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What Is a SOCKS5 Proxy & Which VPNs Offer It?

Updated Nov 8, 2024

JP Jones

JP Jones is our CTO. He has over 25 years of software engineering and networking experience, and oversees all technical aspects of our VPN testing process. Read full bio

Overview

A SOCKS5 proxy routes data from a client, like a browser or app, through a remote server, masking the original IP address by assigning a new one. To encrypt traffic while using SOCKS5, it needs to be used in combination with a VPN. Mullvad is the best SOCKS5 VPN as it offers a fully encrypted proxy across 44 server locations.

SOCKS5 proxies are often used as alternatives to VPN services, due to similarities in function and purpose.

Like with a VPN, SOCKS5 redirects internet traffic through a remote server, assigning it a new IP address in the process. This is useful for hiding your identity from the websites you visit and for bypassing geo-restrictions.

However, a SOCKS5 proxy does not encrypt your web traffic, unless used alongside a VPN. The reduced encryption overhead poses security risks, but typically results in faster download speeds than a VPN connection.

To address this, some VPN services offer a multi-hop feature that combines an encrypted VPN connection with a SOCKS5 proxy. Whereas others include a standalone SOCKS5 proxy without any encryption.

We’ve tested and used every VPN that offers a SOCKS5 proxy to determine the best SOCKS5 VPN.

Summary: The Best SOCKS5 VPNs

Following hours of testing and personal use, the top-rated VPNs with a SOCKS5 proxy are:

Mullvad: Overall Best SOCKS5 VPN
Private Internet Access: Most User-friendly SOCKS5 VPN
NordVPN: Highest-Rated VPN with a Standalone SOCKS5 Proxy

Why Trust Us?

We’re fully independent and have been reviewing VPNs since 2016. Our advice is based on our own testing results and is unaffected by financial incentives. Learn who we are and how we test VPNs.

VPNs Tested	61
VPNs With a SOCKS5 Proxy	14
Total Hours of Testing	30,000+

What Is a SOCKS5 Proxy?

A SOCKS5 proxy allows you to reroute traffic from a specific client through a remote server before it reaches its destination. This spoofs your physical location and masks your real IP address from other websites and services you connect to on the internet.

Put simply, imagine you’re sending a letter (your internet request) to someone (a website). When you mail it directly, the website can see who you are (your IP address). With a SOCKS5 proxy, you first give the letter to a mailman (the proxy), who delivers it to the website. The website only sees the mailman’s address (the proxy’s IP address) and not yours.

Diagram showing how a SOCKS5 proxy works. It hides your IP address but fails to encrypt traffic.

SOCKS5 proxies are effective for hiding your IP address, but don’t provide encryption.

SOCKS5 (Socket Secure 5) is the most recent version of the SOCKS protocol. Unlike its predecessors, it offers authentication methods which ensure that only authorized users can access a given server.

SOCKS proxies can route data from a range of different sources including HTTP, HTTPS, SMTP, and FTP – which makes them far more flexible than traditional HTTP or HTTPS proxies.

Some VPNs now provide SOCKS5 proxy servers as part of their service, with an even smaller number offering a SOCKS5 proxy that works with the VPN’s encryption.

While both SOCKS5 proxies and VPN services improve your online privacy, only a VPN will encrypt your traffic by default.

How Does SOCKS5 Work?

SOCKS5 is an internet protocol that routes internet traffic via a remote server using a TCP connection. TCP, alongside UDP, is one of the two main protocols used to communicate information on the internet and can be trusted to keep your data secure.

Before your traffic reaches its location, the proxy server assigns you an IP address to hide your actual IP.

Put simply, SOCKS5 uses TCP to package your internet traffic and send it via a remote server before allowing it to reach the wider internet. The connection is typically unencrypted, though this depends on how the proxy is set up.

SOCKS5 operates on layer 5 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model, above TCP and UDP. This means it can route anything operating on a lower level, which includes the vast majority of web applications like email, web browsers, and torrent clients.

