13 Best Proxies & Proxy Server Services in 2023 (Cheap & Fast)
Are you looking for the best proxies in the industry, or perhaps just a reliable proxy server?
Data security and personal privacy are vital to today’s Internet users.
Everyone wants to protect themselves from malicious attacks. This is a big concern these days across the globe. It seems we are all susceptible.
These issues are showing no signs of slowing down. Instead, with more technology being made available, the risks continually become higher.
Even with countermeasures being offered, it’s almost impossible to keep up with damage prevention and control.
They also want to feel confident that their personal and confidential information is safe and secure.
Proxy servers provide such benefits for those who choose to use them. Who wouldn’t feel some peace of mind being behind an extra layer of protection from hackers and identity thieves?
It is wise to know how and where to find the best proxy server services. Professional reviews via research, testing, and case studies create a way for you to learn as much as possible about these companies.
Before we discuss the best proxies & proxy server services, let us discuss what proxy servers are and what they do. Read on to the end to discover how to choose the best proxies service provider for your needs and more tips.
The following information will include what you need to know about proxy services and the best paid proxy server services.
10 Best Proxy Server Services in 2023
You should have a better idea of proxies and how these services are used. Let us get down to the best proxy server services.
Best Proxies & Proxy Server Service in 2023
Mục Lục
1. Oxylabs – Best Proxies in the Business
If you need to be able to rely on a really robust proxy server, then check out Oxylabs.
This proxy server can help you with proxies for scraping and also personal proxies, and they can help you with all kinds of websites, from social networks to gambling sites that you might not be able to access normally, or you might want to stay anonymous on.
Their chat log is going to open up immediately, and you can get some assistance straight away.
All of their proxies are laid out in a nice list on their homepage, making it easy for you to find the ones that you are looking for based on price and location.
Key Features
- Personal proxies
- Global locations
- Dashboard available
- 24/7 customer support
- Lots of information on the website about their features
- IPv6, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 proxies available
Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
Bright Data was established in Israel in 2014 as Luminati Networks. However, due to issues associated with the term Luminati, they rebranded as Bright Data in 2021. Regardless of the rebranding, this proxy service still provides premium proxy servers across the globe.
The thing that stands out about this proxy service is that it accumulates over 72 million IP addresses. Bright Data provides all the various types of proxies such as static addresses, mobile IPs, and rotating residential IPs.
The Bright Data Proxy Manager optimizes your bandwidth usage, excludes specific IPs, sets the rules or IP rotation among other things. You can use this with Windows, Linux, or macOS.
All the essential features a business needs from this type of service are available on Bright Data. It offers features for ad verification, data gathering, price comparison, SEO monitoring, and brand protection to name a few.
Even though this proxy server provider is ideal for businesses, it is also great for individuals and professionals. For instance, if you are an affiliate marketer, this service helps you validate your ad placement, optimize your marketing campaigns, and verify affiliate links.
The residential proxies offered will support SOCKS5, HTTP, and HTTPS protocols. When it comes to customer service, you will have access to several methods for getting assistance. You can call by phone, use social media, use messengers, or contact them via email.
You will also find multiple tutorials, webinars, documentation, and video lessons that tell you what you need to know about the proxies, features, and services.
Additionally, you have access to multiple ways to pay. You can opt for the monthly subscription, choose a customized plan, or pay only for the features you want or need.
Prices start at $500, which is higher than some of their competitors, but when you also compare the value and how this one targets clients with specific needs, it is competitive.
Key Features of Bright Data
- Types of Proxies: Residential (rotating or static), Datacenter (shared or dedicated), and Mobile
- Locations: Global
- Protocols: SOCKS, HTTP, and HTTPS
- Dashboard Available: Yes
- Targeting: ASN, Carrier, City, or Country
- Authentication: User/Password and Whitelisted IP
- Trial: Yes. 7 days for businesses or a 3-day refund for individuals
- Sub-Users: Upwards to 500
- Support: 24/7 and an account manager
- Payments: Credit Card, PayPal. Wire Transfer, Payoneer, and AliPay
- Pricing Structure: From $500 with 40 GB for residential, or #$12.50 per GB.
- Extras: Browser Extension, API, Proxy Manager, and Scraping tools
Pros
Cons
It may also interest you to know that this service is used by Fortune 500 companies.
