Free proxy software helps you stay anonymous, bypass firewalls, and protect your privacy when browsing the web. This article compiles the 27 most popular free proxy software available today, comparing features and guiding you in choosing the right one.

What Is a Web Proxy?

A web proxy, also known as a proxy server, is a server that acts as an intermediary between your device (computer, phone, etc.) and the internet. When you access a website through a proxy, your request is sent to the proxy server first, which then forwards the request to the target website and sends the web content back to you.

In simple terms, a web proxy works as a middleman that hides your real IP address and replaces it with the proxy server's IP address. This provides many benefits, including protecting your personal privacy, allowing you to access region-restricted content, and potentially speeding up your internet connection.

One of the greatest strengths of a web proxy is its ability to help users maintain online anonymity. By hiding your real IP address, websites and service providers cannot easily track your online activities. This is especially important in the digital age, when personal information is easily leaked and exploited.

Additionally, some proxies offer data encryption features that protect your sensitive information when accessing insecure websites. This is particularly important if you frequently conduct online transactions or share personal information over the internet.

Notable Online Web Proxy Services

Internet Proxy Market Development Trends:

According to research from 2018, the Internet Proxy market size reached $76.3 million. By 2025, this market was forecasted to continue strong growth, with an annual growth rate of 16.8%, bringing the market size to $259.7 million.

Internet Proxy Revenue Growth Chart (2018 – 2025):

Tip: Currently, many free proxy websites are supported by online advertising. However, to enjoy superior features and a smoother experience, users can upgrade to the paid Pro version.

Why Do You Need Proxy Software?

Today, proxy software, both free and paid, is primarily used to stay anonymous or change IP addresses when accessing websites. There are many reasons why users use proxies, and here are some common applications:

• Anonymous web browsing: Proxy servers help users browse the web without revealing their IP address, allowing them to download files, participate in forums, send emails, and chat on instant messaging services without exposing their identity.
• Accessing connection-limited websites: Many file-sharing services limit the number of downloads from a single IP address within a specific time period. Using a proxy helps bypass this restriction.
• Testing accessibility from different regions: Proxies allow you to test a website's accessibility from different countries, or from different service providers and internet networks.
• Bypassing network blocks: Proxies help you access websites blocked due to network issues or congestion.

Using proxy software becomes necessary when a user's IP address is blocked on a specific service, or when ISPs (Internet Service Providers) deny access to certain websites. For example, in China, services like Instagram, Gmail, and Twitter are blocked, and proxies are a useful solution to help users bypass these restrictions.

27 Best Free Proxy Software Available Today

There are many different free proxy software options on the market today, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Here is a list of the 27 most popular free proxy software currently in use:

Ultrasurf

Ultrasurf is a free proxy tool developed by UltraReach Internet Corporation that helps bypass internet censorship and firewalls by using HTTP proxy servers and encryption protocols to secure information. The software was built by two groups of Falun Gong practitioners, one of which was a group in the United States founded in 2002 by Chinese people living abroad. Ultrasurf was originally designed to help users bypass the Great Firewall of China.

Wired described Ultrasurf as "one of the most important tools for freedom of expression on the Internet," and a 2007 Harvard University study called it the most effective firewall circumvention tool. In 2011, Freedom House ranked Ultrasurf fourth among similar tools.

Ultrasurf only redirects your browser traffic through its proxy server network. Data is encrypted between your browser and Ultrasurf's servers, but traffic between those servers and the internet is not encrypted. Websites you visit only see the proxy server's IP address, and this IP changes each time you launch Ultrasurf.

Ultrasurf's anti-censorship techniques are secret and not widely published, to ensure user safety.

kProxy

kProxy is a popular proxy service offering both free and paid versions, with over 1.5 million regular users according to the company. In the competitive proxy market, kProxy stands out with its track record of operating since 2005 and possessing unique features that many other services, including browsers, do not have.

kProxy provides extensions for browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and even the Kiwi browser on Android, surpassing many major competitors (Hide.me only supports Chrome and Firefox, while HideMyAss! is only available on Chrome).

