The Best SOCKS5 Proxies of 2023
SOCKS5 is the newest proxy protocol. Versatile, fast, and anonymous, SOCKS5 proxies enable many tasks that wouldn’t be possible with HTTP(S) IPs. You can use them for gaming, video streaming, torrents, web scraping… Just about anything. They can be residential, data center, ISP, and mobile addresses.
But finding a good proxy service isn’t easy – and getting reliable SOCKS proxies is even harder. This article will help you choose the best SOCKS5 proxy provider for your needs.
The Best SOCKS5 Proxy Providers of 2023 – Quick Summary:
- Smartproxy – the best value SOCKS5 proxies.
- Webshare – flexible plans and complete self-service.
- Oxylabs – the best premium SOCKS5 proxy provider for business.
- Bright Data – SOCKS5 proxies with the most features.
- SOAX – proxies with flexible filtering options.
- Infatica – affordable premium proxies for enterprise use.
- IPRoyal – cheap pay as you go proxies.
What Is a SOCKS5 Proxy?
SOCKS stands for “socket secure”. It’s an internet protocol that allows one device to send data to another via a third device. In this case, the third device would be called a SOCKS server, or simply a SOCKS proxy. SOCKS proxies were created to be an all-purpose proxy solution: they can handle almost any protocol, program, or type of traffic, whether it’s webpages, email, torrents, video streaming, or games.
How Does a SOCKS5 Proxy Work?
A SOCKS5 proxy server routes your connection through itself via a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connection. In the meantime, it masks your real IP address and location just like a regular proxy server.
Comparing SOCKS4 and SOCKS5 Proxies
SOCKS5 is a newer version of the protocol. It introduced several important features, such as more authentication options, support for IPv6 IP addresses, remote DNS queries, and compatibility with the UDP protocol, not only TCP.
Are these features relevant for you? The UDP protocol is used in many video streaming services and video games – where you need to transfer data in real-time. So if that’s what you’re going to be doing, choose SOCKS5 proxies. They also allow the regular user:pass authentication, making the setup process much simpler.
SOCKS Proxies vs HTTP Proxies
HTTP proxies work with the >HTTP(S) protocol – in other words, websites. They often have only ports 80 and 443 open, which rules out different kinds of traffic.
SOCKS proxies are much more versatile – you can use them to unblock content and work with all kinds of data. Just make sure that your provider actually has the ports you need open. Some close off everything that’s not 80 or 443, making their SOCKS proxies effectively the same as HTTP IPs.
Main Uses of SOCKS5 Proxies
- Hide your IP address – the classic use case. SOCKS5 proxies are actually very good at it because of the way they work.
- Chat and make video calls – for example, you can use these proxies with Skype, Telegram, or similar apps.
- Use streaming websites – the first example that comes to mind is Twitch, but it applies to any streaming site.
- Download torrents – they are compatible with qBitorrent, uTorrent, and similar peer-to-peer communication software.
- Play games – we haven’t tried it personally, but we’ve often heard about using it with popular online games.
- Access forbidden content – a common use case is going around firewalls or entering places where TCP connection is prohibited. Or simply avoiding geographical restrictions.
- Perform illegal activities – people also use SOCKS5 proxies for carding, to hide their IP address and emulate the card holder’s location. Note that this activity is highly illegal, and we do not condone it.
The Best SOCKS5 Proxy Providers
Smartproxy offers residential, dedicated datacenter, and mobile IPs with SOCKS5 support. The provider stands out with award-winning customer support, detailed documentation, and convenient proxy management tools. So, both beginners and experienced users will find the service fitting.
Smartproxy controls large residential (55M) and mobile (10M) proxy pools with locations all around the world. The proxies rotate with every request, but there’s an option to hold sticky sessions for up to 30 mins. You can get dedicated addresses only in the US.
What can you expect performance-wise? An almost perfect success rate and a fast response time. Besides having a robust infrastructure, the provider manages to keep mid-range prices. For example, Smartproxy charges $8.50/GB while premium providers – $15/GB.
However, its datacenter proxies lack some features like locations and targeting options.
Features:
- Proxy types: residential, dedicated datacenter & mobile
- Extras: API, browser extension, anti-detect browser, extensive documentation
- Support: awarded 24/7 support by live chat or email
- Free trial: 14-day refund available.
Prices start from:
- Residential: $8.5 for 1 GB.