Other proxies, like HTTP or HTTPS proxies, operate on a lower OSI layer. This means they can only route one kind of traffic, which is usually web browsing.

SOCKS5 differs from other SOCKS protocols by adding the option for authentication.

There are three kinds of authentication available:

Null authentication. This means there is no authentication, and anyone with the server IP address and port number can connect.
Username/password. This requires users to input a correct password and username before connecting.
GSS-API. The user and server both utilize authentication methods to verify each other before allowing a connection.

When Should I Use SOCKS5?

Here are three situations where using a SOCKS5 proxy is useful:

Torrenting: SOCKS5 proxies conceal your real IP address, and in turn your identity, from any malicious third-parties in the torrent swarm which is essential for safe torrenting. Plus, the absence of encryption tends to result in faster download bitrates than with a VPN service.
Bypassing censorship: SOCKS5 proxies use a TCP connection, which is less easily identifiable than most VPN protocols. Much like VPN obfuscation, this improves your chances of bypassing local censorship. In fact, VPNs that work in China and other highly-censored countries often use a protocol called Shadowsocks, which mimics the kind of TCP connection used by SOCKS5 proxies.
Remote network connection: If configured correctly, SOCKS5 proxies can permit remote access to a local network. They can make your device appear to be within that network in order to bypass the router’s firewall. You can use this feature to access your home network remotely, or use it to access a company or university intranet.

Is SOCKS5 Safe to Use?

SOCKS5 is a trusted and well-tested proxy protocol. It’s open-source, which means anyone can test it for vulnerabilities, backdoors, or malicious alterations.

While SOCKS5 proxies are considered safe to use, they do present two key security weaknesses:

The proxy server provider could intercept your traffic
The SOCKS5 protocol does not encrypt your traffic by default

Like a VPN, SOCKS5 proxies route your traffic through a third-party server. It’s vital that you trust this third part, as they have the ability to monitor, log, or manipulate your browsing data.

Unlike VPN services, though, SOCKS5 proxies do not encrypt your traffic. This means that while it may help you circumvent a firewall or other content blocks on your local network, your browsing activity may still be visible to your ISP, employer, or network administrator.

NordVPN SOCKS5 proxy packet inspection screenshot

In our tests, NordVPN’s SOCKS5 proxy did not encrypt our torrenting traffic.

If you are using a SOCKS5 proxy to circumvent censorship, it could also allow your government to see what you are accessing.

If you’re using your proxy with a web browser, both of these issues are mitigated by HTTPS, which encrypts the data that’s sent between your browser and any HTTPS websites you visit.

This makes Man-in-the-Middle attacks harder, and means your ISP or network administrator will only be able to see the domains you visit, not the individual pages.

To mitigate against all of the above, we suggest using a VPN that provides an encrypted SOCKS5 proxy with an authentication, like PIA, and has first-party ownership of its SOCKS5 servers.

How to Connect to a SOCKS5 Proxy

Unlike VPNs, which come with an app, SOCKS5 proxies need to be set up manually. This can seem daunting, but is fairly straightforward.

SOCKS 5 proxies can be installed either at the operating system (OS) or application level. If you choose to set up the proxy at OS level, it will re-route all your internet traffic. At the application level it will only affect traffic from that application.

Connecting to a SOCKS5 proxy is straightforward on Windows.

Read step-by-step instructions for how to connect to a SOCKS5 proxy on Windows, in a torrent client, or in a web browser below.

On Windows

Follow these steps to manually set up your SOCKS5 proxy on Windows 10 or 11:

Navigate to Settings > Network & Internet > Proxy
Under “Manual proxy setup” click “Setup”
Enter your Proxy IP address and port number
Toggle “On”
Click “Save”

Once these steps are complete, you can toggle the proxy on or off from the proxy settings menu under ‘Settings’ > ‘Network & Internet’ > ‘Proxy’.

