10 Best Free Proxy Servers – Safe and Anonymous Browsing …
Ordinarily, anyone can see what you do online. When you connect to a non-secure website, advertisers, hackers, and government agencies can see where you’re located and what kind of computer you’re using. This information can be used to feed you targeted ads, and it can block you from seeing certain web content.
Web proxies protect your privacy and also help avoid restrictions. Such restrictions may be imposed by a government, workplace, school, or others. In any case, a web proxy helps make the internet as free and anonymous as it should be.
How a Proxy Keeps You Safe
When using a proxy, your request to a website is filtered through a web form, or sometimes a browser extension. The proxy server then acts as an intermediary. It receives your request, finds the right information on the internet, and relays it back to you.
Without this intermediary, the connection between your computer and a website is wide open. But when using a proxy, prying eyes can’t see both sides of the exchange.
As far as the website knows, the request is coming from the proxy server, not from your computer. Personally identifying information – like your IP address – doesn’t make it to the other side.
When it’s not clear who you are, a website doesn’t know whether you’re “allowed” to visit. If your national government blocks a website, it can only block it for people inside the country. But if the site thinks you’re visiting from a foreign server, it will usually let you through.
This way, a proxy can help keep you safe when there are consequences to reading certain information online. However, it’s important to note that proxies alone only offer a basic level of protection. They tend to have a small number of IP addresses, which can be blocked once they are recognized as proxies.
What to Look for in a Free Proxy
Free web proxies have some limitations. But they’re a good option for people who need short-term anonymity or one-time access to blocked content.
Of course, some proxies are better than others. You should do your research before choosing which one to use. Always stick to a service with a solid reputation. Unknown or untested proxies might not work as advertised, or they might even carry a risk of malware infection.
The first feature you should look for in a free web proxy is the number and variety of its servers. If there are many options, you’re less likely to lose your connection. And if some of the available servers are close to you, you’ll probably get better internet speeds.
Not all proxies give details about their servers. And not all of them allow you to choose which ones to connect to. When this information isn’t available, you should be skeptical. But don’t dismiss the service completely. If other users have had a good experience with it, then you might be satisfied with letting the servers’ owners choose one for you.
Another thing to look for in a free web proxy is customizability. Every good proxy will serve the same role as an intermediary in your web browsing. But some will offer additional services beyond hiding your IP address.
Many of the web proxies that we recommend in this article add additional security by encrypting URLs and page content. Many of them give you the option to block scripts and objects, which can increase the risk of malware infection. Some also disable cookies to minimize the storage of your browsing history.
These sorts of tools help you to get the most out of a web proxy without having to pay for decent protection. But the same tools are usually made stronger with paid upgrades. And if you want the absolute best protection, nothing beats a well-tested VPN.
Disadvantages of Proxies
Whatever free web proxy you choose, its extra features are only a bonus. And these usually come with strict limits. You may find that only a certain number of cookies can be encrypted each month. Blocking certain elements of a site might keep you safer but also prevent it from displaying properly.
Even worse, it’s common for proxies – especially free proxies – to come with traffic limits. If you want 24/7 protection from monitoring, hackers, and malware, you might want to upgrade to a paid version. Better yet, you might want to opt for a VPN instead.
Proxies are good enough for getting around firewalls and unblocking content. But they are not as much of a guarantee against monitoring by hackers or your internet service provider. It’s also far more likely that a free proxy could track some of your activities. A premium VPN, such as ExpressVPN has strict no-log policies. One of our top picks is when looking at overall performance.
A VPN will also save you the hassle of having to manually route all your web traffic through the service. To use a web proxy, you have to navigate to the proxy site and then input the URL from there. With a VPN, you can install an app on your device and let it run automatically.
The more advanced VPN option means you’ll be protected when connecting to the internet with third-party apps instead of your web browser. These days, a browser is definitely not the only app that needs protection. But that’s where most free web proxy services end.
Premium VPN services like ExpressVPN offer you a 30-day money-back guarantee so that you can enjoy a risk-free trial of their superior protection.
Try ExpressVPN
Best Free Proxy Servers
Despite the drawbacks, a free proxy might be all that you need. In that case, there are plenty of good options for you to consider.
