PCMag UK proxy

The Best Proxy Services for 2026

Kim Key, Justyn Newman — Sat, 30 May 2026 14:00:00 +0000

The top proxies we've tested are easy to use and offer affordable plans that will fit into your advertising, development, or content generation budget.

What Is a Proxy Service?

Think of proxies as the older, less sophisticated cousin of VPNs. The technologies function similarly, but a proxy is not as effective at protecting privacy as a VPN. A proxy service allows you to …

VPN Slowing You Down? A Proxy Could Be the Faster Fix

Alan Henry — Tue, 05 May 2026 12:55:24 +0000

Proxies work differently than VPNs—and in some cases, they can route traffic with less overhead for faster browsing and data requests.

Here at PCMag, we cover a lot of security tools here that we hope you're using, like antivirus software and VPNs. But there are lesser-known protection methods you should know about, including proxy …

Decodo vs. IPRoyal: Which Proxy Provider Takes the Lead?

Justyn Newman — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 13:30:52 +0000

It's a close matchup on paper, but key differences in pricing, proxy scale, and transparency ultimately separate these two providers. Let's break it down.

Pricing: Small Fees Give Decodo the Edge in a Tight Race

Decodo accepts cryptocurrencies and uses a per-month pricing scheme. Datacenter proxies start at $5.55 per month for 3 IPs and range up to $2,300 per month for 2,000 IPs. Static residential proxies start at $9.99 per month for 3 IPs …

Bright Data vs. Decodo: Which Proxy Solution Comes Out on Top?

Justyn Newman — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 20:31:18 +0000

At first glance, these two proxy services appear evenly matched, with global coverage and vast proxy pools. But a closer look reveals key differences you should weigh before making a decision.

Price: Decodo Delivers Better Value at Every Tier

Bright Data has plans more suited toward businesses rather than individuals. You can’t pay anonymously with cryptocurrency, either. Dedicated IPs start at $22 per month for 10 proxies and go up to $1,300 per month for 1,000 proxies. Shared IPs can be had …

Webshare

Kim Key — Wed, 27 Aug 2025 16:44:54 +0000

Webshare is a proxy service provider with plans best suited to small businesses. Right out of the gate, the company offers something we haven’t seen from others we’ve reviewed: free proxies. It’s not a gimmick or a scam; we tested the proxies, and they …

Decodo

Kim Key — Thu, 10 Jul 2025 19:14:32 +0000

Budget-friendly proxy services with easy-to-use add-ons.

Decodo, formerly known as Smartproxy, is a proxy service provider aimed at small to medium-sized businesses, but it has top-notch features that individual customers may want, too. While Decodo’s pricing structure isn’t quite as streamlined as you'll find with Soax, its …

Storm Proxies

Chris Stobing, Kim Key — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 14:06:55 +0000

Offers a small yet highly specialized pool of rotating proxies

Storm Proxies is for people who want to do highly specific yet anonymous online tasks, like buying sneakers and purchasing hot concert tickets. The company offers monthly pricing packages for several different proxy types, and all IPs come with unlimited bandwidth. That said, its proxy pool is small, the locations …

Soax

Kim Key — Tue, 01 Jul 2025 14:05:25 +0000

Pay only one price to access all proxy types.

Proxies lost their privacy tool status when VPNs became easier, more secure ways to hide internet traffic from advertisers and snoops. Modern proxy services are mostly marketed toward business clients who need a small army of IP addresses to conduct market …

I Set Up My Own Proxy Server—Here's Why, and How You Can Do It Yourself

Dhruv Bhutani — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 14:56:45 +0000

Want more control over your internet traffic? Follow these simple steps to set up a proxy server, block unwanted websites, mask your IP address, and more.

Proxy servers don’t get as much attention as VPNs when it comes to internet privacy, and that makes sense. Whereas VPNs offer many different security benefits, the best proxies are useful for specific tasks like snagging concert tickets, limited-time product drops, …

Bright Data

Kim Key — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 14:49:32 +0000

Proxies aren’t just for sneakerheads and ticket scalpers; major corporations use proxy services for tasks like market research and social media management. These companies gravitate toward proxy services with massive IP pools and trustworthy policies, like Bright Data. We like that you can try out …

Oxylabs

Chris Stobing, Kim Key — Mon, 30 Jun 2025 14:48:12 +0000

You can try these flexible, ethically sourced proxy services for free.