NOTE: These instructions will route all internet traffic through the proxy. If you only want to route traffic on a specific application, see instructions for torrenting clients below.

With Your Torrent Client

Here’s how to set up a SOCKS5 proxy directly with your torrent client:

Open qBittorrent
Navigate to Options > Network
Under “Type”, Select “SOCKS5”
Enter your proxy IP address and port number
Tick “Use proxy for peer connections”
Press “OK”

NOTE: These instructions will only route your torrenting traffic through the proxy connection. No other internet traffic will be rerouted.

In a Firefox Web Browser

Follow these instructions set up a SOCKS5 proxy in a Firefox browser window:

Navigate to Menu (top left of the browser window) > Settings
Type “Network” into the search box, and then click on “Settings”
Select “Manual proxy configuration”
In the SOCKS Host field, enter your proxy IP address and port number
Make sure the HTTP and HTTPS proxy fields are empty
Click “OK”

NOTE: These instructions will only route your Firefox browser traffic through the proxy connection. No other internet traffic will be routed.

Why You Should Use SOCKS5 Alongside a VPN

Due to SOCKS5’s lack of encryption, using it on its own makes you vulnerable to cyberattacks. Your internet traffic can be intercepted, which leaves you open to man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks or eavesdropping. Plus, your ISP can still see the websites you visit.

A VPN solves this by adding a layer of encryption, ensuring that your data is secure and private. Every top VPN uses either AES-256 or ChaCha20 encryption, which are secure against attacks.

In our opinion, you should only ever use SOCKS5 in combination with a VPN. The speed savings it provides are simply not worth the privacy and security sacrifice.

The Best SOCKS5 VPNs

A SOCKS5 VPN is simply a VPN that allows you to use a SOCKS5 proxy, either on its own or in combination with a VPN connection.

Of the 61 VPN services we’ve reviewed, only 11 included SOCKS5. We’ve tested these 11 services using our bespoke methodology and identified the 3 best SOCKS5 VPNS.

Here’s a table comparing the best SOCKS5 VPNs based on the number of server locations, ease of use, and more:

1. Mullvad: Best SOCKS5 VPN Overall
Ranked #1 out of 61 VPNs for SOCKS5 Proxy
Mullvad VPN
Add to compare
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Overall SOCKS5 VPN Rating: 9.2/10
- Privacy
  9.3/10
- SOCKS5 Server Locations
  10/10
- SOCKS5 User Experience
  8.5/10
- Speed
  8.7/10
- Proxy & VPN Security
  9.7/10
To learn more, read our VPN testing methodology.
- SOCKS5 proxy available in 44 locations
- Verified no-logs VPN
- Fully encrypted proxy connection
- SOCKS5 Proxy supports WireGuard & OpenVPN
- Proxy can be used as a kill switch or a static IP
- IPv6 & IPv4 compatible
- SOCKS5 proxy only works while connected to the VPN
- Multi-hop is harder to set up than PIA's
- Kill switch causes usability issues
- Uses some third-party servers
Mullvad supports SOCKS5 proxy on all of its VPN servers, allowing you to add an extra hop to your VPN traffic.

We found it best suited for anonymous browsing as it functions as a kill switch at browser-level and can be used to bypass CAPTCHAs.

However, we were disappointed that Mullvad doesn’t provide a standalone, unencrypted SOCKS5 proxy for faster connection speeds.

Mullvad’s SOCKS5 proxy works with its VPN app to provide full encryption.
SOCKS5 Proxy Works inside the VPN Tunnel
Mullvad establishes your proxy connection within its encrypted VPN tunnel. This ensures your connection is encrypted at all times and protected from targeted attacks or monitoring.

Unlike PIA, Mullvad’s SOCKS5 proxy works with both the WireGuard and OpenVPN protocol. We preferred enabling WireGuard as it offered the best balance of speed and security.