We’ve combed through existing reviews and tested some free proxy services for ourselves. And from what we’ve found, these are ten of the best free proxy servers out there:
1. KProxy
This seems to be the single most frequently recommended free proxy server. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best. But it does mean that it’s good enough that it satisfies most users, most of the time.
With KProxy, you have ten servers to choose from. You can manually pick from these and switch them anytime. So if you lose access to one server, you’re still protected. There are no imposed speed limits, as with some proxies. And KProxy has a good track record for avoiding detection and blocking by websites and ISPs.
You can access KProxy servers directly through the website, or you can download a browser extension for either Firefox or Chrome.
2. ProxySite
This free web proxy also gives you the opportunity to manually switch between servers. It also offers more than twice as many servers as Kproxy.
You can have ProxySite choose automatically from among servers in the United States and the European Union. Or if you’re having difficulty, you can try them one by one. The specific locations aren’t identified, though, so you can’t be sure of the effect on your connection speed.
ProxySite has been tested for compatibility with YouTube. There are even buttons on the main page that take you, by proxy, to popular sites like Reddit and Twitter. ProxySite is tailor-made to bring anonymity to your everyday online activities.
3.
This option also appears on many “best of” lists, even though its functionality is somewhat limited. doesn’t work with YouTube, Instagram, or Pinterest, and it relies on servers in only 1, 900 locations to mask users’ IP. But it makes up for some of these drawbacks with added security.
allows you to disable cookies, scripts, and objects on any site. In addition to hiding your IP behind the proxy, this service adds a layer of encryption and guarantees that URLs expire after every browser session.
The proxy will not save databases or IP addresses, so you can be confident that your information will not fall into the hands of hackers or advertisers. This makes it a good option for people who are more interested in security than entertainment online. also offers users a full VPN service in addition to its proxy servers.
4. HMA
This web proxy gives you the option to connect to a random server or choose one of 1, 080. These are located on opposite sides of the US and in four different European countries. The geographic coverage is as good as can be expected with a small number of servers.
The HMA proxy also prompts you to set up your connection with three options. You can encrypt URLs, disable cookies, and remove scripts. But that’s about as far as it goes without upgrading to the HMA VPN, which the site will try to sell you.
5. Hidester
Recent user reviews have given Hidester a good reputation for reliability. But it’s not for sure that the reputation will stand up, because this proxy is pretty new.
Still, it seems to be as good an option as other more established proxies on this list. Hidester operates its own servers across both the US and Europe, and access to them is protected with 128-bit encryption and a secure socket layer (SSL).
Its commitment to security extends to free users but paying customers receive access to literally hundreds of additional servers.
Hidester also offers a number of free tools alongside its web proxy. These include a secure password generator and a DNS leak test. These could be major perks for users who want to stay safe online.
6. Anonymouse
If Hidester is a new kid on the block, Anonymouse is an elder statesman of web proxies. It has been around since 1997 and still appears on many lists of most reliable proxy servers.
The main page for Anonymouse shows you the information that snoopers can see when you connect to a site. And it lets you compare that to what they’ll see when you connect through their proxy. But they choose the specific proxy for you, so you’ll just have to trust them.
Tests have actually shown that it’s pretty easy to identify the proxy that you’re using through Anonymouse. So the security might not be the best. But this old service still seems to be improving. Paid users get SSL encryption, and Anonymouse recently launched its own VPN.
Along with the web proxy, you can use Anonymouse to anonymously send e-mails and post to newsgroups. So after all this time, it still has something unique to offer.
7. Megaproxy
Compared to some free proxies, Megaproxy’s servers are harder for snoopers to identify. And that’s without the additional security of its paid version.
You can use Megaproxy by installing a toolbar that lets you type web addresses and route them through a proxy server. It’s a convenient setup, and you can easily switch between regular and protected browsing.
Unfortunately, this might be important with the free version. Megaproxy limits non-paying users to 60 site visits in a five-hour period. And it only encrypts 20 cookies at a time. Still, this adds a little extra privacy that not all free proxies have.
