The thing about being online is that you’ve got to make sure that your activity is safe and secure.
If you try to access certain websites without using a proxy server, or you try to grow your brand by scraping data without one, then you are certainly going to put your personal information at risk of being stolen.
Proxies are also important if you are located somewhere in the world where social media is banned, or you are trying to access a website from your workplace or school and there are restrictions around it.
The bottom line is that the more you can equip yourself to be online and stay safe while you’re at it, the better.
With this in mind, let’s review what we think are the best proxies and proxy server services in the industry right now so that you can put your best foot forward and ensure that you make the most of the market.
Best Proxies: Top Proxy Server Services in 2024
1. Oxylabs
Oxylabs is a proxy server provider that can help you with both business and residential options, and they are best suited for those that are trying to achieve basic scrapping tasks, including data harvesting.
They offer rotating proxies as well as worldwide connectivity, and they even make it so that you can browse your way online anonymously.
We love that the setup process is incredibly simple and straightforward, and the dashboard is super easy to figure out how to use, and their customer support is there whenever you need it.
They have a lot of features for you to choose from, with many datacenters around the world. You can benefit from their pool of more than 102 million IP addresses, and they support being able to connect to more than one proxy at a time.
They provide their clients with robust and reliable residential proxies, and they can assign their IPs to physical devices including smartphones and computers.
This means that the service provider is going to recognize your IP address, and approve your access. This means that you don’t really have to worry about being blocked at any point.
2. Bright Data
Bright Data is a great proxy server service that is one of the best options that you should be using instead of a free proxy server.
They are the kind of service that offers tools that are feature rich, so that you can easily gather the right information for your brand, and there’s no fallout from the activity.
There are more than 10,000 people currently in all types of different industries that are making the most of this proxy server provider.
One of the first things that you are going to notice about them is that they have a super user-friendly dashboard.
They put you through a quick guide in the beginning so that you can work out how to use it to your advantage.
They also have a preview for each feature, so that you know what you’re getting yourself into.
The other thing that we like is that they have pay-as-you-go options, so that you can allocate things like IP pool size and bandwidth.
They have a data unblocker feature that is going to help you unlock those websites, and they also have a pool of more than 72 million IPs, so that you can make the most of their effectiveness.
The best part?
They are only going to charge you for the proxies that actually work. They offer a search engine crawler, so that you can collect your data in real time, and you can scrape major engines like Bing and Google.
They also help their clients with mobile proxies, which are associated with real mobile carriers around the world.
They have an API that can help you come up with custom apps, and they say that their proxy management is super flexible, so that you don’t really have to worry about whether they are doing the job for you or not.
They offer a Google Chrome extension, and their cloud manager is going to cost $150 extra a month.
Their personal account manager can support you whenever you need it, and they offer a free trial that is available for seven days.
3. ProxyEmpire
If you are looking for the best proxy server that is bound to treat you really well and make sure that you get the services that you need, then you might want to check out ProxyEmpire.
They are a dedicated proxy server provider that is based in America, and almost all of the proxies that they offer their clients are located there as well.
They offer cheap private proxies which is always nice, and they also make it possible for you to get all of your data scraping done.
Additionally, they have proxies that are compatible with YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, but the only thing that they can’t help you with is sneaker proxies.
They have some of the cheapest datacenter proxies in the market, which is always a good thing, and they have six plans for you to pic from.
They say that their cheapest plan is going to cost you $10 a month, while their most expensive plan is going to cost you $500 a month.
They allow their clients to pay for their features through Bitcoin and PayPal, and they also have unlimited bandwidth that you can make the most of.
They say that their pricing model is based on how many proxies you use, not how much bandwidth you use up.
You do have to be careful about how you use their proxies though because if they end up getting blocked, you won’t be able to get them replaced for 30 days.
They have a monthly replacement clause, but just keep in mind that you could be waiting for a while to get another proxy.
However, they do off their customers a really good refund policy, which means that you will be able to get a complete refund from them within seven days of purchase, which is really generous in our opinion.