- Datacenter: $3.50 for 3 IPs ($2.50/IP).
- Mobile: $50 for 2GB ($25/GB).
Webshare sells residential, ISP and datacenter proxies that support the SOCKS5 protocol. The prices don’t bite, the service includes a powerful API, and offers great user experience.
Depending on the product, Webshare’s IPs cover from 20 to 195 countries worldwide. They come in lists of static addresses, but there’s a feature to rotate proxies with every connection request. You can also opt to automatically refresh the list as often as every five minutes.
Even though Webshare is a newcomer in the market, it definitely doesn’t seem like one. Its datacenter and ISP proxies have a strong infrastructure, they’re fast, and stable.
What sets Webshare apart from other providers? It gives you full control over your subscription. You can decide on the number of proxies, their locations, and otherwise customize the service by adding traffic, concurrency, or reserving network priority.
On the other hand, all that versatility plays into pricing – Webshare charges for most of the features, so you’ll have to really think through your project.
Features:
- Proxy types: datacenter (shared, dedicated), ISP (shared, dedicated) & residential
- Extras: API, basic documentation
- Support: Monday to Friday (6am-6pm PST) support via email
- Free trial: a free plan with 10 shared addresses.
Pricing starts from:
- Datacenter: $1 for 1IP.
- Residential: $7 for 1 GB.
- ISP: $4.20 for IP.
Oxylabs is the best choice if you’re looking for premium SOCKS5 proxies. You can choose between private datacenter and ISP addresses. The proxy pool is well maintained by an experienced team that can offer you advice and 24/7 enterprise-grade support. The proxies don’t rotate by default, but you can set up rotation using Oxylabs’ proprietary tool.
The provider’s network of dedicated datacenter and ISP addresses is the largest in the market: with over 2 million private proxies, you won’t have any issues scaling your project. You can choose from thousands of subnets in over 188 locations around the world. The ISP proxies come with a pool of 100,000 addresses in the US and Western Europe.
Over the years, our tests proved that Oxylabs proxies are very scalable and fast. They usually have the best success rate and response time.
That said, Oxylabs targets business customers, so plans might be too pricey if you’re only looking for a few IPs. In addition, there’s no self-service.
Features:
- Proxy types: dedicated datacenter & ISP
- Extras: API for proxy management, browser extension
- Support: 24/7 by chat or email, dedicated account manager
- Free trial: 7-day free trial for businesses, 3-day refund for individuals.
Pricing starts from:
- Datacenter: $180 for 100 IPs ($1.8/IP).
- ISP: $340 for 20 GB ($17/GB).
Bright Data is another premium proxy provider. It offers SOCKS5 with all of its products – residential, datacenter, ISP, and mobile proxies. The provider controls the second-largest proxy pool with versatile targeting and filtering options.
Bright Data has a well-maintained proxy network – you won’t be disappointed by the proxy performance. Most of its services have a good success rate, and fast response time.
The provider is known for its variety of features, customization options, and proxy management tools, such as the open source Proxy Manager. If you need something that other proxy sellers lack, you’ll most likely find it here.
Bright Data’s pricing is no less flexible: you can commit to monthly plans or pay as you go and min-max the package. In any case, you’ll be charged above the market rate for the privilege, and the monthly plans start pretty high. There’s also a strict KYC procedure you should be aware of.
Features:
- Proxy types: datacenter, residential, ISP & mobile IPs
- Extras: API, proxy manager, browser extension, extensive documentation
- Support: 24/7 via live chat and tickets
- Free trial: 7-day free trial for businesses, 3-day refund for individuals.
Pricing starts from:
- Residential: $10.50 for 1 GB.
- Datacenter: $0.110/GB+$0.80/IP.
- ISP: $15/GB + $0.50/IP.
- Mobile: $24 for 1 GB.
SOAX offers rotating residential, mobile and ISP proxies that come with SOCKS5 support. It controls a medium-sized pool with more than 100 countries for the residential and mobile addresses. The ISP proxies support locations only in the US.
The provider demonstrates impressive progress each year. During our latest tests, its residential proxies were three times faster than two years before. Overall, both the mobile and residential proxies are good enough to compete with market leaders.
In addition, SOAX’s proxies are highly flexible. They come with many rotation settings (from 90s to 600s, custom rotation is also available), and targeting options (up to ASN level). These features are included into all packages, so you can save a buck or two compared to something like Bright Data.