8. NewIPNow
This service acknowledges some of its own limits upfront. It says openly that free proxies might be incompatible with certain websites. That kind of truthfulness in advertising might be a sign of trustworthiness.
Speaking of truth and accuracy, NewIPNow shows you the estimated speed of each server you could connect to. There are about a dozen of these, though they are mostly limited to the United States. But users still receive a new IP address for each session.
You can use NewIPNow on-site or through a Firefox browser extension. There are budget-friendly paid options and they promise 100 percent compatibility. And if you have problems, customer support is a click away.
9. 4everproxy
Before connecting to 4everproxy, you can select both the server and the IP location. There are over ten options for the first selection and even more for the second. By trying different options you can find the perfect balance between security and connection speed.
But speed shouldn’t be much of an issue in any case. Each 4everproxy server boasts a one gigabit per second connection. Each connection also comes with optional SSL encryption and blockage of cookies and scripts.
10. ProxFree
With seven servers in North America and four in Europe, this web proxy offers a decent geographical reach and solid security. After you choose a server, you will be switched to the fastest IP location. But this can also be changed manually.
ProxFree is as customizable as most any free web proxy. SSL encryption is enabled by default but can be turned off. There are check boxes to remove scripts, objects, cookies, and page titles. You can also disable the “referer” and “user agent” headers. This way, the site you’re visiting won’t know what you clicked on to get there, or what type of computer you’re using.
ProxFree has dedicated pages for visiting Facebook, YouTube, and other video streaming sites. You can be confident in your ability to browse social media anonymously and avoid geoblocks on most videos.
Conclusion
None of these proxies would be our first recommendation for people who want to protect their privacy and stay safe online. A trusted VPN will do a better job than any one of these. You can read our newbies guide to VPNs for an in-depth explanation. Our number one choice of VPN is ExpressVPN. But free web proxies are a convenient option, especially for temporary use.
As you can see, there are many good choices available. Their basic function is generally the same, but there are unique advantages to different services. Luckily, they are all free to use and work right in your browser. So you can test them out one by one if you need to.
Free web proxies can be a good way of learning about the risks associated with your web browsing, and how to protect against them. And since some of these providers also have their own VPNs, a web proxy can be a stepping stone to more complete protection. We also took a look at different proxy protocols if you’re looking to understand the other options available to you.
Further Reading
Easy Ways to Hide Your IP Address
Top Really Free VPN Services
Best VPN Browser Extensions for Chrome
Privacy Alert!
Your data is exposed to the websites you visit!
The information above can be used to track you, target you for ads, and monitor what you do online.
VPNs can help you hide this information from websites so that you are protected at all times. We recommend ExpressVPN — the #1 VPN out of over 350 providers we’ve tested. It has military-grade encryption and privacy features that will ensure your digital security, plus — it’s currently offering 49% off.
Visit ExpressVPN
30 best free proxy sites to surf anonymously online in 2021
Last updated June 29, 2021 by Ali Raza Claim your online freedom and unblock all the geo-blocked sites you want to access with these free proxy sites safely and anonymously. If you want to protect your online privacy without spending a penny, all you need is a credible proxy website. Look no further because this article provides you with 30 top free proxy sites – all reliable and tested. But why does the world need services like proxies? I hear you ask. Today, internet users are always under attack from botnets and ransomware. The most targeted devices include private ones like baby monitors, phones, and PCs, thus posing a continuous threat to online privacy. Consequently, people continually look for ways to make their online activities anonymous. Besides, many other factors also compel web users to consider surfing the internet in incognito mode. For instance, content geo-blocking by an organization, school, or the government restricts you from accessing certain websites and information of interest. Such censorship by your university, government, or any other institution suppresses your internet freedom Another major reason why more people are turning to free proxy servers is privacy. That is a good thing. You should keep your privacy intact, always. Folks keep getting attracted to privacy tools as they do not want anyone to monitor or track them, including the Internet Service Providers (aka ISPs). That’s where the tools like proxies come into play. However, many people