Best 5 free proxy providers for 2025
Proxies are a great way to mask your IP address online quickly. A proxy is a server that routes your traffic. This way, individuals and businesses can protect their identities and browse the web anonymously.
While proxies can be very useful, it can be challenging to find the right solution. To find the right provider, you must consider which providers offer the best performance, reputation, and price-to-value ratio. You may have noticed that these can get expensive.
Luckily, if you don’t want to invest right away or you don’t have the necessary budget, there are free solutions out there. In this article, I’ve tested the top 5 best free proxy providers to help you avoid the risks of using this technology.
Best free proxy servers providers in 2025
- Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) – best provider for free residential proxy trial
- Oxylabs – most versatile, high-performing provider
- Webshare – best free proxy provider in 2025
- ProxyScrape – most generous free provider
- IPRoyal – most accessible, hassle-free provider
How we tested free proxies
To choose the best free proxies, I researched numerous providers first. If they passed my initial evaluation, I conducted in-house tests before using data to rank the final top 5. Let’s take a look at the main factors I focused on when testing and evaluating proxy server providers:
- Performance (25%). To measure proxies' performance, I checked metrics such as speed, reliability, and connection stability. Only providers with top scores made it to our top 5 list.
- Proxy server types (20%). Since there are many types of proxies, I looked for a provider that can offer a variety.
- Customer support (20%). I investigated how proxy providers handle customer support, including how fast they respond and how quickly they resolve issues or answer questions.
- Pool size and location (20%). To meet specialized geo-targeting requirements, I included only providers that can offer vast pools of proxy servers in diverse locations.
- Ethics and reputation (15%). I investigated customer feedback and the transparency of proxy server procurement practices. Transparency and a good reputation are especially important when reviewing free proxy servers.
5 best free proxy providers – detailed list
After testing several providers, I narrowed our list down to these top 5 free proxy services. These providers stood out to me because of their security, ease of use, and performance on their free plans.
1. Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) – best provider offering a free residential proxy trial
| Rating: | 4.6 |
| Core features: | 3-day free trial, 100MB free trial for residential proxies |
| Protocols: | HTTP(S), SOCKS5 |
| Locations: | 195 countries |
| Performance: | 99.99% uptime |
Decodo is my top pick among free proxy providers. It's a trusted, well-known name with a vast IP address pool. While there’s no permanent free plan, I found you can get a lot out of the 3-day residential proxy trial. Additionally, Decodo has a few free extra features: an anti-detect browser, browser proxy extensions, a proxy address generator, and more.
While it may seem unfortunate that Decodo offers a free trial only for its residential IPs, these are some of the fastest ones on the market. The residential IPs are located in North America, South America, Australia, Europe, and Asia. In addition, Decodo's dashboard is very intuitive, making it easy to use even for an inexperienced customer.
Even if you run into some issues, the company offers outstanding 24/7 customer service via live chat or email.
As for Decodo's reputation and ethics, just like Webshare, the company is transparent about how it acquires residential proxies. Decodo claims to trust only reputable providers who conduct thorough verification processes. Unsurprisingly, the provider has a whopping 4.7-star rating out of 1.8K+ reviews on Trustpilot, and a 4.6-star rating out of 100+ reviews on G2.
To claim your free web proxy service, you’ll have to select a paid plan and insert your credit card details. While it’s done to prevent free trial abuse, it’s certainly not ideal from the customer’s perspective. However, you can easily cancel that trial yourself on the dashboard.
If you want to turn your free trial into a paid subscription, datacenter proxies start at $3.50/month, giving you access to an excellent 100 IPs. Residential proxies are metered and start at $3.50/GB with no minimum commitment.
Overall, Decodo offers easy onboarding, an intuitive dashboard, API, a browser extension, free geo-targeting, detailed documentation, anti-detect browser, a proxy address generator, proxy checker, and more.
2. Oxylabs – a top free proxy provider pick with high performance
| Rating: | 4.4 |
| Core features: | Free proxy trial available through support, Scraper APIs 7 days for free via SS dashboard |
| Protocols: | HTTP(S), SOCKS5 |
| Locations: | 195 countries |
| Performance: | 99.9% uptime |
Oxylabs is another high-performing free proxy provider. It offers free datacenter proxies with 5 US proxy servers limited to 5GB bandwidth total. With a wide range of proxy types on offer. Oxylabs offers residential, datacenter (shared and private), mobile, and ISP (static and rotating) proxies. It also offers a scraping infrastructure through Scraper APIs, which allow you to collect and parse public data from SERPs, websites, and eCommerce platforms.
When it comes to the performance and IP range, Oxylabs covers both aspects. Oxylabs proxies leverage a pool of 120M+ IPs and a 99.9% uptime – your connection to Oxylabs proxies will be steady and fast, and you’ll be able to access any location.