Additionally, kProxy offers a portable kProxy browser for Windows, which is essentially a PortableApps version of Firefox with kProxy pre-installed. Although not entirely novel, this is a unique feature that gives users additional convenient options.

Psiphon

Psiphon is a free firewall circumvention tool developed by Psiphon Inc., using VPN, SSH, and HTTP Proxy technologies to provide uncensored access to the internet. The application automatically discovers new access points, helping users maximize their ability to bypass online censorship.

Psiphon is designed to provide open access to online content, but it is not an online security tool and does not enhance privacy. Therefore, Psiphon should only be used as a censorship circumvention tool, not for protecting personal data.

When launched, Psiphon automatically connects and displays a spinning icon during the connection process. Users can choose from several tunnel modes: VPN (L2TP over IPSec), SSH, or SSH+ (SSH with obfuscation, adding a layer of randomization to disguise the protocol).

When a green icon appears, the connection to the Psiphon server has been successfully established. In VPN mode, all traffic is routed through Psiphon. In SSH and SSH+ modes, Psiphon automatically sets up a Windows system proxy, redirecting traffic from applications that respect proxy settings.

Additionally, in SSH and SSH+ modes, Psiphon supports a split tunneling feature that routes international traffic through the proxy while keeping domestic traffic unchanged. To enable this feature, users simply select the "Don't proxy domestic websites" option, and unsupported domains will display a notification in the notification area.

SafeIP

SafeIP is a free proxy software that hides your IP address and protects your online identity. By concealing your IP when accessing websites, sending emails, and playing games, SafeIP helps you maintain privacy. You can choose the nearest anonymous IP location to ensure faster connection speeds.

SafeIP encrypts all internet traffic through a private proxy, protecting your browsing activity whether at home or on public WiFi hotspots. The SafeIP software is for Windows, but its IP protection service can be used on other devices such as Mac, Linux, mobile phones, routers, and any device supporting the OpenVPN protocol.

The SafeIP Pro version allows protection of up to 5 devices. SafeIP is compatible with all popular browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, and Safari.

Cyberghost

CyberGhost VPN is a free VPN software headquartered in Bucharest, Romania, founded in 2011 and currently owned by Kape Technologies. With over 6,100 servers in 88 countries, CyberGhost supports multiple VPN protocols, providing users with safe and flexible access.

Users can connect to CyberGhost's servers to access region-restricted content and download torrents. CyberGhost is compatible with many platforms including iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, and even routers.

The service also supports access to Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer, HBO Now, and other streaming platforms, with servers optimized specifically for torrenting.

When you use CyberGhost VPN, all traffic is encrypted through a secure tunnel, preventing data from being intercepted or monitored. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can only see the connection to the VPN server and cannot view your browsing content. Your real IP is also hidden, preventing websites from tracking your behavior.

Tor

Tor, short for The Onion Router, was originally a global server network developed by the United States Navy, allowing users to browse the internet anonymously. Today, Tor operates as a non-profit organization dedicated to researching and developing online security tools.

The Tor network provides anonymity by encrypting traffic and routing it through random Tor relays. When you use the Tor browser to access websites or communicate online, Tor does not directly connect your computer to the website. Instead, traffic is routed through multiple Tor user computers before reaching the destination, protecting your identity and location.

Freegate

Freegate is a free proxy application developed by Dynamic Internet Technology (DIT) that allows users in countries such as China, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Vietnam, and many others to access websites blocked by governments.

The Freegate software uses a network of proxy servers called Dynaweb, allowing users to bypass firewalls through DIT's peer-to-peer (P2P) proxy network system.

Freegate has been enhanced with anti-censorship capabilities through new compression and encryption algorithms in versions 6.33 and above, improving security and performance. As of 2004, Freegate had served approximately 200,000 users worldwide.