get confused about web proxies and VPNs, considering them the same. Nonetheless, both are different. If you’re also confused about the differences in functionalities when it comes to VPN vs. proxy, then look no further. With this article, you’ll find the answers to all your queries alongside getting an updated list of the top proxy sites available today. Best proxy sites 2021 – Quick list Are you in a rush to get straight to the top proxy websites that work in 2021? Check out this list of the top 10 free web-based proxies. Whoer – Fastest free proxy, but it’s not web-based. It rather comes as an extension for all popular browsersCroxyProxy – Boasts advanced IP hiding technologyTor – Not a proxy technically. But it is among the most-used services by proxy users online for accessing censored and restricted websitesProxify – Not free for life but offers a free 3-day trialNinja Cloak – Allows surfing the internet anonymously without costing anythingPrivoxy – Has advanced filtering facilitiesUnblockProxy – Excellent compatibility on both desktop and mobile devices’ browsersTurboHide – Provides added privacy comparedZend2 – Best for unblocking social media platformsProXurf – Boasts robust encryption alongside script removal capabilities Want to discover some more? Read along to get your hands on the complete list of 30 best free proxies. Heads-up: If you need to access some sensitive information, perform an online transaction, or become completely anonymous online for any reason, you should only go with a premium VPN like ExpressVPN. However, if you have an insignificant task such as accessing information blocked in your region, free proxy sites online will do the job. Also, some proxy domains are blocked for users in certain countries. In such cases, you’d need to connect to a VPN to be able to use your desired proxy. What is an online web proxy? Online web proxy and Virtual Private Network are two primary tools to remain safe and secure online. In essence, a proxy is a secure mediator between you and the websites you visit. You often do not need to sign up and log into a web proxy server before accessing any site. A proxy server acts as a ‘go-between. ’ It facilitates your internet traffic to flow through it before traveling to the desired website. In this way, it communicates your request to the website, using a unique IP address that is different from your public IP address. This, in turn, hides your identity from the websites you visit. See Also: Proxy Service Providers Virtual Private Network (VPN) – What is it? The most popular, reliable, and safest way to protect your online activities is through the use of a Virtual Private Network. By using a virtual private network (or a VPN), you can hide your IP address, similar to a web proxy, but in a better way. To put it simply, when you connect to your preferred VPN service provider before going online, it hides your real identity using a virtual IP address. However, the service also encrypts your data, rendering it uncompromisable as you surf the internet. You can say robust encryption is what makes VPNs superior to web proxies. Difference between web proxy and Virtual Private Network (VPN) Both VPNs and web proxies assist you to surf the internet anonymously. So, the question arises which option among two is better than the other? Although they both bypass geolocation restrictions and provide users with internet confidentiality, they have some differences. Below is a quick look at the key factors that distinguish these two services. Speed Virtual Private Networks, particularly if you go with free ones, tend to be slower than proxy servers. That is because web proxies do not encrypt user information. However, purchasing a premium VPN service ensures you enjoy a faster-online experience that is safe and secure. Technology Both a VPN service and free online proxy serve a similar purpose as they both act as an intermediary. Both service providers mask your IP address and respond to your requests. Yet, Virtual Private Networks require a channeling process. It facilitates a direct and secure connection between a user and the VPN server. At the same time, a web proxy is an open port that is available for internet users. Besides, web proxy users share a single IP address while VPN users are assigned different IP addresses every time they connect to a server. While most VPN servers also have shared IPs and not dedicated ones, compared to free proxy servers, VPNs offer more IPs. Cost Thanks to the lesser technology-costs involved for the provider as compared to VPNs, web proxies usually are cheaper or even free. Yes, VPNs are affordable nowadays (costing as little as 3. 