When privacy is an issue, most people think of proxies and VPNs. Due to the growing concern about cyber security issues, the Internet and business activities are becoming more active, they are looking for ways to protect themselves, and they are focusing on brand protection.

Although both proxies and VPNs essentially share a common purpose - increasing the level of privacy and security, they also have some key differences. But to the untrained eye, proxies and VPNs appear to be indistinguishable from each other, leading most people to confuse the functionality of the two and fail to choose the right tool to use. So hopefully we can fix it for you.In this article, explore their similarities and differences, and most importantly, determine when to choose one over the other.

Proxy and VPN explained

What is a proxy?

A proxy is the individual IP address you use when connecting to a proxy server. It acts as an intermediary between you and the internet. Think of a proxy as a web filter that performs Internet request transactions on your behalf. The website you are visiting will only be able to determine the proxy IP address, which means your real IP address will be hidden.

What are the most common proxy types?

There are different types of proxy servers, and their origin classifies the most common ones. In this case, there are two types of proxy servers: residential and datacenter proxies.

• Residential proxy. It is a genuine IP address provided by an ISP to a homeowner. These proxies allow to imitate organic user behavior and it is essential for web scraping. Using residential proxies reduces chances of being blocked by targeted websites. Also, hiding a real IP address behind residential proxy guarantees higher levels of privacy.

  
  

• Datacenter proxy. This type of proxy is not affiliated with an ISP. They come from secondary corporations like data centers. Compared to residential proxies, they are faster, but there is a higher chance of being blocked. However, datacenter proxies also ensures high anonymity.

Furthermore, proxy servers can also be categorized by their access type. In this case, there are three types of proxies: shared, semi-dedicated, and private proxies.

• Shared proxy. Multiple users use these proxies at the same time. The primary deficiency of shared proxies is low performance. Also, shared proxies have various potential risks because if one user is blocked, the same fate is for the others.

• Semi-dedicated proxy. This type of proxy is similar to shared proxies, but it is limited to a certain number of users. This is the reason why a semi-dedicated proxy offers considerably better performance.

• Private proxy. This type of proxy is used only by one user at the same time. Private proxies provide the user with complete anonymity and a high overall performance level. 

What is a VPN?

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is an intermediary that encrypts and transmits data when users connect to the Internet. VPNs are often used to protect sensitive data and browse the internet anonymously.

A VPN or virtual private network establishes a secure connection when you use a public network or even a home network. It will encrypt all your incoming and outgoing data and help you protect your online identity. A VPN creates a secure tunnel that hides all your online activity so anyone who wants to access that information cannot get it.

What Are The Similarities Of Proxies And VPNs?

There are a lot of similarities between a proxy and a VPN. Some essential ones are:

• Enhancing your privacy.  Both proxies and VPNs will improve your privacy when browsing the internet or when utilizing any web application. All of your online activities will be hidden from prying eyes and your personal information will be safeguarded.

• Bypassing network restrictions.  Through proxies and VPNs, you can circumvent any restriction that’s set in the network that you’re using. If a particular website is blocked on your school or work network, then you can access that website through using a proxy or a vpn.

• Accessing geo-restricted content.  Some website content is restricted based on location. For example, Netflix or Hulu have several shows that you want to watch but are only available in certain countries and it’s not available in your own country. Proxies or VPNs allow you to change your location to a specific country where that show is available and now you’re able to watch it.

What Are The Differences?

There are also a lot of differences between proxies and VPNs. Some relevant ones are:

• Proxies work on an operating system level or on an application level while VPNs work only on an operating system level. An operating system level means that all of your connections will be affected when you use either a proxy or a vpn. Here’s how to install a proxy server on Windows and Mac. Proxies can also work only on an application level where only that specific application, where you set up a proxy server, will the traffic be affected.

• Multiple connections. Through a proxy, you will be given access to a pool of millions of IP addresses that you can utilize to do web scraping and other advanced tasks while VPNs only allow you one connection at a time.

• An authentic identity. When using a proxy, especially residential proxies, you would look like a genuine user instead of just someone using a proxy. On the other hand, VPNs don’t try to particularly hide that you’re using one. It might not matter normally, but a VPN may be more prone to being banned on websites that actively try to block VPNs or proxies.

• Scale and Suitability. Although also usable for personal use, proxies are more suited for commercial activities like scraping the internet or researching the market, tasks which require you to constantly rotate through millions of IP addresses. VPNs, on the other hand, are best suited for personal use where you can protect your personal information and change your location.

What Has The Best Security?

A VPN undoubtedly provides more security to a user compared to a proxy. An excellent VPN would utilize multiple encryption protocols and would generally have more security features. Although proxies still do provide you with great security, some types of proxies like HTTP proxies aren’t that secure. If you want to use proxies for your security, make sure that you’re using SOCKS5 or HTTPS proxies.

What’s Faster?

This has a more complicated answer because some types of proxies are faster than a VPN while other types of proxies are slower than it. For example, a datacenter proxy will probably be faster than a VPN but a residential proxy will undoubtedly be slower than a VPN.

The bottom line

By now you should have a decent understanding of both proxy and VPN, and hopefully starting to understand the purpose of each term. They both do change the IP address before accessing the internet resources, enhances security levels, and allows to access the geo-blocked content. However, the main difference between a proxy and a VPN is that the latter is heavily tailored to an individual while proxies are an essential part of online and offline businesses.

If you want to find out more about proxies or VPNs and how to use them to enhance your business, we have many more blog posts that will help you.