Once a privacy tool, proxy services today are aimed toward a different audience: major corporations that need anonymous tools for market analysis and web scraping. Oxylabs is an enterprise-level service offering a diverse range of proxy types, plus several options …

7 Reasons to Use a Proxy Server Instead of a VPN

Dhruv Bhutani — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 11:59:45 +0000

VPNs offer a secure connection, but if you want faster speeds and easier setup, a proxy might be a better choice. Here’s why it could be a smarter option for everyday tasks like browsing or streaming.

Proxy servers and VPNs may appear similar in function, but they’re not the same tool. A proxy sits between you and the rest of the internet. It routes your request through an external server, offering a degree of separation between you and the site or service …

What Is Web Scraping? A Beginner’s Guide to Data Extraction

Aryan Surendranath — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 19:19:14 +0000

Web scraping is an automated method of collecting data from websites and storing it in a structured format. We explain popular tools for getting that data and what you can do with it.

When visiting multiple web pages simultaneously, you might have seen prompts that check if you're human. While some websites use these to manage visitor load, others use them to protect web server data and stop bots from data scraping. Web scraping is a subset of this data collection activity. Here, …

IPRoyal

Chris Stobing, Kim Key — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 18:02:51 +0000

Affordable, ethically sourced proxies that come with policy concerns

IPRoyal’s proxy service is a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s reasonably priced and easy to use. On the other hand, the company’s strange refund policies, suspicious-looking reviews on TrustPilot, upcharges for proxy name changes, and limited browser extension features keep …

MarsProxies

Chris Stobing, Kim Key — Wed, 28 May 2025 13:49:48 +0000

Low-priced, reliable proxy servers, but questionable customer data collection policies.

In the internet’s earliest days, proxy servers were consumer-friendly privacy tools used to hide your identity while web browsing. Today’s proxy services are less privacy-focused because they’re marketed toward developers and businesses. MarsProxies is an example of this type of modern proxy service. It’s best …

How We Test Proxies

Chris Stobing, Kim Key — Wed, 28 May 2025 13:41:08 +0000

Proxies are simple, affordable tools for changing your IP address while you conduct market research, buy sneakers, or get the best travel deals. We explain how we test them to determine which proxy service is the best, and for whom.

In the early days of the internet, proxy services were vital privacy tools that you could use to hide your identity by spoofing your location. Those days are gone, however, as today’s proxy services are no longer made solely for privacy protection while web browsing, …

VPN vs. Proxy: What's the Difference and Which Is Better for Protecting Your Security Online?

Kim Key — Tue, 27 May 2025 16:32:39 +0000

When do you need a proxy, and when would a VPN be a better option? We describe both systems and provide real-world use cases to help you decide which is best for your home or office.

How Is a Proxy Different Than a VPN?

If you're unfamiliar with the technology, proxies are like first cousins to VPNs. They work by sending web traffic from your home or work computer through a proxy server on the way to its destination. This makes your traffic look like it's …

Hide.me Proxy

Chris Stobing — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 15:56:30 +0000

This free web proxy accomplishes the bare minimum in online privacy

Proxy services are some of the oldest privacy products available, and Hide.me Proxy reflects this history in its simplicity. Hide.me is a free, entirely web-based option that's simple to use and requires no manual configuration. However, it includes only the bare minimum of functions that …

VPN vs. Proxy: What's the Difference?

Max Eddy, Chris Stobing — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 15:52:04 +0000

Proxies and VPNs both let you change how your web traffic is perceived by the outside world, but they're fundamentally different technologies. We explain which one is right for you.

While VPNs dominate the privacy conversation, there is a similar technology that hasn't gotten the same attention: the humble proxy. We asked experts from two leading VPN providers just what the difference is and whether you need one, both, or neither. Granted, …