5 US dollars per month). Yet, the market is flooded by good free proxies that promise stealthy security and privacy. Both services get the job done if you wish to access a restricted site. But I would recommend using a VPN service if one can afford to pay a few bucks a month. Why? Because VPNs provide the highest possible level of security, especially if you expect the service provider to take care of your digital safety and privacy. Though there are a few reliable free VPN services in the market, users should approach them cautiously. Anything free today boasts a hidden cost; in the case of free VPNs, this cost might be your privacy. Security As mentioned above, even the best online web proxy is usually less secure as compared to VPNs. A web proxy will only grant you access to a geo-blocked site by replacing your IP address without encrypting your data. While a quality VPN like ExpressVPN will do both. Please note a VPN or any security tool alone cannot cover all your digital tracks. Some advanced methods can allow third-parties to uncover your online identity. Two such techniques include browser fingerprinting and WebRTC leak vulnerability. However, a VPN shields you against both in most cases, at least, better than a proxy would do. Things to consider before picking a free proxy (123RF) Like anything free online, free web proxies boast some constraint. But if one needs to access the blocked content for a quick session or short-term anonymity online, proxies serve a good purpose. Of course, every single proxy service claims to be the best, which isn’t the case. Therefore, you should research well before picking one to use. Here are a few key points to keep in mind before choosing a free proxy service. Reliability of the proxy provider Reputation is everything. The first thing you should look at in a free web proxy website is that it has a solid reputation. Besides carrying a risk of adware and other malware, untested or unknown proxies might not perform as advertised. Servers offered Among the features of a proxy, the first thing you need to check is the variety and number of servers. The more, the better. Also, your chosen proxy service should have servers near your location. That’s because a nearby server will likely offer faster internet speeds, which you might not get when connected to a distant server. You should be skeptical if a proxy site doesn’t provide servers detail or allow you to pick them by yourself. Though, this isn’t a weird behavior since even some of the best free proxies do not offer server selection. Here again, the reputation comes in. If other people have had a fine experience with the service, then you might be okay with letting the proxy service choose a server for you automatically. Customizability Alongside hiding your IP address, a top free web proxy should offer some additional customizability, too. For instance, look for the options to disable cookies, encrypt page content and URLs, and block objects and scripts. Fortunately, most web proxies listed in this post boast these additional security features and customizability. Hence, you can expect to get a decent protection online when using these proxies without paying anything. But remember, if you fancy an absolute best protection tool, nothing beats a top quality VPN. One of the many fun facts that I can tell you right now is, you might even need a premium VPN to unblock proxy sites sometimes. That’s mostly at places like school and office as such places often succeed in blocking proxy servers. Note: Since proxies merely unblock sites and hide one’s IP address, they are not an alternative to VPNs. In cases where you need absolute protection online or a proxy asks you to upgrade, you should better use a tested VPN like ExpressVPN. Top 30 free web proxies in the market today (all working) Now that you’ve learned all the basics, it is time to jump onto the list of top proxy websites that you can use. You will also find some necessary details here about each handpicked (and tested) free proxy site online that I recommend. Let’s dive in. 1. Whoer Direct link: Voted as one of the best web proxy servers in the world today by users, Whoer is more than your typical free web proxy. Apart from the usual web proxy security functions, Whoer allows users to change their IP addresses faster than most other rival proxies. Aside from providing fast speed, the Whoer proxy network allows users to test their internet speeds. It also allows you to follow the information on specific websites and run ping tests to determine server response times. Users are allowed to choose between nine proxy servers that are scattered in European countries as well as the United States. Whoer is not a web-based free proxy online. Instead. it’s available as a browser extension that you need to add to your respective browser. It is available for Opera, Google Chrome, Mozilla, and Yandex browsers. 2. CroxyProxy Direct link: This web-based proxy service allows users to conduct their online activities in incognito mode. CroxyProxy ensures your security and privacy are unbreakable by hackers and spies. The proxy does that all using its advanced IP hiding technology. Generally, CroxyProxy bears a user-friendly interface. While using this service, all it takes is to paste the URL of the target website to unblock it. The service also offers a premium proxy that delivers an ad-free experience. Based on your country, you might receive an error message such as “this website cannot be reached” when accessing CroxyProxy. If so, you can either connect to a VPN first to unblock it or turn to its Chrome extension to use the proxy that way. 3. Tor As one of the most trusted web proxy services, the Tor browser is popular among users who want to hide their identity online. Especially while accessing blocked websites. Technically speaking, Tor is not a free web proxy site. It rather is a free project that envisions protecting general users’ privacy and security. Also, it offers uncensored and unrestricted access to websites to all users globally. With Tor, users can easily mask their IP addresses and original location online. 