A List of Free Proxy Servers in 2022 (Individual Proxies)

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The Best Free Proxy Servers in 2022 - A Quick Guide

A good free proxy server can greatly improve your online experience: it will make you more anonymous and improve your online freedom by hiding your “real IP address.” However, there are better and safer ways to enjoy these same advantages, like using a VPN.

Our top free proxy servers include:

  • IP: 145.239.85.58 – Port: 9300 – Country: Poland
  • IP: 46.4.96.137 – Port: 1080 – Country: Germany
  • IP: 47.91.88.100 – Port: 1080 – Country: Germany
  • IP: 45.77.56.114 – Port: 30205 – Country: England
  • IP: 82.196.11.105 – Port: 1080 – Country: Netherlands

Unlike a free proxy server, a VPN also encrypts all your data traffic and protects your online footprint. Moreover, premium VPN connections are generally much more reliable than free proxy servers with better speeds and uptime (99.99%). Surfshark is a great and affordable VPN we recommend to anyone.

If you do want to try out a free proxy server, we have an extensive list of free proxy servers in the article down below for you to try out. If these proxies are not working for you, you could also check out our list of free proxy websites and see if you have more luck this way.

Finding free proxy servers, especially reliable ones, is anything but easy. This is why we compiled a list of free proxies all over the world with a minimal uptime (the total duration for which a server is active and running) of 80 percent. The proxies on our list will offer you good levels of anonymity since we have pre-vetted and only included what we refer to as “elite proxies.”

Note: Many free proxies are often unreliable, quite slow, and sometimes even unsafe. You have to remember a proxy server is under the control of an individual or an entity you don’t know. Therefore, you never quite know how your data (which, unless encrypted, will be visible to the entity managing the server) will be treated. Moreover, many free proxies are quite slow (because a lot of people use them).

We generally advise using a safer and more convenient method to increase your anonymity, safety, and freedom online, such as a VPN. Modern VPNs like Surfshark for instance, are incredibly cheap and very effective. Using Surfshark is essentially like having thousands of proxies at your disposal all over the world. The main difference is that these VPN connections are much safer than proxies, thanks to Surfshark’s no-log policy and strong encryption. They’re also much faster.

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If you’re interested in other VPNs, feel free to check out our top VPN reviews of 2022.

What Is a Proxy Server?

A proxy server is a server that finds itself between an internet user’s network and the destination (the website or page, etc.) they’re trying to connect to. The proxy masks the user’s IP address. This ultimately increases the user’s anonymity and privacy online. After all, many websites and online services use your IP address to determine where you are (which some might consider a breach of privacy).

Many people use proxy servers to prevent websites and other entities from tracking them online, i.e. to browse anonymously. An even greater portion of people now uses proxy servers to circumvent geo-restrictions and watch content that, based on their real location, wouldn’t be accessible to them. Examples include the American version of Netflix and Hulu for instance for people who live outside of the United States.

Free Proxies

Down below you’ll find a list of free proxy servers worldwide. Unfortunately, free proxy servers regularly go offline and are often quite slow. With our proxies, this problem should be somewhat addressed, since we only included proxies with a high uptime percentage (80 percent minimum).

We’ve only selected proxy servers that support secured HTTPS connections or SOCKS5 proxies. The former allows you to connect to the secured version of websites in a safe way that makes your data unreadable for potential cybercriminals. The latter also protects your data, through the use of the Secure Shell (SSH) encrypted tunneling method. It also offers a safe and advanced authentication method to prevent you from accidentally connecting to malicious parties.

Moreover, all the proxies on our list have the highest anonymity grade proxies can achieve (level 1 out of 3). These are proxies that do not show your IP address to the other server you connect to, as transparent (level 3) proxies would. In fact, they don’t even give away the fact that you’re using a proxy, as an anonymous proxy (level 2) would.

Lastly, we’ve also tried to only include proxy servers with low latency. Unfortunately, free proxies are not known for their blazing speeds. Therefore, if a server is not as fast as you’d like, you can always try another one.

Our Free Proxies List

Now, here’s our list of the top free proxy servers that you can select in 2022.