Proxy Empire is a proxy service that has both residential and mobile proxies available, and they are really good if you are looking for a proxy service that can assist you with rotating your proxies automatically.
They say that they have a robust proxy network of residential proxies, that come with an uptime of 99.7%. Every IP address is tested for quality so that you can make sure that you are getting the best proxy options for your money.
Their chat log is open whenever you need it on their website, and their pricing starts from $45 a month, where you can take advantage of proxies from more than 150 countries.
Proxy Empire also comes with email support.
Key Features
- Automatically rotating proxies
- Residential and mobile available
- Support for most protocols
- Live chat and email support
- Easy install
- Access to more than 150 countries
- Access to more than 3 million proxies
Pros and Cons
Pros
Cons
4. BeeProxy – A range of protocols available
BeeProxy is known as one of the best private proxy providers across the globe. The data center proxies can be found in the US, CA, NL, UK, Italy, France, and Germany and plenty of other locations.
One of the most appealing aspects of BeeProxy is the wide array of proxy packages available for their clients.
So, whether you need to hack your Instagram account, post ads on Craigslist, or bypass common restrictions, you will find several packages that can do all of this.
They offer fast and responsive customer service and support. Plus, their private proxies are stable and superfast.
In the past few years, the rise of proxy services has overwhelmingly grown. However, only a few can obtain this kind of customer service via top-notch services.
That said, BeeProxy is one of those rare proxy services that offers fast connect speeds, easy set up, and highly anonymous dedicated HTTP and HTTPS proxies.
In the four plus years of providing services, this company has grown and built a good reputation through client reviews and by providing excellent proxy services.
Keep in mind that these specialized proxies are private and dedicated with no risk of getting banned because of the activities of other users like with semi-dedicated proxies.
If you require more customization than is offered with their standard packages, you should simply reach out via support ticket to get more options.
While overall, this proxy server provider has great services and support, it has its pros and cons.
Key Features of BeeProxy
- Types of Proxies: Private, SOCKS, residential
- Locations: 100 Countries
- Protocols: HTTP and HTTPS
- Authentication: Username/Password and IP
- Trial: No trial.
- Support: 24/7 Support
- Payments: Credit cards
- Extras: High Anonymity
Pros
Cons
5. Private Proxy – US Private Proxy Provider
Private Proxy is a really clean provider of proxies, so if you’re looking for a partner in the world of proxy services, then you have come to the right place.
They say they take a different approach when it comes to working with their clients, because they talk to each one of their clients on an individual basis, which means that they are going to evaluate your request and determine the best solution that they can offer you based on what you’re looking for.
You can either start a free trial with them or get in touch with them to talk a little bit further about what your needs are, and as far as their private proxies go, you can choose between rotating and static.
If you want to make the most of datacenter static proxies, these are going to cost from just $9 a month, whereas their residential static proxies are going to cost from $5 a month.
They make it easy for you to purchase private proxies for any purpose.
Main Features
- Rotating and static proxies
- Personable experience
- Affordable proxies
- Free trial
- Consultation in the beginning
- Unmetered bandwidth
Pros
Cons
6. Proxy-Seller – Cheap Proxy Provider
The biggest and most noticeable thing about Proxy-Seller is its cheap plans. The lower prices are a real draw to those wanting to save money, but also feel protected online.
This company is justly ranked number one among the most versatile and budget options.
You need to know that this proxy service provider is relatively new.
Also, its server network is not huge just yet. However, it seems to be getting attention for its ease of use, the variety of available proxies, and its dynamic performance.
This is particularly noticeable from its SOCKS and IPv4 and IPv6 proxy offerings.
Since we are focusing on this proxy service’s affordability, we can tell you that you can get one proxy for one week to try it out, which will cost $0.76. Yes. That’s 76 cents. You can also choose from their 1-month, 2-month, 6-month, or 1-year packages.
The number of proxies in their plans varies because they rely on your needs. You can choose from one to one hundred proxies and customize your package as you see fit.
You can choose as many as needed. Even then, you will find this proxy server provider to be one of the most cost-effective on the market.
Another thing about Proxy-Seller is that it has superior 24/7 customer service and support along with several methods of reaching out to them. This includes social media, email, and live chat.
This service allows for multiple payment methods from WebMoney, Bitcoin, QIWI, and a few others. As far as the performance of this service, it offers fast upload and download speeds.