4. Direct link: Proxify ensures user anonymity by directing internet traffic through encrypted connections. It works on all major web browsers and operating systems including Windows, Mac, and Linux. The service is not completely free. Instead, it’s a pro proxy with a free 3-day trial. With this proxy, you can choose from over 1000 different servers around the world. Agreeably, that much huge pool of proxy servers can help access blocked websites easily. 5. Ninja Cloak Direct link: Next on this free proxy list is Ninja Cloak, which has now been moved to It is a free website that allows you to surf the internet incognito by masking your IP address. Besides, Ninja Cloak Proxy also creates a barrier between you and the visited website. That protects you from hackers, Trojans, Worms, and other malicious stuff online. 6. Direct link: Privoxy is another customizable free proxy that boasts advanced filtering facilities. Privoxy allows users to enhance privacy by modifying HTTP headers, web page data, and controlling access. This free program also helps remove obnoxious internet junk such as ads. Being licensed under the GNU GPLv2, this proxy is actually free software. It has apps for both multi-user networks and stand-alone systems. 7. Direct link: Being a simple web proxy, acts as an intermediary server between a user and the internet by changing its original geographical location. That allows users to access blocked websites in a particular jurisdiction. This proxy works on smartphones, PCs, and all the devices equally well. 8. Direct link: TurboHide is another free web proxy service that not only hides your IP address but also offers SSL encryption feature for better privacy. 9. Zend2 Direct link: Zend2 is among the best free proxy websites for social media platforms, including YouTube and Facebook. While not all web proxies available today support social platforms, Zend2 does. That is because it runs on the online anonymous online casino server. If you are up to watching videos on the Google-owned video-sharing platform Youtube, this is probably the best (and straightforward to use) unblock YouTube proxy you can have. 10. ProXurf Direct link: ProXurf offers users some encryption and script removal capabilities on top of enabling them to unblock all blocked websites free of charge. 11. Megaproxy Direct link: Megaproxy is a unique free proxy service as it not only masks a user’s IP address but also hides the browser and the operating system from prying eyes online (at least as it claims). 12. VPNBook Proxy () Direct link: VPNBook is a robust proxy service offered by a fine VPN service provider. It provides its users with encrypted connections with different IP addresses that support HTTPS. 13. Hidester Proxy () Direct link: Hidester is a free web proxy that also has a Chrome extension allowing limited proxy locations similar to As like other proxies, Hidester allows you to bypass geo-restrictions. It also supports SSL encryption and ensures user protection from malicious programs and scripts. 14. Direct link: The XRoxy website allows users to easily hide their IP address, allowing them access to blocked sites. It offers a wide range of unique IP addresses and locations that allow users the freedom to access any restricted content. 15. Direct link: As the name suggests, NewIPNow allows users to select a new IP address that fits their preferences. It does not choose an IP address automatically but offers its users the liberty to select a foreign IP address that best suits them. 16. FilterByPass () Direct link: is a web proxy that is suitable for video sites, providing quick incognito access to several popular platforms. Being among the top proxy sites for Youtube and other video portals, it supports the leading streaming platforms. The sites include Facebook, YouTube, NowVideo, and DailyMotion, to name a few. The best thing about this fast and free proxy is it offers a free Chrome extension. 17. Direct link: offers its users five outstanding online privacy enhancement options. Its features include page encryption, URL encryption, and object removal. You can also enable or disable cookies alongside eliminating scripts on a page. While it is an easy-to-use service, it has a major flaw. The site lacks an SSL certificate, which means your traffic might remain exposed when you use it). Therefore, you should only use this service for accessing non-sensitive information online. 