You can easily get blocked if you don't take the necessary measures. And since using a proxy server is one of the best methods, here we reviewed the ten best free proxies for web scraping:
- ZenRows: Rotating proxies with an anti-bot bypass toolkit.
- FreeProxyWorld: Extensive and easy-to-use proxy list.
- Free Proxy Lists: User-friendly proxy list for testing purposes.
- Spys.one: Database with proxies from 178 countries.
- Fresh Proxy List: Established proxy list with a friendly interface.
- Hidemy.name: Medium-sized list of regularly updated proxy servers.
- Proxy-List: Proxy list with a built-in API and exporting options.
- ProxyScrape: List of ethically-sourced residential proxies.
- ProxyNova: Easy-to-use proxy list with IPs from diverse countries.
- SSL Proxy: Exportable HTTPS proxy server list.
What to Expect from Free Proxies
Free proxies are valuable for certain tasks like bypassing website anti-bot techniques and accessing geo-restricted content. Their primary benefit is their cost-efficiency, making them an attractive option for those on a budget.
However, they have certain drawbacks that should be addressed. Namely, they come with limited bandwidth, security concerns, and performance issues. As you never know who is running the proxy server, be careful when sending personal data.
On the bright side, you can use them for testing or make the most of the free trial of affordable premium providers like ZenRows to avoid such risks.
1. ZenRows
Rotating proxies with an anti-bot bypass toolkit.
ZenRows offers premium rotating proxies and a complete anti-bot bypass toolkit. The beauty is that the proxies are uniquely selected for you to get the highest success rate possible, and the tool rotates them for you, and you can choose the country of the IPs.
You get 1,000 API credits when you create your free account, so you can use ZenRows as a free proxy for scraping! Additionally, you can try other built-in anti-bot features to avoid getting blocked.
👍 Pros:
- Rotating premium proxies.
- The fully-fledged API toolkit includes CAPTCHA and WAF bypass.
- Ten concurrent requests to quickly scale your web scraper.
👎 Cons:
- You'll need some programming skills to use it, such as Python fundamentals.
2. FreeProxyWorld
Extensive and easy-to-use proxy list.
FreeProxyWorld lists 25,000 free proxies for web scraping from over 100 countries. You can filter them by proxy type, anonymity, country, port, and speed. The list also provides the response speed of each server.
However, you won't find uptime statistics or the option to export the proxy list from the web page. Nonetheless, the vast choice of proxies will be useful for web scraping projects.
👍 Pros:
- Access to over 25,000 proxies from 100+ countries.
- Different filtering options to find the optimal proxy servers.
- Sufficient information about the proxy server's performance.
👎 Cons:
- It's not possible to export the proxy list.
- Only a few HTTPS servers.
3. Free Proxy Lists
User-friendly proxy list for testing purposes.
Free Proxy Lists is an easy-to-use platform for finding free proxies for web scraping. You can sort the list by country, port number, and uptime criteria. The servers are generally fast, but there are only a few. Thus, using it for testing is the best option.
👍 Pros:
- Easy-to-use platform with extra filtering options to find proxy servers.
- Proxy servers with high response time and transfer speed.
👎 Cons:
- You can't download the proxy list.
- Most of the servers don't have any anonymity support.
4. Spys.one
Database with proxies from 178 countries.
Spys.one is a free proxy list for scraping with a vast selection of frequently updated IP addresses from 178 countries. Their proxies support various protocols, including HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS. You can also get Squid, the caching proxies for UNIX/Linux platforms.
Spys.one allows users to filter proxies by city, country, and type. It displays latency, speed, and uptime ratings for each proxy. However, there are no options to export or sort the list.
👍 Pros:
- Access to a list of updated proxies from 178 countries.
- Support for many protocols, such as HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS.
- Many filtering options.
👎 Cons:
- You can't download or sort the proxy list.
5. Fresh Proxy List
Established proxy list with a user-friendly interface.
Fresh Proxy List provides a large number of free proxy servers for web scraping. The list can be filtered and sorted by country, protocol, and anonymity level. There are also some special options, like filtering by categories, like port, region, and city.
The website provides a "Your IP Address Info" button at the top of the page to test proxy servers. While it has no downloading option, you can export the proxies as IP:PORT pairs and use them.
👍 Pros:
- Thousands of proxy servers.
- Proxy sorting and filtering options.
- Possible export of the proxy servers as
IP:PORTpairs.
👎 Cons:
- You can't download the proxy list.