You may find the refund policy a little restrictive, but you can get your money back within 24 hours once you have made payment for the service. Other than that, renewing your proxies each month is available and ideal for SEO pros.
Key Features of Proxy-Seller
- Types of Proxies: Datacenter
- Locations: 20 Countries
- Protocols: SOCKS5, HTTP, and HTTPS
- Dashboard Available: Control Panel
- Authentication: Username/Password and IP
- Trial: No trial. 24-hour refund only
- Support: 24/7/365 tech support
- Payments: PayPal, QIWI, PerfectMoney, Bitcoin, YandexMoney, Mastercard, and VISA
- Extras: High Anonymity
Pros
Cons
As this company grows, you may see the server networks grow.
7. The Social Proxy – High-Quality 4G Mobile Private Proxies
The first thing to know about The Social Proxy is that it’s a newer proxy service on the mobile market.
This proxy service is out of Israel, and it offers quality mobile proxy services for social media botting use.
It’s likely that this service is using 4G LTE devices, though that isn’t mentioned on the website.
You should also know that they don’t use a P2P (Peer-to-Peer) network.
This service has many strengths and some weaknesses, just like all the others, so we will briefly discuss them here.
The Social Proxy is ideally suited for social media automation, so if you use bots or automation to grow your social media account, this one may be helpful.
They use top-quality mobile proxies specifically intended for social media automation and account management.
This service supports automatic IP rotation that is configured through API.
The pricing structure is simple and easy to understand.
Their mobile and residential proxies are run from 100% owned by the company servers and equipment, which is rare.
While Internet speeds are commonly expected to slow down when using proxy services, the reduction is speed is minimal through this service provider.
Their customer service team is professional and highly responsive. While you would think this is the rule, it’s really the exception nowadays. Another rare bonus of this service.
As mentioned before, all proxy server providers have strengths and weaknesses, so here are the weaknesses of The Social Proxy service.
They are limited in the location support they provide. For instance, they only offer support for the United Kingdom, Israel, and Austria. You will have to seek another service, you are out of those areas.
Username and password are the only supported authentication for using this service. They offer no IP authentication like some of their competitors.
Overall, this is a great option for social media proxies.
Key Features of The Social Proxy
- Types of Proxies: 4G Mobile, Social Media
- Locations: Limited to UK, Israel, Austria
- Protocols: HTTP and HTTPS
- Authentication: Username/Password
- Trial: Yes. 24-hour free trial
- Support: 24/7 Live Support
- Payments: PayPal, VISA, Mastercard, American Express
- Extras: Discounts on bulk orders over 10 proxies
Pros
Cons
Smartproxy offers residential and data center proxy solutions. Its website refers to it as a service that provide ‘proxies without limits’, and that may be true.
This service also offers mobile IPs. They have provisions of rotating residential IPs with over 40 million addresses. With so many IP addresses and the fast-acting rotational system, the risk of getting banned is very low.
There are some bandwidth limitations, which are dependent upon the plan you choose. You can select your proxy needs from their list of servers from the dashboard. Therefore, you get to choose the necessary solution according to the parameters.
One of the things about this proxy service is that it has browser extensions for Firefox and Chrome for ease of use. Additionally, clients using the pro package benefit from the functional API.
Smartproxy has excellent 24/7 customer service and support. The price for support differs depending on the proxies you use and your traffic allowance.
For instance, the minimum price for residential proxies is $5 a month and includes 5 GB of bandwidth. The minimum for the data center proxies costs $50 a month with 100 GB traffic limit. Also, they offer extended and comprehensive solutions for business.
As for its range of use, this proxy service provider effectively prevents cloaking, blocks, ad verification, affiliate testing, competitor research, etc. It is helpful for residential proxies for using social media accounts without risking getting blocked.
This service offers session control, so you can choose rotation or a 10-minute sticky session from the dashboard. You also have a proxy API that allows you to manage plan limits, subusers, and your subscriptions.
Key Features of Smartproxy
- Types of Proxies: Residential (rotating), SERP, and Datacenter (shared)
- Locations: Global
- Trial: No. 3-day refund
- Support: 24/7 Email or Live Chat
- Payments: Credit Card, Bitcoin, PayPal
- Extras: Browser Extension, Anonymous Browser, API
Pros
Cons
Whatever geo-targeting restrictions you don’t like can be addressed via chat support.