IP addressPortCountry/citySpeedTypeLevel of anonymity
145.239.85.589300Poland500 msSOCKS4, SOCKS5high
46.4.96.1371080Germany580 msSOCKS5high
47.91.88.1001080Germany “Frankfurt am Main”260 msSOCKS5high
45.77.56.11430205United Kingdom London320 msSOCKS4, SOCKS5high
82.196.11.1051080Netherlands Amsterdam580 msSOCKS5high
51.254.69.2433128France440 msHTTPShigh
178.62.193.191080Netherlands Amsterdam580 msSOCKS5high
188.226.141.1271080Netherlands Amsterdam580 msSOCKS5high
217.23.6.401080Netherlands400 msSOCKS5high
185.153.198.22632498Moldova540 msSOCKS4, SOCKS5high
81.171.24.1993128Netherlands280 msHTTPShigh
5.189.224.8410000Russian Federation560 msSOCKS4, SOCKS5high
108.61.175.731802United Kingdom London300 msSOCKS4, SOCKS5high
176.31.200.1043128France340 msHTTPShigh
83.77.118.5317171Switzerland Ebikon400 msHTTPShigh
173.192.21.8980United States Dallas520 msHTTP, HTTPShigh
163.172.182.1643128France300 msHTTPShigh
163.172.168.1243128France300 msHTTPShigh
164.68.105.2353128United States “Lake Forest”320 msHTTPShigh
5.199.171.2273128Lithuania300 msHTTPShigh
93.171.164.2518080Russian Federation Livny120 msHTTPShigh
212.112.97.273128Kyrgyzstan380 msHTTPShigh
51.68.207.8180United Kingdom580 msHTTPShigh
91.211.245.1768080Lithuania200 msHTTPShigh
84.201.254.473128Russian Federation Izhevsk240 msHTTPShigh
95.156.82.353128Russian Federation Ulan-Ude240 msHTTP, HTTPShigh
185.118.141.254808Turkey “Magnesia ad Sipylum”480 msHTTP, HTTPShigh
164.68.98.1699300Germany360 msSOCKS5high
217.113.122.1423128Russian Federation Tolyatti180 msHTTPShigh
188.100.212.20821129Germany Dormagen480 msHTTPShigh
83.77.118.5317171Switzerland Ebikon400 msHTTPShigh
83.79.50.23364527Switzerland Baar460 msHTTPShigh

Note: Manual proxy servers are often hit & miss

Please be aware that trying out individual proxy servers, rather than proxy websites, often involves trial and error. Free proxy servers are sometimes very slow and sometimes the connection is too weak to connect to a webpage at all. For people with a blazing fast internet connection, this might not be a big issue. All of these proxy servers did work at some point, but when one of our technology reviewers, with his download speed of 88 Mbps, tried them out, he had very little success.

Because of the above, we strongly recommend using either a VPN to change your IP or trying out a proxy website. These are often more reliable and easier to get a good connection than by using manual proxy servers. We reviewed some of the best proxy websites that you can use too. Now without further ado, here is our list of proxy servers.

Free residential proxies

Residential proxies are offered by (large) companies and are therefore often much more expensive than so-called datacenter proxies. They are some of the most premium proxy services around because of their increased legitimacy. Residential proxies are often used for large projects such as market research or to optimize advertising campaigns. As such, it is no surprise that many regular users want to know where to find free residential proxies.

Unfortunately, those who offer residential proxy servers know their worth and therefore finding free ones is difficult. After all, residential proxies assign IP addresses that actually belong to an internet service provider (ISP) and to a real device, contrary to datacenter proxies.

Fortunately, however, there are some good providers of residential proxy servers that at least offer a money-back guarantee or even a free trial, so you can try out their service without risk. Some options include:

  • Oxylabs (3-day money-back guarantee)
  • Smartproxy (3-day money-back guarantee)
  • GeoSurf (7-day free trial)

Please do make sure you read the terms and conditions about getting a refund before you purchase a subscription. Often these services only allow you to use a certain amount of data if you want your money back, etc.

How to Set up a Proxy Server

Here, we’ll explain step-by-step how to set up proxy servers from the list above on your Windows or Mac device.

