Do you use public wi-fi? Open a hotspot? Or just install extensions? Pretty much everybody does, which makes maintaining the safety of VPNs and proxies a big issue.
The internet is rife with articles about WPA-2 vulnerabilities, router hijacking, and dangerous peer-to-peer VPN networks but let me give you the tl;dr: If it’s free – you’re the commodity or at least your data is.
Premium proxies are different. First, you pay for the service. Second, you get a higher level of security. However, even with premium proxies you still have differences between consumer grade premium proxies and enterprise grade premium proxies designed for professional use. We know it can be very difficult to find the one right for your needs so we’ve gone ahead and made a buyer’s guide for premium proxies.
A proxy server acts as a gateway between you and the internet. It effectively allows you to surf the internet anonymously and securely from anywhere on the globe, and reduces the risks associated with hacking, spying from other corporations and yes – even the government will find it hard to see what you’re up to!
For digital companies, proxies also serve another purpose. Proxy servers are a cost effective and scalable solution for:
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- Seeing how digital ad campaigns look to web visitors from different locations, devices, and networks
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- Testing user interfaces in a secure and GDPR environment
- Crawling and scraping web properties (not necessarily for illicit purposes)
Without proxies, it would be difficult for development professionals located in San Francisco to test the responsiveness of their website for customers based in the United Kingdom. The answer to this problem is using a top premium proxy service.
But choosing the right premium proxy can be a dubious exercise as there are lots of services out there all claiming to be the best premium proxy.
What’s a premium proxy?
As they say, if there is no product being sold then the product is you. Free VPNs are notorious for shopping around their user data. Premium proxies, on the other hand, are paid. Besides giving us the ability to surf the web without Big Brother watching, they also enable us to do so swiftly as they reduce the time it takes to load a webpage. What’s more, they give us access to many blocked sites.
But you’re here because you already know the advnatages and disadvantages of premium proxies vs. free VPNs. Yet, with all the premium proxies available it’s very hard to choose. Keep in mind that the below list is not for people who want to watch Netflix or download torrents. The below premium proxies are for professional use like creating web crawler sessions, monitoring advertising campaigns, etc.
Ultimately, you can do most of what you need to do with a free VPN or proxy but there are always questions around security. Generally, the quality offered by the paid for product is often better.
How did we compare?
The Top 10 Premium Proxies/ Choosing the best premium proxies for your needs
1. BuyProxies
Claims it is the biggest site for private and anonymous proxies.
Why choose BuyProxies?
· Makes use of eco-friendly servers
· Unlimited bandwidth
· It owns the proxy servers so they are not reselling proxies from other providers
· Fast and private
PanGeo is an offering by Geoedge, which was founded in 2010. Pangeo offers a secure connection by creating virtual browsing sessions from over 150 global locations. These virtual IPs are verified but since they don’t belong to actual users they are GDPR compliant. They are ideal for user testing, advert debugging, global campaign monitoring, and more.
Why choose Pangeo?
· PanGeo is ideal for ad operations teams, large advertisers and campaign managers, developers and product managers
· Perfect for testing how users interact with software in different geo locations
· Offers a secure solution that is GDPR compliant
· A trusted vendor that offers security
· Offers a free version limited with a maximum of 20MM monthly impressions. Paid for versions start from 0.015 cpm (Core), to 0.02 cpm (User Experience) and to 0.025 cpm (Advanced)
Offers economical proxies for any purpose.
Why choose InstantProxies?
· Affordable with monthly pricing ranging from $10-$500.
· Unlimited bandwidth
· Says it offers 100% compatibility and 24 hour support
4. ProxyFish
Offers private and dedicated proxies in the West and East coast of America as well as in Canada (Toronto), Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom (London).
Limited to 50 proxies but they say they can accommodate bigger orders on special occasions.
Why choose ProxyFish?
· Caters to small, medium and large businesses and even the direct consumer
· Start-up friendly
· Over six years in the business
· Packages range from $15 (Starter Plan) to $60 per month (Professional Plan)
5. ProxyVoxy
Claims to offer the best proxies at the cheapest prices and says it has 25 million IPs in its proxy pool. However, access to this 25 million plus IPs comes at a hefty $124.99 a month.
Why choose ProxyVoxy?
· Offers reliability and easy integration
· Changes IPs every ten minutes
· Cheaper packages are available at $12.50 per month (Dedicated HTTP Proxies) and from $15 per month (Shared HTTP Proxies)
6. Hide My Ass
This is one is one of the largest VPN providers and owned by Avast. It has a long history compared to some of its competitors and was founded in 2005 by Jack Cator who at the time was a mere 16 years of age.
Why choose Hide My Ass?
· You don’t have to commit to a full package. You can buy a one month free trial and cancel at any time
· A one month plan starts from £7.99 ($10.53. Savings incentives are available to those who are happy to commit for 12 months at £4.99 ($6.57) or if you choose a 24 month plan instalments drop to £2.99 or $3.94.
· No restrictions on uploads or downloads
7. Tunnel Bear
Established in 2011, Tunnel Bear is an easy to use product. Take advantage of its free seven day trial to see if the service is relevant for you and your business’ needs.
Why choose Tunnel Bear?
· It offers a free service but it restricts you to 500MB of free data month.
· A monthly subscription will set you back $9.99 but you get unlimited data. If you’re happy to commit to the service for 12 months there’s currently discount on offer at $59.99 for 12 months which is effectively $5 a month
· Browse over 22 countries
8. OpenProxy
Offers private proxies that are secure and compatible with any website.
Why choose Open Proxy?
· All servers offer unlimited data
· Offers high speed services and high anonymity
9. Xroxy
This proxy service offers free access to open proxy databases. Support may not always be easy to obtain though. User are encouraged to ask technical questions on the forums but the company says ‘Our admins will do their best to resolve your problems’.
Why choose Xroxy?
· Offers a free service
· Features a forum where users can find proxylists regularly posted by other users
10. Tuxler
This is a community-powered VPN. It does offer a free version but the downside is that this service has little access to certain locations. It does also offer premium packages, which promises access to all locations.
Why choose Tuxler?
· Millions of fresh IPs available on a monthly basis
· Free with no limitations
· Premium version offered at $7.99 a month
How to Choose a Premium Proxy
Whatever you decide to choose, it’s important to keep in mind that, when it comes to professional use, web proxies are going to be in high demand in 2019. GDPR has meant that user tracking is almost impossible in 2019. Therefore, proxies are going to be the tool of choice for simulating user behavior from specific geo locations without privacy concerns.
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