Third, some people use proxy servers for business purposes. For example, it allows doing research on competitors, checking the correctness of ad placement, and improving brand protection. 3. How do Proxies Improve Web Security? Every Internet user has an IP (Internet protocol) that makes it possible to identify you as a user and get some of your personal details such as location. Websites you visit can get access to this information as well. That makes any internet user vulnerable to hacker attacks, obtrusive advertising, or even identity theft. It happens because we leave a lot of personal information all around the web. However, if you use a proxy server, you create a gateway between you and the Internet. When you visit any website it cannot see your real IP as the proxy server connects it instead of you and then redirect all necessary information. In this case, nobody can get your personal data and track your online activity. Thus, you can browse any website even if it is banned in your country. 4. What types of proxy servers exist? There are four main types of proxies – residential and data center, shared proxies, semi-dedicated, and sidential proxies: they provide genuine IPs that allow imitating user’s behavior;Datacenter proxies: they provide private IPs coming from intermediary organizations. This type of proxy server usually guarantees better anonymity and accelerated data request responses. Shared proxies: they provide IPs used by multiple users at the same time. If you use this type of proxy surfing on social media websites, your account can be blocked because of other users’ suspicious activities. Dedicated proxies: these are private proxies implying you do not share your IP with anyone else. They are usually used by nclusionOverall, proxy servers can significantly improve your user experience due to numerous factors. Better privacy, anonymity, and security are essential for every individual user. Today, the web is the main source of information about us. Our private life spreads on the Internet. And it is not a secret that corporations thrive on selling and manipulating our personal data. And the consequences can be quite disappointing. Proxy servers help to prevent any security leak contributing to our positive user experience. For businesses, proxies appear to be the basic and most effective way to remain competitive. With the wide range of tools provided by proxy services, it is much easier to manage brand reputation, gather marketing information, optimize SEO and overall web performance. In the near future, proxy servers will become an integral part of any business success. So, I hope this rating will help you sort out the types of proxy servers and select the most appropriate all my articles:Best Crypto Hardware Wallets;Best Free and Paid Crypto Trading Bots;Best Crypto Lendings;Best VPN Service. TagsJoin Hacker Noon Create your free account to unlock your custom reading experience.

Frequently Asked Questions about best paid proxy servers

What is the fastest proxy server?

Hide.Me advertises itself as the fastest free proxy server, due to not keeping their own logs in order to help speed up the service.Aug 12, 2021

Do I have to pay for a proxy server?

Let’s consider advantages of free proxies: no fee, so you don’t have to pay at all; you can easily switch between proxies; sometimes you can find free proxies with same properties and specifications as paid proxies have; you can actually hide your actions on the Internet; when connecting proxies into chains, you don’t …

How much does a proxy server cost?

In general, proxy servers generally cannot provide the sophisticated event statistics, reports, alarms and audit tracking of standalone firewalls. However, a high end proxy server goes for about $1,000. Firewalls cost from $5,000 to $50,000 [2].