We think that the speed of their services is decent, and when it comes to their customer support, you are going to be pleased with what they offer.
They also have a really good FAQ section, so that you can get an answer to almost any question that you might have.
They have a ticketing system, and you are guaranteed to get an answer to your question within just a few hours.
The only thing that we have to say about these guys that is slightly negative is that they don’t have a free trial on offer, so you’re going to just have to commit to their features without trying them out for free first.
They also have limited location coverage, so take this into account when considering whether you want to use them or not.
4. Proxy-Seller
Proxy-Seller is a proxy provider that offers its clients some of the most cost-effective packages, so if you are a little tight on money, then you will be able to use these guys with a lot of relief, knowing that you aren’t going to go outside of your budget to make the most of their features.
One of the first things that you are going to notice about this proxy server provider is that they have really good pricing, and then you are going to realise that you get a lot of bang for your buck.
They are a pretty new service compared to other providers in the industry, but this shouldn’t put you off, because they certainly know what it takes and what you need to do really well with your proxies.
They say that they are super easy to use and they have really good performance with their proxies – and you have a lot of different proxy server options to choose from.
They offer their clients SOCKS proxies, and you can benefit from IPv6 and IPv4 proxies.
We are going to circle back around to the affordability factor of this provider, meaning that you can purchase one proxy a week, and this is going to cost you just 76 cents.
You can also set yourself up with one of their subscription options, and these are going to last for one month, two months, six months, or even a year.
Naturally, how many proxies you get in your package is going to depend on how many you need, which means that you can purchase one proxy, or you can purchase one hundred proxies – you can get as little or as many as you need.
We love that you can customize your payment plan like this, so that you can definitely stick to your budget and not worry about going over it.
They also say that they have customer support that you can access around the clock, and a lot of different ways to connect with them, including email, live chat, and social media.
They offer a variety of different payment options too, including Bitcoin, and as far as their performance goes, they came out with flying colours.
Their average speed is 50 Mbps, and while they have a pretty limited refund policy, we love that you can easily get your money back within just one day if you have paid for your proxies already.
You can also refresh the proxies that you use with them every month. The only downside to this proxy server provider is that they don’t offer a free trial, so there’s no way for you to try them out to figure out whether they are a good fit or not.
5. SSLPrivateProxy
SSLPrivateProxy is a proxy server provider with a few tricks up its sleeve, so you know that they are for real when thinking about how they can help their clients online.
They have a great location coverage, and they include a huge number of proxies in their pool.
These guys offer their clients proxy servers that are found in 39 different locations, and they have more than 300K proxies within their pool.
One of the things that we really appreciate about this proxy provider is that they offer their clients shared and private proxies, so that you can customize your package and only source the proxies that you are going to end up using.
This means that they can help you with all kinds of different activities, from copping sneakers, to managing your social media, scraping data, and even posting up classified ads on platforms like Craigslist.
If you are trying to keep your information nice and private, then they have a diverse range of dedicated private proxies so that you can experience a high level of security.
They have packages for Pinterest, Instagram, and the list goes on.
One thing that you are going to realise is that their specialised packages are a bit more expensive than their generalised ones, but this is understandable, and we think that if you need specialised options bad enough, you will be willing to pay for them.
They have a quick download and upload speed, and another thing that we really like about this proxy server provider is that they have a great refund policy.
This way, you don’t have to worry about giving them your money and wondering whether you’re going to see a serious return on it – and if you think that they’re not the right fit, you can walk away without losing out on anything.
Their money-back guarantee lasts for seven days. One of the downsides to this provider is that there is no free trial to speak of, so that you can’t check them out before you choose to commit to them.
However, we think that their refund policy covers this part nicely.
They offer two-part authentication, and while they are a bit on the expensive side, at the end of the day we think that for a lot of people out there that have flexible budgets, they are well worth the time.
You might find that their customer support is a bit slow, but when looking at everything else, it could be a lot worse.