9. SSLPrivateProxy – Excellent Data Center Proxies
If you are looking for data center proxies, SSLPrivateProxy is a good solution. You can opt for residential, private, sneaker, or social media (Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, Pinterest, and Twitch) proxies.
This proxy service provider was established in 2012, but it has grown into one of the majors in the industry. You will find that you can get dedicated and VPN (Virtual Private Network) services from them, but we are focusing on the dedicated data center proxies they offer.
These proxies are fast, reliable, and secure. Ideally, they are suited to work best on social media, e-commerce stores, and classified ads sites. There are a few gray areas that need to be addressed later in this article, but all proxy server providers have some issues.
When it comes to strengths, SSLPrivateProxy offers good location coverage via 39 locations, 34 of which are in North America and the other 5 are in London, Netherlands, Spain, and Deutschland.
They offer more than 300,000 proxies within the pool of their dedicated IP addresses offered to their clients. In case you are not aware, that’s quite large compared to other data center providers in the industry.
When you look at their plans, you will find that their specialized packages are more costly than the private proxy offerings. You will also discover that their proxies are quite fast, but they do not meet the speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps as the website states.
Something else that stands out in this service is its excellent refund policy. This 7-day money-back guarantee redeems the service for the lack of free trial. Also, they stand out with their support of the two-factor authentication support.
The services from SSLPrivateProxy are excellent, though expensive for some plans. However, most users enjoy the reliability of this proxy server provider so much that the expense is worth it to them. So, this is not a deal-breaker for everyone.
Finally, the customer service and support are a bit slow to respond, but that also does not seem to be a deal-breaker for its clients. There is no live chat.
They only have their knowledge base and support ticket offerings for support. It would be nice if they updated their support options to help enjoy faster response times, but that remains to be seen.
Key Features of SSLPrivateProxy
- Types of Proxies: Datacenters, Residential, Private, Sneaker, Social Media
- Locations: Multiple
- Protocols: HTTP and HTTPS
- Authentication: Username/Password and IP
- Trial: No trial. 7-day refund policy
- Support: 24/7 Support Ticket, Live Chat
- Payments: PayPal, 2CheckOut, WorldPay, Credit and Debit
- Extras: High Anonymity, Twitter Proxy, Affiliate Program, VPNs
Pros
Cons
Overall, this proxy service provider offers excellent services that most feels are worth the cost.
10. Blazing SEO Proxies – Enterprise and Residential Solutions
One of the key elements of Blazing SEO Proxies is the fact that their packages are cheaper, mostly because they use recycled IPs that others do not use. However, if you need new, or virgin IPs you can contact them about it.
This proxy service provider offers dedicated, semi-dedicated, sneaker, and rotating private proxies to its clients. The dedicated proxies are fast and efficient since there is no sharing involved.
Their semi-dedicated proxies are not as fast as the dedicated proxies, and they are shared with up to 3 users, so you will sacrifice speed and they may not work well on all websites.
The sneaker proxies offered by this service are very limited, the company offers a no-refund option on these proxies, and at least some have already been banned. While their other services are great, this one is not.
Finally, the rotating private proxies rotate every 10 minutes to a whole new private proxy. They offer a huge pool of IP addresses that are often accessed by more than one user at a time, so it may be slower. However, you get the best in privacy and security from this option.
The customer service and support team offer 24/7 support via chat, but they also have a handy FAQ section that addresses the most common issues that may arise. They also offer a support forum that does not seem to be used much, but it is still handy.
You can also use their web scraper service, Enterprise proxy service, or mobile proxies that are all made available online for your consideration.
Key Features of Blazing SEO Proxies
- Types of Proxies: Datacenter (shared, rotating, dedicated), Residential, Mobile, ISP
- Locations: 30 Countries
- Trial: Yes. 5 proxies for 2 days
- Support: 24/7 Email
- Payments: Credit Card
- Extras: Proxy manager, API
Pros
Cons
You can resolve the issue of the recycle IP addresses simply by contacting support.
11. InstantProxies – Advanced Private Proxies
InstantProxies is considered the cheapest provider of private HTTP proxies by some, but others have a different perception of this proxy service. This company is in the United States, and most of its proxy servers are found there.