That said, we’d like the option of a standalone SOCKS5 proxy from Mullvad. If you’re not concerned about your privacy or security, and just want fast speeds, then Mullvad is a poor choice.

Proxy Configuration Supports Several Use Cases
We were most impressed by the versatility of Mullvad’s proxy implementation.

As the proxy won’t function without a VPN connection, it effectively works as a kill switch. For example, we configured our Chrome browser to use Mullvad’s SOCKS5 proxy, and it refused to load until we connected to a VPN server in the Mullvad app.

Mullvad’s SOCKS5 proxy won’t connect until it detects a VPN connection.

Similarly, we created a multi-hop connection by connecting to a UK VPN server in Mullvad’s desktop app while connecting to an Australian SOCKS5 proxy server in our Firefox browser. This worked every time without issue, but it did drastically slow our download speed by 65%.

We also discovered that routing your VPN traffic through a proxy server has the added benefit of reducing search engine CAPTCHAs as it conceals the fact you’re using a VPN.

Private Logging Policy & Anonymous Payments
Mullvad doesn’t log your user data while using its VPN or proxy.

As such, it’s impossible for anyone to link your online activity back to you.

For further reassurance, Mullvad uses diskless servers to ensure your data can’t be stored or logged.

This was proven in April 2023 when Swedish authorities raided Mullvad’s office and were unable to extract any user data.
How to Set Up SOCKS5 with Mullvad
The exact steps for setting up Mullvad’s SOCKS5 proxy can vary depending on your requirements.

We’ve outlined how to configure the qBittorrent client with Mullvad below:

Subscribe to Mullvad and install its desktop app.

Make a note of your SOCKS5 proxy address: In a browser, go to Mullvad’s server list and select your preferred location.

Click the arrow to expand the listing and make a note of your SOCKS5 address.

Launch qBittorrent and open your connection settings: Go to Tools > Options… > Connection and scroll down to Proxy Server.
Get Mullvad
2. PIA VPN: Easiest SOCKS5 VPN to Use
Private Internet Access
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Get PIA VPN
Overall SOCKS5 VPN Rating: 8.2/10
- Privacy
  9.7/10
- SOCKS5 Server Locations
  2.5/10
- SOCKS5 User Experience
  9.5/10
- Speed
  9.7/10
- Proxy & VPN Security
  9.3/10
To learn more, read our VPN testing methodology.
- SOCKS5 can be enabled within app
- Verified no-logs VPN
- SOCKS5 supports standalone use & multi-hop with VPN
- Exceptional average bitrate (9.6MiB/s)
- Over 30 SOCKS5 IP addresses
- Affordable VPN subscription
- Only one SOCKS5 server location
- Multi-hop only works with OpenVPN
Private Internet Access (PIA) has a SOCKS5 proxy built into its VPN app, making it easy to configure and begin using.

Though user-friendly, PIA limit your proxy server choice to just the Netherlands which can impact your connection speeds.

PIA lets you create a multi-hop connection with SOCKS5, in-app.
SOCKS5 Integrated at App Level
Unlike most VPNs, PIA lets you easily configure a SOCKS5 proxy within its desktop apps.

This results in a much simpler setup process with far less technical knowledge required.

It works by rerouting your VPN traffic through an additional SOCKS5 proxy server, creating a multi-hop connection.

This is much more secure than a standalone SOCKS5 proxy as your traffic is encrypted by the VPN.

That said, PIA also offers an unencrypted SOCKS5 proxy on its own, but you’ll have to set it up manually on your preferred device or client — as you would with any other proxy.

Robust Authentication & VPN Encryption
PIA uses authentication for its SOCKS5 proxy, generated from within the client area. You can also re-generate new authentication credentials if you suspect your details have been compromised.

PIA’s SOCKS5 proxy is fully encrypted with AES-256 encryption.

When you select multi-hop, PIA encrypts your SOCKS5 proxy traffic with AES-256 encryption and tunnels it with OpenVPN.