Acrylic DNS Proxy

Acrylic is a free DNS proxy software for Windows that optimizes your computer's performance by caching responses from DNS servers. The software also helps block unwanted ads through a custom HOSTS file, optimized to handle hundreds of thousands of domain names, while supporting wildcards and regular expressions.

When accessing a website, part of the loading time is typically spent on domain name resolution (from a few milliseconds to over 1 second), with the rest dedicated to loading page content and resources. Acrylic minimizes resolution time for frequently visited addresses, optimizing your browsing experience. Over a few weeks, you can save significant time and improve your computing experience.

Additionally, Acrylic supports auto-expiring cache, simultaneous forwarding to multiple DNS servers, and background DNS updates, providing stable browsing unaffected by the browser. The software also allows bypassing DNS server downtime, ensuring uninterrupted connections to your favorite websites and email servers.

HideMyAss.com

HMA, formerly known as HideMyAss, is a free proxy service launched in the United Kingdom in 2005 and became a subsidiary of Avast — the Czech cybersecurity corporation — in 2016.

HMA helps users unblock some streaming websites and provides stable connection speeds. With a no-logging commitment, HMA offers high security features and multiple location options. It is an ideal choice for users who want to browse and stream safely. HMA can also be a solution for torrent users but is not suitable for use in China.

Bright Data

Bright Data is a proxy platform specifically designed for online data collection for analytical purposes. It is a useful tool for NGOs, security professionals, SEO companies, and businesses of all sizes.

Bright Data supports big data management and extraction of hidden information from websites, providing a real-time network performance dashboard to optimize website analysis. Widely used by ISPs, data center proxies, and mobile proxies, Bright Data is an open-source platform capable of providing over 700,000 public data center IPs, more than 72 million random IPs, 600,000 ISP proxies, and a 3G/4G P2P proxy network.

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Bright Data's costs range flexibly from $2 to $10 per GB, depending on user needs.

Smartproxy

Smartproxy is highly rated for reliability and is popular for anonymous data collection. The platform supports multiple proxy types, including Residential Proxy, Data Center Proxy, and Dedicated Data Center Proxy.

Security and marketing professionals can leverage the privacy features when collecting online information. Smartproxy offers unlimited connections with over 40 million IP addresses, covering more than 195 server locations worldwide.

Additionally, Smartproxy supports connection types such as IPv4, HTTP, mobile IP, and desktop. Users can try the free version for 3 days, while the Pro version costs between $75 and $400 per month.

Hide.me

Hide.me is a free online proxy website that provides users with secure access to blocked content. The platform offers extensions for both Chrome and Firefox, making proxy access easier.

Hide.me supports multiple security protocols, including IKEv2, OpenVPN, SoftEther, SOCKS, and SSTP, along with torrent support. The website's interface is user-friendly and allows anonymous browsing.

The free version of Hide.me is only available in the Netherlands. For users in other countries, the paid version at $19.95 per month is the necessary option.

Whoer

Whoer is a free browsing tool that hides your IP address identity and ensures high security for users. It can be used on multiple browsers such as Chrome, Opera, Firefox, and Yandex, on both desktop and mobile devices.

Whoer does not store access information, preventing tracking. The tool also provides extensions that allow users to access TV shows, games, and movies anywhere, anytime.

However, the free version of Whoer only supports servers in the Netherlands and has a speed limit of 1 mb/s.

ProxySite

ProxySite is a free service that allows users to browse the web safely and anonymously from any location at any time.

The service supports access to many popular websites such as YouTube, Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, Google, and Imgur. ProxySite also provides SSL encryption to effectively bypass filters.

Currently, ProxySite has servers available in Europe and the United States, offering a fast and stable free version for users.

Hidester

Hidester is a free proxy service offering multiple proxy servers in different countries around the world. Hidester has a simple and easy-to-use interface, suitable even for new users.