Otherwise, SOAX is a pretty expensive provider. Additionally, all of its products come with obligatory IP whitelisting, limited number of ports, and no option to pay as you go.
Features:
- Proxy types: residential, mobile and ISP
- Extras: limited API, node access, customer success manager
- Support: 24/7 via live chat and tickets
- Free trial: 3-day trial for $1.99 available
Prices start from:
$99 for 15 GB ($6.6/GB) and 300 ports.
Infatica sells residential and datacenter proxies. The provider mainly targets businesses, has great customer support, and affordable prices when you buy in bulk.
Infatica controls a large – 10 million – residential IP pool in over 100 locations. You can target any location by country, city, or ASN. Its shared datacenter proxies are more modest – 5 thousand US addresses that come in lists.
Infatica’s residential proxies are fast but we encountered more connection errors compared to the top options. The provider doesn’t limit the number of threads you can run, and its residential proxies rotate, but you can hold sticky sessions between 5 and 60 minutes.
On the downside, Infatica doesn’t have pay as you go, and its dashboard lacks clarity. For example, you won’t be able to see traffic use in the main page – you’ll have to dig deep to find it.
Features:
- Proxy types: residential & datacenter
- Extras: API
- Support: 24/7 support via tickets, chat or email
- Free trial: 3-day trial for $1.99 available.
Prices start from:
- Residential: $96 for 8 GB ($12/GB).
- Datacenter: $15 for 5 IPs ($3/IP).
Read the Infatica review for more information and performance tests.
If you’re looking for the cheapest SOCKS5 proxies, it won’t get lower than IPRoyal has to offer. You can choose from three types: datacenter, ISP, or residential. The provider has timely customer service, as well as flexible filtering and rotation options.
IPRoyal primarily targets small-time clients. The service comes with lower prices, a small IP pool, though a pretty wide location coverage. Also, you won’t have to commit to monthly plans with its residential proxies.
We’re mainly concerned with the provider’s IP reputation. The addresses have a lower success rate and response time compared to other providers on this list. But the service is enough for less demanding tasks.
Features:
- Proxy types: datacenter, ISP & residential
- Extras: proxy tester, extensive documentation, browser extension
- Support: 24/7 via live chat
- Free trial: None
Prices start from:
- Residential: $7 for 1 GB.
- Datacenter: $9 for 5 IPs ($1.80/IP).
- ISP: $4 for IP.
Read the IPRoyal review for more information and performance tests.
Benefits of SOCKS5 proxies
- You can use SOCKS5 proxies with all kinds of data, not only webpages.
- They ensure a high level of anonymity. When you route information through such a proxy server, it assigns a new IP for you. Instead of accessing the website on your behalf, the server connects to it directly. This way, you disclose no information about your original IP address.
- They work great for traffic-intensive tasks.
Drawbacks of SOCKS5 Proxies
- They are usually more expensive compared to HTTP(S) IPs.
- Data goes through them unencrypted. So, you shouldn’t use them for online payments or anything involving personal information.
- They are not supported by some applications.
Why You Shouldn’t Get a Free SOCKS5 Proxy List
The idea of free SOCKS5 proxies sounds tempting – especially if your needs are small or you just want to try the proxies out. It’s a better option than free HTTP proxies (I’d never use those due to all the security risks), but still not something I’d ever recommend.
You’ll always have to share free SOCKS5 proxies with dozens of other people. This will make the proxies slow and unreliable. Also, the provider likely won’t be interested in maintaining the service, so on top of that, you can expect a lot of downtime and general instability. Not ideal, is it?
Instead, why not have a look at one of the proxy providers in our list? I’m sure you’ll be able to find both premium and cheap SOCKS5 proxies there. Many of the services offer a free trial or money-back guarantee to give you a taste of what using good proxies feels like. Believe me: it’ll cost you nothing and will be a much better experience than struggling with IP addresses that barely work.
Which is better? Residential socks5 proxies or datacenter?
It depends on what you’re trying to achieve with the IPs.
I understand that free socks5 are often shared. But don’t you usually buy shared socks5 too? I mean it as a risk.
Using shared proxies from a trustworthy provider isn’t risky – or at least not as risky – because the other users can’t actually access your data this way.
rSocks very bad, much down time. Bad support