Besides using this service for regular Internet browsing, you can also use it for web scraping, like from Amazon. You can also use it for social media management since it is compatible with Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. The one activity it is not good for is using it on sneaker bots.
This proxy server is a popular data center proxy provider. Since it seems to be so popular, we believe it has something that attracts people to it and be so loyal.
It may help that this is he the cheapest on the market among paid proxies. There may be a few that offer the same or similar pricing, but this one is more popular. This service offers 6 packages that start with the IP-10, which is $10 a month for 10 proxies.
You will see by their prices why they have a competitive edge over others. Also, you have multiple options for payment, including Bitcoin, PayPal, 2Checkout, etc.
If you like the idea of having no bandwidth limits, this is your proxy service. Their pricing structure is based on how many proxies, not on how much bandwidth you consume. So, each package offers unlimited bandwidth, which is rare.
That said, you will need to take care how you use InstantProxies proxies. If they get blocked, you will not get a replacement for 30 days after you pay for them.
Therefore, the IP replacements are done monthly, so they are refreshed monthly. So, you will keep the ones you have used up until the next cycle.
This proxy server provider has a lot of confidence in their proxies, which is evident by their 7-day money-back guarantee refund policy if you are not happy with their services. You will find that others may offer 3 days or even as few as 2 hours for refunds, so 7 days is rare.
While the speeds at which you browse through their proxies is not record-breaking, the speeds are very fast and ample. You are not likely to notice any slow-downs in speed. They are quite fast for download and uploads. I may be a difference of 10-15 milliseconds.
Reports about their customer support are good and responsive. They also have a FAQ page to address common questions and concerns.
One thing that most people want, but that you will not find with this proxy service, is a free trial. However, their low prices and generous refund policy make up for that.
Another issue is that they aren’t very forthcoming with their server locations, other than being in the EU and US areas. Usually this is public information, but if the proxies are working, it is not a deal-breaker. If that bothers you, there are other services.
They also do not support the username-password ideal for authentication. They only support the IP authentication protocol.
If you are a software coder using SMPT, this is not the proxy service for you. This is not an email SMPT supported service.
Key Features of InstantProxies
- Types of Proxies: Datacenter, Social Media
- Locations: Worldwide
- Protocols: HTTP and HTTPS
- Authentication: Username/Password
- Trial: No trial. 7-day money back
- Support: 24/7 Live Support
- Payments: Bitcoin, PayPal, and 2CheckOut
- Extras: High Anonymity
Pros
Cons
If the pros outweigh the cons for you, then you will enjoy the affordable pricing and fast speed of this service.
Iced Out Proxies offers a simple interface, no-hassle connection, and is ideal if you’re looking to feel secure online.
This proxy service is a newbie in the industry, catering to more than ten thousand clients worldwide. Their specialty is within their offering of unlimited bandwidth, plus speeds of up to 1 GB per second.
This company appears to be dedicated to becoming a top best data center and residential proxy service provider. They offer highly anonymous proxy servers from the United Kingdom and the United States.
Since IPv4 is a framework that is the most widely used across a wide array of interfaces and devices, this is the framework used by Iced Out Proxies. It’s likely they will upgrade to the IPv6 protocol when that becomes more widely used because of their dedication to excellence.
24/7 customer service and support is one of their best features. The team can be contacted as needed.
This connection offers less reduction in speeds when surfing the Web through their servers.
One of the issues that can occur by using this service is that its efficacy may drop somewhat when used frequently for streaming services. To offset this issue, Iced Out Proxies refreshes their IP addresses continuously and regularly, so you can stay connected.
This service doesn’t offer SOCKS proxies, which are the faster and newer protocol of HTTPS proxies. SOCKS also tend to provide an additional layer of encryption and is more secure. Hopefully, in time, they will add this service.
Key Features of Iced Out Proxies
- Types of Proxies: Datacenter, Residential
- Locations: US
- Protocols: HTTP
- Authentication: Username/Password and Whitelisted IPs
- Trial: No
- Support: 24/7 Support
- Payments: PayPal
- Extras: High Anonymity
Pros
Cons
This is a recommended service that offers fast speeds, no-hassles connection, and a simple-to-use interface.
13. StormProxies – Reverse Backconnect Dedicated Proxy
Something noticeable about StormProxies is that their pool of proxies sits at about 70,000 IPs, which isn’t as much as some of their competitors.