Notable features of Hidester include:

• IP and location hiding.
• Free and supports multiple languages.

Megaproxy

Megaproxy is a premium free proxy service that supports JavaScript, Web SSL, HTTPS, and FTP.

The service allows users to anonymously access websites on multiple devices. Megaproxy not only enhances security but also ensures user privacy when browsing the web.

Megaproxy supports multiple protocols such as HTML, CSS, and XHTML, and is flexible in handling remote cookie storage. Additionally, the service provides Flash/Active Script and Web SSL VPN.

The cost of Megaproxy is $9.95 for three months, along with advanced and modern features.

Oxylabs

Oxylabs is a data extraction service specially designed for large companies, helping to efficiently collect market intelligence. With stable and reliable connections, users can access websites anonymously and safely.

The service provides a large number of proxies, with over 102 million IP addresses spanning 195 countries through its servers. Oxylabs also supports APIs for e-commerce and web browser integration.

Additionally, the service offers both Residential proxies and Data Center proxies to meet diverse user needs. The cost of Oxylabs ranges from $99 to $500 per month.

CroxyProxy

CroxyProxy allows users to securely access the web and services in anonymous mode. The service helps you bypass restrictions and access blocked content, including gaming websites and videos on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Vimeo, and TikTok.

The service supports security protocols such as HTTPS and SSL, along with a Permalink feature to improve user experience. CroxyProxy helps hide IP addresses and supports smooth HTML5 video playback.

With this free version, CroxyProxy is a useful choice for safely accessing websites and social media.

Hideoxy

Hideoxy provides IP address hiding for both mobile and desktop devices, allowing users to access and browse web content anonymously, thereby protecting personal information. The service also allows users to access restricted websites.

However, the free version of Hideoxy is only available in certain countries.

VPNBook

VPNBook is a reliable proxy website that allows users free access to restricted content on both mobile and desktop devices. The service supports 256-bit SSL encryption, helping bypass strict regulations and ensuring safe browsing.

With IP address hiding capabilities, VPNBook enhances security for users. The service is compatible with proxy servers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada, and is a free version supporting access to all websites.

4everproxy

4everproxy is an anonymity tool using VPN technology that helps users access restricted applications on both computers and mobile devices. The service provides servers in 9 different countries, facilitating easy access.

Users can choose IP addresses from over 20 different locations, increasing flexibility. With UDP/TCP connections, 4everproxy allows multi-device and multi-server connections, providing a convenient user experience.

The free version of 4everproxy has limited features, while the 4everproxy Pro version offers additional features priced from $3.95 to $9.95 per month.

Hotspot Shield

Hotspot Shield is an advanced proxy service that allows users to access restricted websites on desktops, mobile phones, or smart TVs.

The service uses P2P connections to ensure safe website access and provides strong protection to prevent malicious websites.

Hotspot Shield supports the OpenVPN protocol and can operate on routers. With over 1,800 servers in 80 different countries, the service provides convenient access for users.

Hotspot Shield offers a free 7-day trial, along with paid versions priced from $7.99 to $12.99 per month, accompanied by premium applications such as 1Password for password management and Robo Shield for blocking spam calls.

NetNut

NetNut is a popular choice in the enterprise sector, particularly for collecting critical market intelligence. The service allows users to extract information from websites anonymously, ensuring the data collection process is safe and undetectable.

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NetNut owns over 1 million static proxies and 20 million residential IP addresses, along with scalable data center proxies, providing flexibility for various usage needs.

NetNut's free service allows users to try it for 7 days before purchasing a Pro plan. NetNut's Pro plans come in various price ranges, including the Residential plan from $300 to $4,000 per month, the Static Residential plan from $350 to $5,000 per month, and the Data Center plan from $20 to $500 per month.

Zyte

Zyte is an online data scraping tool designed specifically for businesses and companies wanting to extract information without revealing their identity. The service provides rotating proxies, allowing safe and anonymous market intelligence collection.