6. Blazing SEO Proxies
Blazing SEO Proxies is one of the best paid proxy servers that can help you with HTTPS, HTTP, SOCKS, and protocol proxies, and they offer their clients unlimited bandwidth, as well as a free trial, so that you can get to know them really well before you commit to anything.
This provider is a well-known proxy server provider that can help you with 34 datacenters around the world, in 17 different countries. You can benefit from more than 300,000 IP addresses, and they have a variety within this, too.
This means that you can make the most of dedicated proxies, semi-dedicated proxies, sneaker proxies, and even rotating proxies that are going to change things up on you every 10 minutes.
The good things is that datacenter proxies are going to work a lot quicker than residential options, but just know that the risk of being banned is a lot higher.
When it comes to residential, you are able to hide the IP address of your real location.
As well as offering unlimited bandwidth, they also offer their clients unlimited threads, and free proxy replacement, which is kind of like a money-back guarantee.
It means that you are never going to be working with proxies that are ineffective and not working.
Once you have purchased a specific plan from them, you can expect to be connected to your proxies right away, and the entire process is only going to take a few minutes and then you can start browsing online safely.
They also say that their proxies are super-fast, just know that their rotating proxies are going to be a little bit slower.
They offer both kinds of authentication, and their customer support is there whenever you need it.
We think that their price points are extremely affordable, and because they charge per IP address, if you end up using quite a few, things are going to get pretty expensive.
You’ve just got to compare it against your budget and decide if it’s a good fit. Just keep in mind that they don’t have a refund policy, but their FAQ section is super helpful.
7. High Proxies
High Proxies is one of those proxy server providers that can help you whatever stage you’re at with using proxies, so whether you are a beginner or you are a veteran, they can make the entire process super simple and easy.
They say that they have datacenter proxies that are located not just within America, but over in Germany, France and even Italy.
When it comes to their customer support, they are responsive and quick, and they support two authentication methods, making them super secure.
One of the best things about High Proxies is that they have a number of different proxies for you to choose from, and they customize their packages based on their client’s needs.
They say that they can help you manage more than one Instagram profile at the same time, and they can also help you put up ads on Craigslist without getting kicked off.
All of their customized proxies are private and dedicated, so you don’t have to worry about being banned because of what other people are doing.
They have shared proxies on offer, but they are going to cost you a lot less. Their shared proxies are going to cost you $10.90 a month, and this is going to give you access to 10 IP addresses. You can also purchase just one proxy for $2.30 a month.
You can purchase up to 1000 private proxies, so at the end of the day it all comes down to what you are wanting, and how much activity you plan on doing online.
Their datacenter proxies are quick and dedicated, and they can help you with both HTTPS and HTTP.
They make it easy for you to have up to 100 concurrent connections at the same time, and they promise instant delivery of their proxies as soon as you have paid for them.
Their diverse packages allow you to accommodate for different sites, and they even offer a three-day money-back guarantee.
You can request a new IP address every month, but one of the only downsides that we can figure out right now is that they don’t have proxies that can be compatible with sneaker copping, so if this is the kind of activity that you’re hoping to achieve with them, then you’re out of luck.
Otherwise, fair game.
8. The Social Proxy
The Social Proxy is another option if you are looking for a lot of ways to improve your online browsing, and you don’t want to have to compromise and go for a company that’s going to rip you off and offer you low-quality features in the process.
The Social Proxy is a relatively new provider, but this being said they have wasted not time in winning over their clients, and as a result they’ve got a lot of people that are interested in using their features, and currently benefiting from them.
They are from Israel, and they have mobile proxies that can be used for the social media botting industry.
They say that they have complete control over their services and their system because they don’t use a peer-to-peer network.
One of the things that you do need to be wary of with a proxy server like this is that they do have limited location support which is primarily because of how it operates, and its determination to offer clients high-quality proxies.
They definitely mean business, and it shows in all of the features that they offer.
They are great if you are planning on automating a lot of your social media, and you don’t want to be found out for it.