Where Oxylabs truly stands out is the dedication to ethical residential proxy procurement processes. The provider carefully sources residential proxies from reliable partners, making the majority of the network composed of Tier A+ model proxies. It appears the customers are satisfied with Oxylabs, too – the company has a 4.2-star rating on Trustpilot and a 4.5-star rating on G2.
You can use the self-service dashboard to claim 5 free datacenter proxies in the US, limited to 5GB of usage. If you have any questions about the proxies, the provider offers 24/7 live chat support, and there’s extensive documentation and video tutorials to help you resolve issues autonomously.
If you want to expand on the free proxies, Oxylabs offers a wide array of paid services. Datacenter proxies start at $1.2/IP/month, while residential proxies are usage-based and start at $8.00/GB. If you want to upgrade, use the code cybernews30 at the checkout to get 30% off Residential, Mobile, Shared Datacenter Proxies, or Web Unblocker.
3. Webshare – best free proxy provider overall
| Rating: | 4.3 |
| Core features: | 10 free datacenter IPs, 1GB of bandwidth per month |
| Protocols: | HTTP, SOCKS5 |
| Locations: | 195 countries |
| Performance: | 99.97% uptime |
Webshare is an excellent free proxy provider. It boasts a free plan featuring 10 datacenter IP addresses based in the US, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands. The addresses are limited to 1GB of bandwidth per month. You can use the plan indefinitely if you want to.
Webshare claims to offer 99.7% uptime so that you can expect excellent performance – the connection should be fast and stable. The provider stood out during in-house testing for its intuitive and easy-to-use dashboard.
Webshare doesn’t offer free residential proxies, and while that may seem inconvenient, the provider demonstrates high standards and transparency – Webshare has an established system and the highest standards for residential proxy acquisition. In addition, as of March 2025, Webshare has a solid 4.2 rating on Trustpilot out of 600+ ratings.
If you require support, you can contact Webshare agents via email or 24/7 chatbot. Even if you opt for a free plan, the Webshare team can guide you through the proxy server setup process with tutorial videos and dashboard pop-ups. Other notable perks include a self-service dashboard, a smooth onboarding process, and extensive documentation.
Suppose you want to turn your 10 free proxy servers into paid options. In that case, you can get 100 datacenter proxies for $2.00/month on a yearly plan, 20 static residential proxies starting at $4.00/month on an annual plan, or a metered residential proxy option at $5.6/GB.
4. ProxyScrape – free provider with unlimited bandwidth
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Core features: | 100 datacenter proxy IPs, unlimited bandwidth |
| Protocols: | HTTP, SOCKS |
| Locations: | 129 countries |
| Performance: | 99.9% uptime |
Fourth on my list is ProxyScrape, which gives you access to hundreds of free proxies offered by volunteers from all over the world. Note that while this is attractive, it can also be a source of trouble if you’re not careful with how you use these proxies.
While ProxyScrape’s free proxy servers come from many different sources, they’re constantly monitored and sorted by the offered protocols and whether they’re anonymous. This way, the provider ensures users can enjoy high-performing proxies. When it comes to performance, ProxyScrape promises a 99.9% uptime, ensuring a fast and stable connection. However, when it comes to proxy locations (the 100 free IPs), they can be found around the world. However, many of them are transparent proxies and will not obfuscate your IP.
ProxyScrape has a convenient help center and offers a 24/7 live chat support – all pretty standard. That said, even our top choice – Webshare – doesn’t yet offer live chat assistance.
On the flip side, ProxyScrape is not transparent about its proxy acquisition practices. While that’s less than ideal, the customers seem happy – the company has a great 4.4-star rating on Trustpilot.ProxyScrape’s premium plans start at $9.50/month for 5 datacenter IPs or $24.25 for 5GB of traffic for residential proxies, making it quite expensive compared to the alternatives on this list.
5. IPRoyal – easiest to use free provider
| Rating: | 3.9 |
| Core features: | Publicly available list of free IPs |
| Protocols: | HTTP(S), SOCKS |
| Locations: | 195 countries |
| Performance: | 99.9% uptime |
Last but not least on our best free proxy provider list, we’ve got IPRoyal. Similarly to ProxyScrape IPRoyal has a publicly available list of free HTTP(S) and SOCKS proxies on the official website. I find it really convenient because I didn’t have to sign up, enter my card details, or contact anyone – using the information provided in this list, you can set up the proxies manually via your device settings.
IPRoyal also claims that proxies are updated every ten minutes, so you should get a good and steady connection. Like most providers, IPRoyal also guarantees 99.9% uptime. However, what’s really outstanding is the wide range of free IP locations available: it looks like IPRoyal has IPs on most continents. The only downside is that you cannot pick specific states in the US.
Just like all providers on this list, IPRoyal has a tremendous overall rating from users. The company has been reviewed 2K+ times and has an excellent 4.6-star rating.