However, when you do a price comparison, this proxy service is more affordable than most. That may be partially because this service is focused on services for small businesses and individuals instead of Enterprise and corporate services.
This is one of a few proxy services that don’t place limits on your bandwidth. Naturally, the number of IP addresses and simultaneous Internet connections does affect the price of the package you choose.
Though they have a lower number of proxies in their pool than some competitors, they do offer a wide range of locations for coverage.
If you crawl or scrape the Web, you will find the performance of StormProxies to be ample. The performance isn’t great, but it is acceptable. Due to captchas and anti-spam protocols, you may experience connection errors.
They offer 24/7 customer service and support. The support team is easy to reach and reasonably responsive.
This service is considered to be one of the easiest to use in the industry. Many of their competitors use highly sophisticated systems, but this company has chosen to be minimalists, which is easier for everyone.
StormProxies provides all the basic requirements you should expect from these services, such as high-anonymity and security. Both of these features are guaranteed.
You can also enjoy the benefits of using their APIs and browser extensions.
The pricing structure is flexible, with a nice variety of options across budgets and your needs.
It’s fair to say that this proxy service platform has high-quality features that make it one of the most affordable, effective, and competitive on the market.
Key Features of Storm Proxies
- Types of Proxies: Datacenter (shared, dedicated), Residential (rotating)
- Locations: US, EU, Global
- Protocols: HTTP and HTTPS
- Trial: No. Only 24-hour refund on residential plans
- Support: Email
- Payments: PayPal, Amazon Pay, and Credit/Debit Card
- Extras: Discounts on bulk orders over 10 proxies
Pros
Cons
At the end of the day, StormProxies rates well in scraping performance, network, functions, and customer support.
Why Use a Proxy Server?
When you use a proxy server, you leave no traces on the Web because your Internet surfing data isn’t saved on your computer, but on your own proxy server. This is how it creates an anonymous and secure way to enjoy Web surfing.
You should realize that the server will store some data about you, so the potential of identifying your web actions exists. However, it should not cause problems when you choose a reliable and solid proxy service.
Generally, most users of proxy services do so to eliminate those frustrating advertising trackers and privacy instructions.
Truthfully, proxy service providers are plentiful enough to allow you to find one that provides you with the best security and privacy options.
If you’re looking for a dependable method for data protection that otherwise allows unauthorized data collection, it is best to thoroughly check out the features and packages of any kind of proxy server provider.
If you are not using a proxy server, hackers, government agencies, and advertisers will be able to track your activities online, your location, and even the devices you use whenever you visit a website that is not secure.
Even though sites with security protocols in place are common, there are still several sites that are not secure cropping up all the time.
Because these sites are not secure, you may not be able to fully browse as you want to without being inundated with irritating advertisements.
This is one reason proxy servers that provide online privacy and anonymity are becoming essential in today’s online realm.
The most challenging part of proxy servers falls within the selection of such services. That is why the following list exists regarding the best proxies.
The metrics used to choose these proxy services include:
- Reliability
- Functionality
- Affordability
- High anonymity
- Types of IP availability
- Other specific features and benefits offered
- Best use
We will discuss proxy types and their specific purposes.
What Is a Proxy Server?
The proxy server acts as a filter between your computer and the internet. Its primary function is to prevent the flow of extraneous data from hanging out on your inner network. Plus, proxy servers offer substantially expanded options for surfing online.
Proxy servers offer an array of IP address types and different features.
Your proxy will offer that extra layer of security that engages with whatever sites you’re visiting. The website will identify one of the proxy server IP addresses (they use different ones to prevent identifying your own), instead of your real IP address.
Note: The IP addresses used by proxy servers are regularly changed as an extended method of protection.
Proxy services are popular among business and individuals for several reasons.
- Gaining access to otherwise blocked website content
- Optimization of surfing the Internet and speeding up commonly made requests
- Enhanced security and privacy via data encryption
- Improved brand protection through web scanning for plagiarized or false content
- Information gathering of competitors (i.e. products, pricing, services, marketing trends data)
- Email security for the prevention of malicious or suspicious content and links
Proxies are substantially beneficial for businesses, especially for gathering competitors’ data. Without proxies, this activity would be detected as suspicious, and the site could block your IP for that activity. However, with a good proxy service that uses rotating proxies, that won’t happen.
Now we will look at the various types of proxies such as residential, dedicated, data center, shared, and semi-dedicated.