The good news is that they mostly offer mobile proxies, but compared to other proxy providers they are very high quality, so you aren’t going to have to ask for your money back at any point.
They are going to make it easy for you to grow your social media online, and they also have specialised options, so that you can go for their proxies that have been designed with Instagram in mind, for example.
In fact, they have proxies that are compatible with all major social media sites out there, and they have a simple pricing model, so you’re not going to get confused or bogged down with the details.
Two of the most important features that they offer is their rotating IP addresses that are endless in supply, and their unlimited bandwidth.
They have a free trial if you want to try them out before committing to anything long-term, and they have a 3-day refund policy so that you can get your money back without any hassle before three days is up.
Their proxy server speeds are excellent, and they have responsive customer support.
Remember, though, that they’re not going to be great if you are someone who needs a variety of different locations when it comes to your proxies.
9. Iced Out Proxies
Ice Out Proxies is going to impress you for a number of reasons, including the fact that they are super easy to set up and use.
They are a really popular proxy server provider that can help you with datacenter proxies and residential proxies, and they say that they are primarily focused on datacenter proxies – although they can of course help you with residential ones as well.
They generate their IPs with machines, meaning that they are going to be able to provide you with enough anonymity.
Interestingly, they have a heavy focus on sneaker copping, so if this is what you are wanting to do with your time online and you’ve been hoping to find a provider that can help you, you’ve come to the right place.
They don’t have a refund policy which is something that you need to consider when using them, but they do have support for HTTP and IPv4 protocols.
They primarily cover America when it comes to their locations, and they have access to around 100,000 proxies which is decent.
They have a good customer support system so that you can easily get in touch with them, and their clients have said that they are responsive and willing to help you out with anything that you might need.
Another thing to think about with these guys is that they are pretty affordable, especially when you compare them to other providers out there, so if you are worried about pricing and you don’t want to spend over your budget, they are going to be a good choice.
All in all they are a solid contender that can help you with sneaker copping, which is always nice.
10. Storm Proxies
Storm Proxies is a proxy server service that is great if you are wanting access to around 70,000 IP addresses.
They don’t have the biggest pool of IP addresses, but what they lack in quantity, they certainly make up for in quality.
They are super affordable in terms of pricing, and they are mainly here for smaller businesses and individuals, which we are not complaining about.
They offer a multitude of different proxy server choices, and they don’t have limits when it comes to traffic allowance.
The price of the package that you choose is going to depend on how many IPs you need for what you’re doing, along with how many you need to be connected at the same time.
They say that their pool covers a number of different locations, and their service in general is super easy to use.
They provide their clients with around the clock customer support, and they also provide them with basic requirements, including a high level of anonymity and security. You can benefit from other things like APIs and browser extensions.
When it comes to their pricing, you are going to see a number of different options based on what you might have in the budget.
They are one of the most effective providers when it comes to how much they charge for their features, and they are only going to charge you $10 for five private proxies.
There is no limit to their bandwidth, and they offer a good level of customer support which is always nice.
At the end of the day if you want a service that is going to be reliable and trustworthy, then you need to check out a proxy provider like Storm Proxies.
What is a Proxy?
A proxy is a server that runs between your computer and the internet. A proxy server is going to be able to provide you with an added layer of security, that is going to interact with the website that you are trying to visit.
Proxies mean that you can use different IP addresses that make it easy to identify you, which means that any website that you choose to visit with a proxy cannot identify you and see what your real IP address is – they can only see the IP address of the proxy.
This is why proxies that use IPs are changed out regularly to avoid suspicion or detection. They are used by individuals online for a number of different reasons.
Let’s take a look at why people choose to use proxies when they are online:
- Being able to access content that would otherwise be blocked
- Making it easier to surf the web, and speed up requests that might otherwise take a long time to go through
- Improving privacy and data encryption, and increasing your level of security online as well
- Being able to get information about competitors, including specific information on products, services, pricing, current market trends, and more
- Being able to offer you email security so that you can avoid opening any links that might be suspicious, or content that is malicious
- Improving protection measures around your brand by looking at the web to find false presentation of it, or even content that has been blatantly plagiarized
As you can see, brands everywhere can benefit from using a proxy server for their online activity.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to gather data from their competitors, and use it to give them an edge.