While you can contact IPRoyal agents via live chat and email, there is no phone support, so if you have questions or problems to solve, you will need to rely on chat.
IPRoyal’s proxies start from $8.10/month for a 90-day 5 datacenter proxy plan or at $11.90/month for a 2GB residential proxy plan if you prefer metered residential connections.
Best free proxy providers compared
| Decodo (formerly Smartproxy) | Oxylabs | Webshare | ProxyScrape | IPRoyal | |
| Free proxy deal | 3-day free trial, 100MB free version | Free version through support | 10 forever free IPs, 1GB/month | Publicly available free proxy list | Publicly available free proxy list |
| Locations | Broad | Broad | Regular | Narrow | Broad |
| Performance | 99.99% uptime | 99.9% uptime | 99.97% uptime | 99.9% uptime | 99.9% uptime |
| 24/7 live chat support | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | Coming soon | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Ethics and reputation | 4.5 Truspilot rating, transparent proxy acquisition practices | 4.2 Truspilot rating, tier A+ model proxies | 4.2 Truspilot rating, transparent proxy acquisition practices | 4.4 Truspilot rating, proxy acquisition practices unknown | 4.6 Truspilot rating, ethical acquisition practices |
How to choose the best free proxy
To pick the best proxy, I’d suggest taking a few factors into account, including industry trends, residential proxy networks, and user testimonials. If you do so, you’re sure to pick the perfect free proxy for your needs, while staying safe online
Industry trends
Many proxy providers are implementing AI solutions into their products for more efficiency and reliability.
For example, Web Unblocker by Oxylabs is an AI-driven proxy solution specifically designed to bypass robust anti-bot systems and deliver public data from complex targets. You can try Web Unblocker for 7 days for free if you sign up via the self-service dashboard.
Residential proxy networks
Every provider on this list offers residential proxies. These proxies are hard to acquire and maintain, so the available pools can reveal how established our top providers are. Here are the network specifics:
- Decodo has 55M+ residential IPs across 195 countries. It brags 99.9% uptime, 0.6s response time, and unlimited number of concurrent sessions. Decodo's plans start from $12/month.
- Oxylabs has 120M+ IPs all over the world with 99.9% uptime and a 0.6s response time. Datacenter proxies cost $1.2/IP/month while also offering a pay-as-you-go plan for $8.
- Webshare has 30M+ residential IPs in 195 countries with 99.7% uptime, starting at $7/month.
- ProxyScrape has a 10M+ residential IP network in 129 countries with a 2-second response time. Compared to its providers, the proxy number is not as big, they don’t have IPs in all the countries, and the response time is a bit higher (2s vs 0.6s average).
- IPRoyal has a network of 32M+ residential proxies all over the world with 99.9% uptime and rotating or sticky sessions.
Testimonials
When considering top proxy providers, it’s a good idea to check out the experiences of other users. Trustpilot is one of the biggest online review communities online. Here’s what the platform’s reviewers are saying:
- Decodo users highlight reliable performance and efficiency. Many reviews note outstanding customer service supported by trained and friendly professionals.
- Oxylabs customers mention the quality of Residential Proxies, praising excellent performance with great speeds and stable connections.
- Webshare users rave about cost-friendly services and the great overall value for money. Several reviews praise the customer service and the easy refund process.
- ProxyScrape users are thankful for free services and point out that the provider pays attention to customer feedback. On the flip side, some users complain about the service not working with their targets.
- IPRoyal users also highlight helpful and speedy service. On the other hand, a few negative reviews indicate unstable connections or an inability to access websites/applications.
Best free proxy providers: final thoughts
Selecting the best free proxy provider will depend on what you need. However, I can guarantee that if you’re looking for a reliable and secure high-performance free proxy, Decodo should be your top choice. Their free trial is especially great if you have minimal proxy-related needs that require a reliable solution.
If you’re looking to try before you buy, Oxylabs is also an excellent choice. It offers 5 free datacenter proxies with a generous 5GB/month limit.
FAQ
Which free proxy is the best?
Decodo is the best free proxy, offering a 3-day residential proxy trial with a bunch of extra features, including anti-detect browser, proxy extensions, proxy address generator, and more.
Are proxies legal?
Yes, proxy servers are legal. What matters is what you do while connected to that proxy and in which jurisdictions. Some countries don’t allow using proxy servers or VPNs to bypass content restrictions placed in that very country.
What is the safest proxy type?
Private proxies supplied by premium providers are the safest. There are several types of proxies on the market: residential, datacenter, mobile, and others. These types can be split into sub-types, such as HTTP or SOCKS5 proxies and private or shared proxies.
What is the most reliable proxy service?
Decodo is the most reliable proxy service, while Oxylabs is the best free proxy provider. To determine if a proxy service is reliable, you can look into its proxy acquisition practices. Providers that are fully transparent are considered to be the most reliable.