Types of Proxies
- Residential – These proxies offer authentic IPs that provide user behavior mimicking.
- Dedicated – Dedicated proxies are private, not shared with any other person or entity. This is the highest layer of security you can get. These are primarily used for business.
- Data Center – Proxy servers like this offer private IPs that come from intermediary locations. This option offers higher anonymity plus faster data request response.
- Shared – Multiple users are on shared proxies. This is less expensive than private proxies. Even so, this solution is well-suited when you want to gain access to banned content and avoid other kinds of restrictions.
- Semi-Dedicated – This proxy option is shared, but only by a limited number of IP users. In this instance, only three IP users are allowed to benefit from using one IP at the same time. When used on social media sites, you could get blocked if other IP users on your semi-dedicated proxy use any suspicious activities.
Paid Proxy Servers Verdict
Generally, using paid proxy services offers expanded opportunities for enhanced security and anonymity for Web surfing and protecting our personal data.
Nowadays, these are essential businesses since they provide better, safer, and more secure methods for developing your brand protection, researching your competition, verifying ads, and optimizing your SEO.
On the other hand, if you’re using proxy servers for your personal needs, like accessing blocked content and/or getting around geo-restrictions, you may want to check out those that specialize in providing such services.
That said, when you need to have the highest layer of anonymity and the best options in proxies, paid services are still the best.
Finding the Right Proxy Service
The following contains 6 basic tips for finding the right proxy for your needs.
1) Avoid Free Proxies
While it’s tempting to try out the concept of a proxy for free, it’s not going to go well for your business. If you’re using it for personal reasons, you can use them, but the following will discuss the pitfalls.
The biggest issue with free proxy services is that these entities often share their information with others. Due to the constantly increasing ordeal with Internet scammers, it’s not worth the risk.
Paid proxies are ultimately the best solution for the features, safety, security, and privacy they offer.
2) Number of IPs in the Pool
You would be wise to know how many IPs are in a proxy service’s pool before spending your money on this kind of service. This is very important if you require more proxies from multiple locations.
Services that have a substantial IP address pool offer better and more targeted city to country options. It also means you get a smaller IP block number.
Another thing to notice is the geo-location coverage provided by the IP. You will find there may be broader locations from residential proxy providers.
You may even be seeking support for specific locations, so you need to know if that proxy service offers that support. You may not always find exactly what you want from the IP pools of proxy services, but you can get close.
3) Value, Features, and Cost
Price is almost always the first thing people look at when they are choosing a service. However, you need to alter your perception to seek out value and features, and then the cost.
First, semi-dedicated and dedicated proxies are going to cost more than the shared proxies. A good rule of thumb is also to be aware of services that are so cheap, they look suspicious. Trust your gut on that.
Pricing is usually based on how many Gigabytes and how much traffic you’re getting. Another good thing to know is that some proxy providers with unlimited traffic options may be slower and possibly unstable.
If you’re not concerned about speed, server errors, and timeouts regarding your business proxy servers with unlimited traffic, feel free to choose this less expensive option.
Everything hinges on your needs for proxy services.
4) Check Out Their Dashboard or Control Panel
It’s common for a proxy server missing the dashboard or control panel feature to be a disappointment. The goal of finding one with this feature is to be able to change your credentials, easily and quickly buy extra proxies, and check your usage without having to contact the support team.
Those services that include a dashboard or control panel of some kind may cost more, but they offer so many features and ways to do things than those who don’t.
5) Determine Your Needs and Project Scope
Before you can choose the proper proxy service for your needs, you much consider the project scope. This is how you make the best selection among the providers on the market. You need a proxy server that will be best for you.
6) Look at Their User Reviews
Reviews can be an excellent way to make good choices in proxy services. Just keep in mind that there are people out there who cannot be satisfied and will say negative things because they get mad, and those who are paid to make a service look better than it is.
As a general rule, fake reviews will often be less detailed, while real reviews, negative or positive, will contain pertinent information and details about why they liked or didn’t like the service. Quora is a good place to seek out genuine reviews, at least for now.
Besides these tips, you will also need to understand the differences between the types of proxies (residential, shared, dedicated, datacenter, etc.), the supported protocols (HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS), the best use of said proxy service (social media management, business, gaming, browsing, etc.), and whether it provides support for your location.
