Best proxies of 2020: Free, paid and business proxy servers and sites – TechRadar
If you want to protect your privacy online, one of the simplest ways to do that is using a proxy server.
Effectively, it 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 computer.
free VPN or pay for one of the best VPN 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.
- Want your company or services to be added to this buyer’s guide? Please email your request to desire.athow@futurenet.com with the URL of the buying guide in the subject line.
Jump to:
- Best paid proxy services
- Best free proxy servers
Best paid proxy services
- ExpressVPN
- Surfshark
- Hide My Ass
- KProxy
- Proxysite
1. ExpressVPN
The best all-round VPN service for speed, privacy and unblocking
Number of servers: 3,000+ | Server locations: 160 | IP addresses: 30,000 | Maximum devices supported: 5
Get 3 months free with an annual plan on TechRadar’s #1 rated VPN
ExpressVPN delivered outstanding performance in our speed tests and excellent customer support plus a 30 day money back guarantee.
ExpressVPN offers access to more than 3,000 servers in 160 locations across 94 countries, alongside maybe the widest platform support you’ll find anywhere.
We’re not just talking about native clients for Windows, Mac, Linux, plus iOS, Android and even BlackBerry. There’s custom firmware for some routers, DNS content-unblocking for a host of streaming media devices and smart TVs, and surprisingly capable VPN browser extensions for anything which can run them.
All that functionality could sound intimidating to VPN newbies, but ExpressVPN does more than most to help. An excellent support website is stuffed with detailed guides and tutorials to get you up and running. And if you do have any trouble, 24/7 live chat support is on hand to answer your questions. It really works, too – we got a helpful response from a knowledgeable support agent within a couple of minutes of posting our question.
The good news continues elsewhere, with ExpressVPN delivering in almost every area. Bitcoin payments? Of course. P2P support? Yep. Netflix unblocking? Naturally. Industrial-strength encryption, kill switch, DNS leak protection, solid and reliable performance and a clear no-logging policy? You’ve got it.
Downsides? Not many to speak of. The ExpressVPN service supports five simultaneous connections per user (increased from three), and it comes with a premium price tag. But if you want a speedy service, crammed with top-notch features, and with all the support you need to help you use them, ExpressVPN will be a great fit. While they don’t have a free trial, ExpressVPN has a no-questions-asked 30-day money back guarantee if you aren’t happy with the service.
Get the best overall VPN 2020
Our #1 recommended VPN is the one we would choose if we were getting one: ExpressVPN. TechRadar readers get 3 extra months free when they sign up for a year. And you can also give it a try first with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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2. Surfshark
One of the fastest swimmers in the VPN sea
Number of servers: 1000+ | Server locations: 60+ | IP addresses: N/A | Maximum devices supported: Unlimited
Based in the British Virgin Islands, Surfshark has laid-back and playful branding. But when it comes to keeping you and your online identity secure, it’s all business.
The basics are all in place for starters. So that includes OpenVPN UDP and TCP, IKEv2 security protocols, AES-256 encryption, and a kill switch ready to stop your details leaking if ever your connection fails. In addition, Surfshark boasts a private DNS and an extra security blanket via a double VPN hop. Not to mention a logging policy whereby only your email address and billing information are kept on record. It’s fast, too, whether you’re connecting to a US or UK server or somewhere further away – say in Australia and New Zealand. Handy if you’re trying to access your Netflix account from abroad.
If you’re somebody who is easily bamboozled and, ultimately, put off by complicated menus and myriad options, Surfshark could be the best VPN for you. It keeps its interface completely stripped back and free from complication. All you’ll really see are options for ‘Quick connect’ and ‘All locations’, accompanied by a Settings icon, and nothing else at all really. Whether that level of detail (or lack thereof) is a boon or a drawback entirely depends on your perspective.
One of our favorite things about this VPN service (other than the price) is the fact that your subscription covers an unlimited devices and services. So if you plan to use your VPN on your laptop, desktop (compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux), tablet, a couple of mobile phones (iOS and Android both covered) and Amazon Fire TV Stick for watching overseas TV, the one account will cover you on all of them simultaneously.
Surfshark offers a 30-day money back guarantee, giving you plenty of time to give it a try before committing for a longer period. And even then, annual plans are very reasonably priced indeed.
One of 2020’s best value VPNs
While Surfshark loses out to Express when it comes to sheer all-round quality, security and support, Surfshark has bite when it comes to pricing. Subscribe to a longer plan and you can bring the monthly spend down to less than $2/£2.
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3. Hide My Ass
Private browsing via VPN or proxy server
Hide 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 option.
Hide My Ass’s free proxy masks your identity and IP address, connecting via servers in the US, UK, or Netherlands (other options are visible in the drop-down menu, but are only accessible in the premium edition). The free service also places a large banner at the top of each web page, but it’s an advertisement for Hide My Ass’s own products – your data isn’t forwarded to third-party advertisers. It also supports HTTPS connections.
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 preferences.
- You can sign up to Hide My Ass here.
4. KProxy
KProxy is fast and free, with a portable browser for surfing on the move
KProxy 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 work.
Setup 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 supported.
The paid-for version, KProxy Pro, gives you access to ‘premium servers’, which it claims are ‘never overloaded’, implying that the free service may sometimes slow down under the weight of traffic, but we barely saw any impact on speed.
As ever with free services, there are limitations: you can only browse free 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 minutes.
When 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.”
- You can sign up for KProxy here.
5. Proxysite
Free proxy with paid-for VPN option
ProxySite is a free proxy that also aims to provide anonymous surfing. The privacy policy states that any logs are deleted after 14 days, but because it makes extensive use of Google advertising is does warn that advertising cookies may be stored in your browser, unless you specifically prevent this using your browser settings.
However, while some proxy services focus on anonymity and privacy, ProxySite has a couple of settings that could make it potentially useful for a wider audience.
For example, in the ProxySite settings you can select from a wide range of user-agents. On the one hand, this makes it less likely anyone could possibly identify the actual device that you are using, but it does also mean that webmasters and web designers could use it to test acce
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