18. ProxyScrape Direct link: ProxyScrape’s anonymous proxy is an incredible collection of web proxies allowing users to enjoy the best anonymous browsing experience. On top of enabling users to access the blocked sites, the site boasts fast speeds and customizability. You can connect to any HTTP, Socks4, or Socks5 proxy by choosing one from the lists of proxies available here. Unlike most sites listed above, it deploys all the security features automatically without requiring your input. The features include URL encryption, page encryption, and scripts, and object removal. It also allows you to enable/disable cookies. Like many other options on the list, this one might also be blocked by your ISP if you’re in a heavily censored country such as China, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan (to name a few). In that case, you’ll need to connect to a VPN first and then visit the site. 19. Direct link: SSLSecureProxy is a fast proxy site with no bandwidth limitations. Like other best proxies listed in this article, SSLSecureProxy helps bypass firewalls and internet filters securely and anonymously. That means you get to avoid blocks imposed by offices, schools, or countries. In essence, the service ensures your online activities remain private while surfing through their servers. It also claims to implement a no-logs policy, and any user data gets automatically deleted within 2 hours. 20. Direct link: 4everproxy is one of the best free proxy sites for videos. It helps you unblock YouTube and other videos. The service changes your geographical location without compromising speeds that much. 21. Direct link: KProxy is an ad-free web proxy that is portable and free. The proxy is available as an extension on the leading internet browsers, such as Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Google Chrome. KProxy also offers KProxy Browser for users that do not have either Firefox or Chrome. KProxy Browser is a downloadable portable Firefox browser that’s configured with the KProxy Extension. 22. Direct link: AnonyMouse is yet another good quality free web proxy. It is a multilingual proxy and also has a premium version. As one can understand, the paid version offers enhanced privacy and security options to the users. 23. Proxy () Direct link: is a premium VPN service provider. It offers a free web proxy that does not store any of your databases or IP addresses for a long time. The premium VPN services that the firm offers to the users save them from popup windows and annoying advertisements. When compared with all other popular web proxies, Proxy has emerged as the fastest free web proxy. The provider has made a name of itself for keeping users anonymous online already. 24. HideMyAss () Direct link: HideMyAss proxy is the best web proxy option available today as far as the popularity among users is concerned. HMA is probably the oldest web proxy available on the internet. It is a collection of VPN proxies from all corners of the world. As like, HMA offers both VPN and proxy services to its customers. 25. Direct link: is another quality free web proxy that offers premium VPN options alongside its wide array of services. On top of standard features that other best proxies featured in this list boast, ProxySite offers some advanced features, too. You can make changes in the ‘settings’ tab on ProxySite to set your preferred browser that you want the target site to see. Meaning, you can fake your browser alongside masking IP address with ProxySite. 26. Direct link: ProxFree is an authoritative free anonymous proxy site. It has four servers in Europe and seven in North America. It serves a wide geographical area with robust security. 27. Direct link: provides its users the opportunity to choose one of its 13 proxy servers spread across the US and UK. With this relatively new but promising free proxy site, you also have the option of picking a random IP. 28. Direct link: Weboproxy is a Tor-powered web proxy that enables users to access the blocked sites with additional security online. It is a compelling proxy option as you get the opportunity to surf any website either with Tor on or off. 29. Anonymizer/ Direct link: Anonymizer is a free and reliable web proxy list provider. It features proxies operating around filters that help unblock social media platforms. Users also use it to access video streaming websites such as Facebook and YouTube. 30. Direct link: The last on this list of free web proxies is GenMirror. Designed to be a YouTube unblocker, it is the preferred proxy for binge-watchers. Hold on, where can I get a Netflix proxy? You should better not waste your time and energy searching for a proxy to unblock Netflix. Why? I hear you ask. First up, Netflix filters and detectors are hard to fool. As soon as you access it using a free Netflix proxy, it won’t take the giant media services and production firm to find out that you are spoofing your real location. Netflix detects that you’re using a proxy and blocks your streaming session within 5-10 minutes at max. (That stands true as per my personal experience and the extensive tests by our team at PrivacySavvy. ) Hence, you get that annoying Netflix proxy error to ruin your streaming experience. Secondly, on top of getting caught, remember that free web proxies are not entirely safe. And your Netflix account boasts your personal data, including credit or debit card details, that you can’t really afford to lose