The Many Uses for Proxy Servers
Another thing you should know about proxy servers is how they are used and where.
- Market Research for scraping, ad placement verification, SEO optimization, travel fare, and affiliate testing.
- Social Networks on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Reddit.
- Retail for eBay, Shopify, Craigslist, and Sneaker.
- Gaming on various gaming sites.
This is a shortlist of the uses for proxy servers. It’s wise to get to know which types work best for each use on this list. It’s common for proxies used for social media management are also ideal for gaming.
Businesses often need proxy services to help them with market research, which helps them to develop better marketing strategies as well as better general strategies like contingency planning.
Individuals, influencers, brands, and businesses who market on social media often need to use automation and bots to grow, build, and maintain their success on the various platforms. Without these proxies, many of them would get banned from social media.
Gamers and affiliate marketers are prone to interacting with people across the globe, but with the restrictions that prevent them from doing so, they are unable to engage. Proxy servers help them play games and promote products to people across the world with fewer restrictions.
The same concept that affects gamers, social media marketers, and affiliate marketers, also affects retailers and shoppers. Not everyone has access to all of eBay’s sites or Craigslist’s pages.
With all these comprehensive uses and purposes, you can see why choosing the right proxy service provider is so important.
Now that you know, you can be better prepared for seeking out the right companies and services to fit your needs. You will also be able to better understand the differences in types, usage, and features.
FAQs
What Is a Proxy?
Though this was briefly covered earlier in this article, here are some more facts about proxies.
Essentially, this protocol provides a portal that acts as an intermediary between your computer/device and the Internet.
They provide an extra layer of security that can engage with any site you visit. The idea behind proxies is that they offer a variety of IP addresses that make it impossible to uncover your identity online.
Therefore, whatever website you visit will not be able to see your actual IP address, but instead a proxy IP address is refreshed and rotated regularly.
Why Use a Proxy?
There is a plethora of reasons to use proxy servers. Anonymous Web surfing, higher speeds, personal data security and protection, etc. Proxies are also capable of bypassing certain restrictions that allow you to access content that would otherwise be prohibited.
Some people use proxy services for their business to research their competitors, enhance their brand protection, and to check and validate their ad placements.
How Can Proxies Enhance Web Security?
Each individual Internet user has their own IP address that can be used to identify them as well as acquire some personal data like their location. This makes it possible for every website you visit to gain access to your information.
This creates vulnerability to malicious hackers among unprotected Internet users. Additionally, you are susceptible to identity theft and intrusive advertising. All this happens because we leave behind a lot of our personal data all over the Web.
This is where proxies are handy. Using a proxy server that creates that portal of protection between your devices and the Internet is beneficial. Having this level of protection allows you to visit websites without leaving your personal data.
These proxies prevent websites from tracking your activities online. Even if a site is banned in your country, you can still browse the site when you’re using a proxy server.
Conclusion
Proxy servers are used to enhance your online user experience across several elements. You get more and better anonymity, security, and privacy. These are concerns that every Internet user has today.
The Web is a primary source of our information, and it stores it basically forever. Therefore, our private lives are on display across the Net. If you don’t feel the need for a proxy server for protection today, it’s likely you will in the near future.
It’s no secret that companies prosper by manipulating and selling your personal information. The consequences of this fact are overwhelming and wildly disheartening. People and businesses are suffering from identity theft and other nefarious issues due to this issue.
While that’s not the only reason people are hacked or have their identities stolen, it’s one of the riskiest. Businesses and individuals simply cannot take risks nowadays.
It’s especially an important tool if you are an avid gamer, or you need to manage your social media accounts using bots or automation. It’s like a solid shield that protects you from being found by anyone who might wish you harm.
Proxy servers provide a layer of protection that prevents the leaking, sharing, selling, and manipulation of your personal data. This is how they provide a better and more positive Internet user experience for you.
It probably won’t be too long until proxy services will become essential to businesses and their survival and success. This type of service may also become an important part of personal surfing, gaming, shopping, and other personal activities you do online.
Hopefully, all this information has been of value to you in your search for the right proxy server service.
Related
49
SHARES
Share
Tweet
![Toni Kroos là ai? [ sự thật về tiểu sử đầy đủ Toni Kroos ]](https://evbn.org/wp-content/uploads/New-Project-6635-1671934592.jpg)