When you are trying to process a big amount of information from a website that you consider to be a direct competitor, then this can often be seen as suspicious.
Therefore, the website is just going to want to block your IP address after a while.
However, this isn’t going to happen if you choose to use a good proxy server that is going to rotate your IPs out regularly.
Paid Proxies vs. Free Proxies
The thing is that there are downsides and upsides to both, but in general we don’t recommend that you use a free proxy server, ever.
However, let’s give them both a chance so that you can make this decision for yourself.
Pros
The thing about free proxies is that of course you aren’t going to have to pay for them, which is always nice.
However, you will find that if you invest in a free proxy server, you are going to have severe restrictions around things like bandwidth, as well as server resources.
Limitations like this are usually in place so that the quality of the service can be maintained. This way, you can test the waters before you sign up for something a bit bigger.
When thinking about paid proxies, you are going to get more features automatically because you are paying for the privilege.
You are going to be able to choose things like where you get your proxy from around the world, as well as gain access to specific IP addresses.
You are also going to be guaranteed 99% anonymity when you are surfing the web, and you are going to experience quicker connections when you browse online at full speed.
Over the last few years, competition of proxies has meant that you can now get high-quality options out there for next to nothing, so you definitely don’t have to pay top dollar anymore.
Cons
Most proxy providers out there that have a really good reputation have a zero cost option for people who don’t have a big budget right now.
However, the truth of the matter is that there is no such thing as a free lunch.
There aren’t too many servers out there that don’t use this method to upsell other services and products that they’ve got. When you visit a website, it’s going to store cookies.
These are files that are generated based on online user behaviour. When you use a proxy that is free, then the developer can collect this information and sell it to a third party.
This way, they can keep track of where you go online, and use it to market products and services to you.
The bottom line with this is that you are actually paying for the service. The other issue relates to security.
When you use a free proxy, there is no guarantee that you are going to be able to stay anonymous online.
Your IP is bound to leak at some point, which is going to risk you exposing your real identity.
However, if you are just planning on using free proxies every now and then, this shouldn’t happen. With paid proxies, they’re not always reliable.
There is the issue of server breakdowns and downtime every now and then, and the thing is that this can happen whenever. Having to deal with something like this can get old really quick.
Types of Proxies
As you probably already know at this point, there are many different types of proxies out there that you can use, and they all come with their unique characteristics.
Let’s take a look at the six most common kinds of proxies in the industry:
This kind of proxy server comes with a lot of computer networking infrastructure.
It is normally used to serve a number of different clients at the same time, which allows vendors to split costs among the customers, making them super affordable.
To make sure that there is some quality thrown into the mix, the majority of proxy server providers make the most of load-balancing so that they can manage traffic spikes well.
This is going to help spread out big requests across the internet, through a number of different datacenters.
This approach makes it easy for you to enjoy a smooth experience in general, without too many bumps in the road.
Semi-Dedicated Proxy
This is the kind of proxy server that combines the benefits of dedicated and shared proxies.
This means that it does allow more than one user to be on an IP at any given time, but there is a limit to this.
Only five users can be using the same server, which means that you get really good quality for your money, because they aren’t going to charge you what an exclusive proxy server costs.
However, you are going to risk service interruption, because you might end up overloading if one of the users is taking up all the space on the server.
However, this is a great choice if you are a casual user and you are wanting to stay private and anonymous online.
Dedicated Proxy
A dedicated proxy server is going to make it easy for you to make the most of one server, without having to share it with anyone.
This solution offers more computing power and agility to the customer, and it is also secure, stable and efficient.
This means that your chances of getting your IP banned are really small, and you are going to get better control of managing your tasks online.
However, these benefits are going to come at a high price, however.
