When someone enters the world of proxies, they do so with a pressing concern in their mind. Should I choose a cheap proxy or a premium proxy service? Is paying for a premium proxy worth it? Based on your warm reception of our recent cheap vs. premium VPN overview – we decided to create one for proxy services as well.
Most of us understand that there must be some value in the service to start with, or else people wouldn’t use it at all. Even in the case of the cheapest proxy that you can find out there, that value is online privacy and anonymity. Proxies are synonymous with anonymity and this is what you should care about the most.
In addition, for those using the internet for daily work, such as search engine marketers for example, it is fundamental to be able to scrape the web without being blocked or penalized. Online privacy is also crucial for those who don’t want to be traced by their governments and global corporations.
However, not all proxies are equal when it comes to the quality of service they provide, so it is important to know the differences between a cheap proxy and a premium proxy in order to make the right decision about which proxy server you will use. Of course, the cheaper the proxy is, the less money you spend. However, in the end, it can cost you much more in other ways.
When you use any kind of service, you probably expect some level of reliability. But this is hard to get with cheap proxy providers, as they can become unavailable for several reasons. For example, a server may be down, the host may unplug the internet or simply decide they don’t want to run the proxy any longer and shut it down.
Something that happens with cheap proxies on a regular basis is called “burning out”. In other words, your proxy is ‘set on fire’ and it stops working. The cheaper proxy services tend to burn out rapidly, usually because they’re being hosted by anonymous individuals all over the world, and not by paid servers.
The key takeaway is that you can’t trust a cheap private proxy to work well. Even if it does for some time, it won’t do so consistently, which leaves you hunting for a good proxy once again. You spend hours of your precious time searching for a good proxy, and when you finally discover one, it goes down. Then, you have to spend even more time searching for another one. It doesn’t sound like something you would want to do on a regular basis.
The cheapest shared proxy services are shared by a lot of people and they often become overcrowded. The cheaper they are, the more people will use them at the same time.
This clogs up the system and makes it incredibly slow or can even crash the whole process. Just think about what happens when you share bandwidth with 100 other people. Ultimately, the speed at which your proxy transfers information back and forth becomes so slow that you can forget watching shows, loading Instagram photos, or any type of quick downloads.
The bottom line is that if you need to work fast online, these types of proxies may not be right for you.
Although negative reputation is quite common in some industries, a number of cheap proxy providers have already been utilized for illegal activities, such as DDoS attacks and other nefarious hacks.
This means that the proxy IP address you are using may have already been used for such activities before. Because of this, websites such as PayPal, Netflix, Amazon, etc. regularly blacklist these IP addresses, ultimately limiting your browsing experience to a great extent.
Cheap private proxy providers are cheap for a simple reason. They typically implement a code that will make particular online ads show up during your browsing session. How do they do this?
Due to altered JavaScript and HTML codes on the websites, you’re actually viewing content that is different from what you are supposed to see. In other words, you will see a version of the website different from what everyone else sees.
Moreover, the sites will take longer to load because of the ads. You’re already dealing with a slow connection due to poor bandwidth, and the ads will make it even slower. A cheap proxy can waste so much of your time. If you’re looking for a fast browsing experience, it is definitely not a good choice.
The main purpose of a proxy is to protect your online privacy and conceal your identity. Unfortunately, cheap proxies usually use an HTTP connection. And why is this bad? Because HTTP proxies can log records of your browsing history. This means that the provider will know precisely what you are doing any time you are on the internet.
That doesn’t seem very private, does it? If you don’t want an unknown provider to keep track of everything you do, it is definitely worth paying a bit more for a premium proxy. After all, that is the only way to have a truly private and protected connection.
Besides offering a non-private connection, cheap proxy services are notorious for stealing your information and identity. For instance, maybe you have decided to check your bank account, so you must enter your login info. Whenever you enter any login information – or any other for that matter – a cheap proxy provider could be saving it in its own database.
This is absolutely one of the most common ways to steal credit card numbers and hack people’s accounts. Furthermore, this is only the beginning – they may even steal your identity. Just think about it: if a cheap proxy saves chunks of your data every time you are on the web, they will be able to start stealing your identity rather easily.
Today, even a ten-year-old knows how damaging malware can be to a computer. It can slow down your computer, enable hackers to steal your information, and harm you in many more ways. Resolving malware issues isn’t easy, and your computer may never quite recover, even with a complete overhaul.
As a matter of fact, some individuals must replace their computers after they have been infected with malware. And since computers aren’t cheap, especially those for graphic-intensive work, this can really set you back.
The cheapest proxy services often use malware to infect your device. Once the malware is in your computer, identity theft ensues. They can take your bank account info and more. Although not all cheap proxy providers come with malware, this is definitely something to keep in mind. So, after all, the price may not be worth the risk.
Everything has its benefits and flaws. And the same applies to proxies. The point here is to find a solution with pros that outweigh the cons, and at a price which suits you the most.
Even though a premium proxy will initially cost you more, it will certainly give you peace of mind that cheap proxies can’t.
For a start, premium proxy providers are dedicated to you and your needs. You aren’t just paying for speed and protection, but also for the help of the tech-savvy, professional customer support. Typically, these providers have 24/7 customer support and comprehensive FAQ sections.
They can assist you any time you want, answer any questions, or troubleshoot problems with you. On the other hand, the cheapest proxy services will not be able to do so, which isn’t so great for beginners.
Besides offering non-stop assistance, premium proxy services provide higher speed and reliability due to lower traffic on their servers. Rather than using proxies that you have to share with other people, premium proxy services use dedicated private proxies that are yours and yours alone.
This means faster download times and fewer network restrictions, which translates to greater accessibility.
Premium proxy services are also more secure when it comes to making online payments and giving away sensitive data. Not to mention that they aren’t plagued with malware issues and altered JavaScript and HTML codes that show you ads. The reason for this is very simple – it is you who pays for the proxy, not the advertiser.
In addition, make sure to check how many proxies they have and if they refresh their proxies on a regular basis. This will ensure that you stay anonymous, decreasing the overall risk.
Now that you’ve read all this essential information about proxies, it is time to make your choice. It’s pretty straightforward that a premium proxy beats even the cheapest shared proxy. Having a secure, fast, and reliable service is definitely worth the price.
Now you understand why a premium proxy is the better option, so you need to be smart when selecting one. Choose a company that offers numerous subnets and supports HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS protocols. This will give you quite a lot of flexibility when using your proxies.
You will also want to pick a proxy provider that refreshes proxies every month. That way, your online security will be protected even further.
Finally, ensure that the company has various server locations to select from, so you can choose them based on your needs. A location that is close to yours will reduce server lags. Also, you should avoid countries that are known for blocking proxies and VPNs.