- No uptime, speed, or response information for some proxies.
6. Hidemy.name
Medium-sized list of regularly updated proxy servers.
Hidemy.name provides over 5,000 frequently updated free proxies for web scraping. They support different protocols, like SOCKS5 and HTTPS, but there isn't information about their uptimes.
Also, you can't sort the proxy list by any means but can use the search feature to filter them by speed, country, protocol, and anonymity. Unfortunately, exporting the list for free isn't possible.
👍 Pros:
- The platform offers thousands of free proxies for web scraping.
- Extensive search feature to filter the available proxies.
👎 Cons:
- No free export of the proxy list.
- No sorting option.
7. Proxy-List
Proxy list with a built-in API and exporting options.
Proxy-List offers servers from around the world. While there isn't a built-in sorting option, you can filter the servers by their pings, anonymities, and countries. You can also find HTTPS, SOCKS4, and SOCKS5 proxy servers, but their response speed is generally above 100 ms.
The platform also provides a RESTful API to extract the free proxies for web scraping beforehand. The API has filtering options for the country, anonymity level, and protocols.
👍 Pros:
- Different export options to fit your needs.
- Proxy filtering options.
- REST API with extra filtering options.
👎 Cons:
- No information about the proxy servers' availability and average uptime.
- The proxy servers are a bit slow.
8. ProxyScrape
List of ethically-sourced residential proxies.
ProxyScrape has hundreds of servers routinely tested every minute for uptime. You can download the list as a .txt file, but that requires your email. Additionally, you can filter the file by country, anonymity level, and SSL.
ProxyScrape offers HTTP, SOCKS4, and SOCKS5 proxies, with limited filtering options for SOCKS. The REST API allows you to get the proxies with GET requests. The platform also hosts a proxy checker that automatically verifies if the given list of IP:PORT pairs is working.
👍 Pros:
- Export option as a .txt file.
- HTTP, SOCKS4, and SOCKS5 proxies.
- REST API helps you get and quickly filter the free proxies for web scraping.
👎 Cons:
- The .txt file export requires you to provide an email.
- The filtering options are only available for the downloaded list.
9. ProxyNova
Easy-to-use proxy list with IPs from diverse countries.
ProxyNova provides a list of free proxies for web scraping with speeds, uptime, and locations listed and updated every minute. The freshly-checked proxies go on top, but there are no other sorting options, so we can't know how large the proxy pool is.
The uptime of the available proxies is generally low, but all are anonymous, i.e., they won't cache your request traces, so you can preserve your anonymity.
👍 Pros:
- Filters to find the optimal proxies.
👎 Cons:
- No option to export the proxy list.
- Generally low proxy uptimes.
10. SSL Proxy
Exportable HTTPS proxy server list.
SSL Proxy provides free HTTPS proxies for web scraping. The list is frequently updated, although not every ten minutes as advertised. The free proxies are limited in availability, but they're from various countries and labeled if anonymous.
You can't filter the proxies, and the sorting options include only country and anonymity level. However, the export is quick and easy.
Furthermore, a field labeled Google specifies if the proxy can connect to Google. However, some proxies listed with a yes value couldn't connect when we tested them, so it's not a reliable indicator.
👍 Pros:
- Convenient proxy export.
- All proxies support SSL (HTTPS).
👎 Cons:
- No filtering is available.
- No performance indicator for the proxy servers (i.e., uptime and latency).
How to Check if a Free Proxy Still Works
As free proxies aren't known for their reliability, it's essential to be able to check if they still work. Sometimes, you'll find that information directly on the provider's website, but here's what you can do in case you want to verify yourself:
- Use an online proxy checker, like Hidemy.name.
- Try accessing a blocked website to see if the proxy bypasses the restrictions.
- Check online forums for the latest updates. You can easily find dedicated threads where people share their experiences.
Alternative to Free Proxies
If you're looking for an alternative to free proxies, reputable premium providers are the way to go. They offer better performance in speed and reliability, and the transferred data will be secured.
Furthermore, in most cases, paid providers don't log browsing history, so your online privacy won't be compromised.
However, choosing a reputable and trustworthy proxy rotator is important to ensure your data is protected.
Conclusion
This article explored the best free proxies for web scraping and highlighted their advantages and drawbacks. Generally, you should be cautious and use them for testing only.
That's why it might be a great option to consider ZenRows. Its API can be used as a rotating premium proxy provider and also automatically scrape web data. You'll get 1,000 API credits for free and affordable plans afterward.
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