at the hands of perpetrators. So it is advisable to never log into your Netflix account under a proxy site. Instead of turning to free Netflix proxies, you can opt for reputed VPN services. Use a top Netflix VPN such as ExpressVPN or NordVPN to watch Netflix content that you cannot watch in your country otherwise. To give you my personal example, I personally recommend and use ExpressVPN to watch US Netflix while sitting in Pakistan or even when I travel to the UK or other countries for work. Is there any Pirate Bay proxy for me? You probably have heard about TPB (The Pirate Bay), or perhaps you visit the site regularly. Since Pirate Bay is the biggest torrent website in the world, that is not a surprise. However, there is no guarantee that you can use Pirate Bay whenever you wish to download some new music, e-books, software, movies, or other content. At times, the website may be down for some unknown reason. But mostly, it is blocked for users deliberately by the concerned authorities. Your ISP might block traffic to TPB purposefully for limiting your access to copyrighted content depending on your location. Internet service providers also throttle your torrent downloads to control the amount of data you can transfer using torrent websites like TPB or Pirate Bay alternative sites in a certain timeframe. Most free proxies mentioned above won’t work with Pirate Bay and other torrent portals. That is because even the best torrent websites bring in serious heat from authorities around the world. So, for people who want to access torrent sites such as TPB, I have come up with a list of Pirate Bay proxies below: Note: We have picked the Pirate Bay proxies listed above after thoroughly testing numerous proxies. These are all secure (use SSL) and fast. Also, the article is updated regularly as we keep testing all the proxies and replace any that stops working. Drawbacks of proxy sites Regardless of which free proxy you pick, you will always face some limitations. You might notice that each month you could encrypt only a specific number of cookies. And the worst thing about these proxies (especially free ones) is, you get to face traffic limits. Another notable disadvantage of proxies is that they sometimes make a site to not display properly while trying to block certain elements on it to keep you safer. All proxy sites, let them be paid or free ones, are only good enough to unblock a specific amount of content and get around firewalls. You cannot access all the blocked sites with proxies. Rather than that, they cannot guarantee you protection against your ISP (Internet Service Provider) or hackers’ monitoring. Also, with free proxies, you always run with a risk of some of your activities (if not all) being tracked. Let me quickly list the disadvantages of proxies here: They offer only very basic privacy cannot access blocked sites without needing to access web proxy all sites can be mited servers and traffic usually experience bad performance. If you want robust protection from hackers, malware, and monitoring, you might want to better opt for a premium VPN such as ExpressVPN or SurfShark. In many aspects, a VPN is the best tool for privacy protection that lets you unblock Youtube or any other site on the planet securely. A VPN hides your IP alongside encrypting all internet traffic, thus keeping your online activities anonymous all the time. Conclusion All the proxy services listed-above are good options to consider when choosing a reliable proxy site for your short-term secure browsing session. Yet, even the very best free proxy sites online are inferior when compared to virtual private networks (VPNs). That is because they simply cannot offer 100 percent anonymity. If you wish to know about VPNs in detail, feel free to read this beginner’s VPN guide. Featured image courtesy of Pixabay. About the author Ali Raza Experienced in web journalism and marketing, Ali Raza holds a master’s degree in finance and enjoys writing about cryptocurrencies and fintech. He is very passionate about the internet privacy. Ali’s work has been published in several valuable publications.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions about top free proxies
Which is the best free proxy site?
Here’s the list of the best proxy servers that you can find in 2021.KProxy – Best free proxy.HMA – Best proxy browser.VPNBook – Best for security.ProxySite – Best for smartphones.Whoer – Best value for money.GeoSurf – Best for unlimited IP connections.Zyte – Best for scraping websites.More items…
Are there free proxies?
Most Internet users have found solace in the use of web proxies as a means to access the Internet anonymously. The majority of these web proxies are offered for free under the term open proxies – this has partly contributed to its soaring popularity.
What are the best proxy sites?
List of the 20 Best Proxy SitesHidemyass.Com. 7900000. Hidemyass.Com the #1 Most Popular Proxy Website. … Proxysite.Com. 2700000. Proxysite.Com the #2 Most Popular Proxy Website. … Hola.Org. 2600000. … Blankrefer.Com. 2000000. … Proxyof.Com. 1900000. … Torproject.Org. 1900000. … Nullrefer.Com. 1800000. … Jjang0U.Com. 1500000.More items…