- A VPN is one tunnel for the whole device; a proxy is a separate address per app
- A VPN encrypts traffic, a proxy does not
- Dozens of accounts and scraping call for proxies
- Protection on public Wi-Fi calls for a VPN
A proxy and a VPN do a similar thing: they show a website a different IP address. But they are built differently, and for work tasks that matters.
How a VPN works
A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and a server. All traffic goes through it: the browser, messengers, system updates. One address for everything.
How a proxy works
A proxy is set in a specific app or browser profile. Only that app's traffic goes through it; everything else connects directly. A proxy does not encrypt data: https sites are protected by their own encryption, and the proxy only sees the site's address.
Side by side
- Scope: VPN — the whole device; proxy — one app or profile.
- Encryption: a VPN encrypts, a proxy does not.
- Number of addresses: VPN — one; proxy — as many as you need at once.
- Choice of address: VPN — a server from a list; proxy — country, city and type (home, mobile, datacenter).
- Billing: VPN — per month; proxies at Prokso — per GB.
When you need a proxy
- several accounts, each with its own address;
- scraping and price monitoring with thousands of requests;
- checking ads and search results from a specific city;
- working in an antidetect browser.
When you need a VPN
- protecting all traffic on public Wi-Fi;
- one address for every app on the device;
- no need for a specific country or city down to the ISP.
Common mistakes
- running ten accounts through one VPN — they all share the same address;
- expecting encryption from a proxy — only the site's own https provides it;
- using datacenter proxies for social networks — those addresses are the first to be recognised;
- turning on a VPN and a proxy together “to be safe” — speed drops and protection does not improve.
Two examples
A social media agency runs fifteen client accounts from one office. It needs proxies: a sticky IP from the right country for each account. A freelancer works from a café on open Wi-Fi and wants nobody on that network to see their traffic. That calls for a VPN.
Who sees what: the site, your internet provider and the service itself
In both cases the site sees not your address but the address of the VPN or proxy server. The difference is in what the other participants in the chain see.
- Your internet provider. With a VPN it sees only an encrypted stream going to a single server. With a proxy it sees that you are connecting to a proxy, while the content of https sites is hidden from it by the site's own encryption.
- The owner of the VPN or proxy. Both see which sites you connect to. Neither of them sees the content of https pages.
- The site. Besides the address, it receives cookies, the language, the time zone and the browser fingerprint. Neither a VPN nor a proxy changes them.
The practical conclusion: neither tool on its own makes you a "different visitor". For that you also need a separate browser profile, which is why people work with accounts in antidetect browsers, where each profile has its own proxy.
Addresses: shared with a VPN, separate with a proxy
A VPN server hands out one address to hundreds of users at the same time. Sites know these addresses and often greet them with an "I'm not a robot" check or a request to confirm the login. For occasional browsing that is tolerable, but for a work account it is a source of constant checks.
With proxies the choice is wider: home addresses from ordinary internet providers, addresses from mobile networks and addresses from data centers. You pick a type for each task and set the country and city in the settings. How the types differ from one another is explained on the residential, mobile and datacenter proxy pages.
Speed and traffic use
A VPN encrypts every packet, and that takes away part of the speed. A proxy encrypts nothing, but the request goes through an exit address in the country you chose: home and mobile addresses are slower than datacenter ones. In both cases the connection is slightly slower than a direct one, and that is normal.
They are also billed differently. A VPN is usually paid for monthly, and the traffic is included in the subscription. Rotating proxies are more often paid for by volume: you are charged for exactly as many gigabytes as went through. That is why you should not watch video or download updates through a proxy: it wastes gigabytes. You can estimate how much traffic a task will take in the traffic calculator.
How to tell what you need: three questions
- How many addresses do you need at the same time? If one, a VPN will do too. If several, only a proxy.
- Do the country, city or address type matter? If so, you need a proxy: with a VPN the choice is limited to its list of servers.
- What exactly are you protecting? The whole connection of a device on someone else's network is a job for a VPN. A separate work profile or a script is a job for a proxy.
If your task is on the first list, start with the pricing page: three proxy types, pay per GB, traffic never expires.
FAQ
What is the difference between a proxy and a VPN?
A VPN encrypts all of a device's traffic and routes it through one server. A proxy changes the address only for the app or profile where it is set, and does not encrypt the traffic itself.
Which is better for multiple accounts?
A proxy: each profile can have its own address. A VPN gives one address to the whole device.
Can I use a proxy and a VPN together?
Technically yes, but speed drops and there is little benefit. People usually pick one tool for the task.
Does a proxy encrypt traffic?
No. The protection comes from the site's own https: the content of the page is hidden from both the proxy and your internet provider. On sites without https the data travels in the open, so you should not enter passwords there, with or without a proxy.
Why do sites show the "I'm not a robot" check more often with a VPN?
Hundreds of people use the address of a VPN server at the same time, and the site sees too many requests coming from it. With a proxy that gives each profile its own address, this problem comes up less often.
Can I set up a proxy for the whole device, like a VPN?
Yes, with a program that routes the traffic of all apps through the proxy. But then updates and background requests will go through it too, and you pay by volume. Usually a proxy is set only where it is needed.