If you have the budget to spare, then it’s going to be a good option, but there are going to be a lot of people out there that won’t be able to afford it.
SOCKS5 Proxy
If you are trying to stay anonymous online, then you are going to consider security as your number one priority. This is where SOCKS5 proxies come into the picture.
They have the highest standards when it comes to data encryption, and they can help you with a number of different protocols.
They can also help you transfer coded information over to HTTPS, HTTP, and more.
Residential Proxy
If you are trying to get your hands on the best anonymous proxy server, then you are going to want to work with a residential proxy server.
IP addresses are going to get attached to a real device, whether it is a gaming console, a smartphone, or a computer.
This means that any connection made by this method is going to be completely undetectable. The server forces sites to give you the greenlight, by seeing you as an actual visitor.
Reverse Proxy
A reverse proxy server is a network that goes between a web resource and a visitor to the web resource.
Typically, it gets information from the source server for you, and this configuration is good for an organization or a company that is seeking out a high level of security.
It is usually used for filtering out bad traffic, and preventing cyberattacks.
FAQs
Are Proxies Illegal?
The long and short answer is no, they aren’t illegal. The good news is that you’re totally okay to use a proxy server for activity online that isn’t illegal.
However, some web resources are going to have policies that prevent their usage.
If you come across one, we don’t suggest that you even try it, otherwise you could end up being fined a lot of money, or even going to jail for a time.
Are Free Proxies Safe?
No. As we mentioned above, the downside to free proxies is that they aren’t safe, and you really shouldn’t use them for anything, even if you just plan on using a proxy server one time.
Of course, you are going to be tempted to use a free proxy server because who doesn’t want to use something for free, but at the end of the day, the risk is too great for you to take this route.
The thing about free proxies is that they can easily be traced, and they can easily transfer your data so that other people can take it and sell it onto a third party.
Also, free proxies are going to completely lack the right safety encryptions.
Sometimes it’s worth spending money on something that you could otherwise get for free, because it’s going to pay off when it comes to things like security.
Can Proxies be Traced?
Yes, even the best proxies and proxy server provider out there is going to have proxies that can be traced – easily.
This is because proxies are going to transfer data to and from your device without encrypting it.
While you can use proxies to change your IP address, they are only going to provide you with semi-anonymity.
Not to mention that you will experience interruptions in your service.
How to Find a Good Proxy Server
The obvious answer to this question is that any of the proxy server services that we have talked about above are going to take good care of you and make sure that you get the proxy servers that you need to get what you want done online.
None of them are going to get you dedicated, and they all come with robust customer support, as well as the promise that you are going to be able to get a lot done and not worry about your identity being stolen.
However, if you want to broaden you horizons even more, we would suggest that you find a company that has a lot of great reviews.
The thing about reviews these days is that they are hard to come by because there are a lot of providers out there that are more than willing to pay people to say good things about their servers, so you’ve got to know how to pick out real reviews.
Real reviews are going to be in depth, and they will be associated with a first and last name. If you are struggling to find reviews like this, then you might want to walk away.
What’s the Difference Between Cheap and Affordable?
Proxy server providers have a wide range of options when it comes to their pricing, and it all depends on what you are getting, what the deal is with their bandwidth, and whether you are paying for their proxies on a proxy-by-proxy basis, or they have bundle deals available.
As we mentioned earlier, there are providers out there that are now able to offer their clients really affordable rates for good quality proxies, but generally speaking you will have to pay a little bit more for good service.
Try to avoid proxies that are so cheap you can hardly believe it.
Final Thoughts
At the end of the day, proxies are there to help you with all of your online activity, whether this is on Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, or whether you are trying to access a website that has been blocked for some reason or you are trying to scrape data for your business so that you can give yourself an edge over your competition.
The thing is that the more you are able to give yourself protection and anonymity online, the better. Be sure to use one of the best proxies and best proxy services on this list for ultimate privacy.
Just make sure that you don’t get involved in anything illegal, and good luck!