Setting up a proxy on Windows

To set up a proxy on Windows please follow the following steps:

  1. In the search bar of your Windows PC (usually located in the bottom left corner), type “Proxy settings” and click on the first result.
  2. Scroll down to “Manual proxy setup” and click the switch below “Use a proxy server” so it turns blue.
  3. Fill out the IP address (far left column in the table above) and the proxy port of the server you wish to connect to.
  4. If you want to, there are some extra options to select. You can select certain addresses that can be reached without connecting to the proxy server. Also, you can choose not to use the proxy for your company’s intranet network.
  5. Click on save.

Now you’re connected to your proxy server (provided it’s online) and can surf the internet more anonymously and freely.

Setting up a proxy on macOS

In order to use the free proxies on our list on your Mac, using Safari, just follow the following steps:

  1. Open the Safari app and now go to “Safari > Preferences“, then click Advanced.
  2. Select “Change Settings” (next to Proxies) to open the Network pane of System Preferences.
  3. Fill out the IP address and the port of the proxy you want to use.
  4. Click “OK“.

My Proxy Server’s IP Is Blocked – What Should I Do?

Sometimes a proxy server doesn’t work for the goal you had in mind. Often people want to use a proxy to unblock content that’s available in different regions for instance, such as the American version of Netflix. However, streaming services are aware of this, which is why they often block proxy users. They generally do this based on either your IP address, by seeing if it is shared by a lot of people (fellow proxy users), or based on the attributes that anonymous and transparent (so non-elite) proxies display about the fact you’re using a proxy server.

Fortunately, there is an easy way around this problem: using a reliable VPN with a dedicated IP address, instead of a proxy, like NordVPN. Using a dedicated IP means your IP address will not be shared with any other users like often is the case with proxies and normal VPNs. Combine this with a VPN’s ability to change your IP address and you’ll have access to all the online content you want without being blocked. After all, websites and streams will no longer be able to detect you’re using an intermediary server.

Some websites, rarely, also use deep packet inspection to find out if you’re using a VPN connection. However, SurfShark has an answer to this as well: their Camouflage Mode uses advanced anti-detection techniques to hide the fact that you’re using a VPN.

Surfshark
Deal:
Safe and anonymous internet for only $2.30a month
From
$2.30
9.0
  • Very user-friendly and works with Netflix and torrents
  • 30-day money-back guarantee. No questions asked!
  • Cheap with many extra options
Visit Surfshark
The Best Free Proxies in 2022: Frequently Asked Questions

Do you have a specific question about free proxy servers? Check out our FAQ down below to see if we already answered it. If not, feel free to drop your question down below in the comments and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!

A proxy server is an intermediary server between an internet user and their final destination (the website or page they’re trying to visit). When users connect to such a server, they take on the IP address of the proxy server, making them more anonymous and free online.

Most people who use a proxy server do so either to increase their privacy online or to get access to content that would otherwise be blocked. After all, a proxy server changes your IP address, meaning online parties that want to track you can’t see your real IP address. This also means that streams or other websites that want to block you based on your location, for which they often use your IP address, can no longer do so. Check out this in-depth resource about proxy servers for more information.

We have an extensive list of free proxy servers for you to try out. Do remember free proxy servers are often hit & miss as far as speed and connection stability go.

Finding free residential proxy servers is anything but easy and we’re not even sure if it’s possible in the first place. They are generally used by (large) companies for market research and are actually associated with an ISP, making them very costly. Your best bet would be trying out a residential proxy that has a money-back guarantee or a free trial. You can find some decent options in this article on free proxy servers.

We mainly recommend using free proxy servers if you’re looking to change your IP address very infrequently, just once in a while. If you require more anonymity and online freedom on a regular basis, we strongly recommend another solution, because it can be frustrating to go through the trial and error of using free proxy servers regularly. In this case, we strongly recommend you look into using a VPN.

Tech journalist
Nathan is an internationally trained journalist and has a special interest in the prevention of cybercrime, especially where vulnerable groups are concerned. For VPNoverview.com he conducts research in the field of cybersecurity, internet censorship, and online privacy. He also contributed to developing our rigorous VPN testing and reviewing procedures using evidence-based best practices.