Users can try Zyte free for 14 days before deciding to upgrade to the Pro plan. Zyte's Pro plan comes in various prices, including a basic plan at $29 per month, an advanced plan at $349 per month, and an enterprise plan at $999 per month.

Scraper API

Scraper API allows integrating free proxies into websites through API calls, making it very popular in web development projects. The tool combines IP geolocation and JavaScript execution to optimize performance.

Scraper API supports API calls for web scraping with multiple programming languages such as Node, PHP, Ruby, Python, Java, and Bash. With over 40 million IP addresses and more than 50 geographic locations, the service provides unlimited bandwidth.

Users can try the free version for 7 days. The paid version of Scraper API includes a Hobby plan at $29 per month, a Startup plan at $99 per month, a Business plan at $249 per month, and an Enterprise plan with custom pricing.

Proxy Scraper

Proxy Scraper is a free proxy website that offers a safe and reliable browsing experience in anonymous mode. The service provides a comprehensive list of free proxies for users to easily choose from.

Additionally, Proxy Scraper has an extension that helps users efficiently manage proxy lists by country. The tool also provides a timeout slider and lists of protocols such as HTTPS, Socks4, and Socks5 to optimize the usage process.

ProxySale

ProxySale, owned by the renowned company Proxy-Sale CIS, is a leading provider of IPv4, IPv6, and free proxy services. The service is widely used in fields such as SMM, SEO, affiliate marketing, and entertainment.

ProxySale provides anonymous access mode, protecting users' IP addresses when browsing. The service commits to not logging any activity, helping users avoid tracking and protecting personal information.

With over 50 IP addresses including ones from the United States and European Union, ProxySale maintains 24/7/365 customer support.

The service provides unlimited bandwidth and comes with 11 support tools such as Proxy Checker and Port Scanner. ProxySale pricing is divided into two main types: IPv4 starting at $0.80 per proxy per week, and IPv6 starting at $0.69 for 10 proxies per week.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Proxy?

A proxy is an intermediary server that acts as a bridge between the client and the target server. When the client sends a request to the target server, the request is routed through the proxy server. The proxy server processes the request and returns the result to the client. To learn more about proxies, you can refer to the article "What is a Proxy? Key Features and How to Set Up a Free Proxy."

What is the difference between a VPN and a proxy?

Both VPNs and proxy servers can hide your IP address. However, VPNs also encrypt the data you send and receive, which proxy servers cannot do. If you are already using a VPN, connecting to a website or application through a proxy server becomes unnecessary.

Which is faster, VPN or proxy?

Proxies are generally faster than VPNs because they do not encrypt traffic, but this also means users may not have the best security protection.

Does a Free Proxy Server hide browsing history?

A proxy server only affects the connection you are using, so it does not change any settings on your computer or browser. Although a proxy server is very effective at hiding your identity when accessing websites, it does not delete your browser's browsing history.

Are free proxy websites safe?

Free proxies are useful tools for safe internet access, but online proxy websites that do not support HTTPS connections can be considered less secure. Without HTTPS, data is not encrypted on the server, which makes it easier for attackers to intercept and collect information.

Are free proxy servers legal?

Using a proxy server to access online content is legal in many countries. However, some countries such as China, North Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Tunisia, Eritrea, and Ethiopia do not allow the use of proxy servers.

Can the government track your VPN?

If a user uses a VPN, law enforcement administrators will not be able to track their online traffic.

Does a free proxy hide your IP address?

Yes, a free proxy can hide your IP address, but the level of protection and anonymity depends on the quality of the proxy service you use.

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Conclusion: There are many popular free proxy software options such as Ultrasurf, Tor, Psiphon, CyberGhost, and kProxy, each with its own pros and cons. When choosing a free proxy, prioritize security (SSL encryption), speed, and reliability. Free proxies are suitable for basic needs, while businesses should use paid plans to ensure performance.