This is a highly-secure encryption method and OpenVPN is a trusted, open-sourced protocol.

SOCKS5 IP Addresses Are Limited to Amsterdam
PIA includes just one SOCKS5 server location in Amsterdam. This is disappointing, especially compared to PrivadoVPN’s 22 server locations.

Unless you’re based in Central or Western Europe, you can expect significantly slower download speeds using PIA’s SOCKS5 proxy.

However, there are 30 IP addresses available for this single location. This at least slightly alleviates any server congestion.

To improve its SOCKS5 rating, PIA urgently needs to expand its server network.

Verified No-Logs Policy Guarantees Anonymity
PIA does not log any of your data while using its VPN or SOCKS5 proxy service.

This has been proven by multiple court cases and more recently by a Deloitte audit of its logging practices.

PIA also operates a diskless server network which wipes your data every time you disconnect, making it impossible to log your activity.
How to Set Up SOCKS5 with Private Internet Access
Subscribe to PIA and install its app on your PC or Mac.

Log into your PIA account online: In a web browser navigate to the PIA client control panel.

Locate your SOCKS5 credentials: Click Downloads on the left-hand side navigation panel and scroll down to VPN Settings.

Make a note of your username and password.

Obtain a SOCKS5 proxy IP address.

Open the command prompt on Windows or the terminal or macOS.

Run the command: ping proxy-nl.privateinternetaccess.com

Make a note of the IP address that appears.

Turn on multi-hop in the PIA app: Launch your PIA app and go to Settings > Multi-hop and tick the box labelled ‘Multi-hop and Obfuscation.’

Click the SOCKS5 Proxy tab: This will prompt a setup dialog box.

Configure SOCKS5 by filling in the following:

Server IP Address: Enter the IP from Step 4c

Port: 1080

User: Enter your username from Step 3.

Password: Enter your password from Step 3.

Click OK and connect to a VPN server.
Get PIA VPN
3. NordVPN: Best Standalone SOCKS5 Proxy
NordVPN
Add to compare
Get NordVPN
Overall SOCKS5 VPN Rating: 8.0/10
- Privacy
  8.8/10
- SOCKS5 Server Locations
  4.5/10
- SOCKS5 User Experience
  8.0/10
- Speed
  9.7/10
- Proxy & VPN Security
  9.1/10
To learn more, read our VPN testing methodology.
- Highly-secure authentication
- City-level options in the US
- Regular technical audits
- Private logging policy
- Fast average bitrate (9.8MiB/s)
- No SOCKS5 servers outside of US & Europe
- SOCKS5 proxy doesn't work with VPN
- Renews at a much higher subscription price
NordVPN is a highly-rated and reputable VPN with regular audits of its security and logging practices.

Unlike PIA and Mullvad, NordVPN only offers a SOCKS5 proxy on its own without multi-hop functionality.

Using its proxy, we recorded exceptional download speeds and a fast average bitrate, but at the cost of encryption.

NordVPN’s SOCKS5 proxy failed to encrypt our torrenting activity.
Minimal Impact on Connection & File-Sharing Speeds
We measured our download speed while connected to a nearby NordVPN SOCKS5 proxy server and recorded a speed loss of just 5%.

As a result, we didn’t notice any slowdown or connectivity issues while routing our traffic through NordVPN’s proxy.

We also used a separate P2P speed test to calculate the SOCKS5 proxy’s download bitrate and recorded a final average of 9.8MiB/s.

Though unencrypted, we recorded an impressive bitrate with NordVPN’s SOCKS5 proxy.

This is an exceptional result and similarly had no noticeable impact on our torrenting.

SOCKS5 Server Coverage Limited to 3 Countries
NordVPN only has SOCKS5 servers in the Netherlands, the US, and Sweden.

While each location contains multiple IP addresses, and even city-level choice in the US, it compares poorly to Mullvad’s SOCKS5 server count.

If you’re located outside of North America or Europe then you’re likely to experience significantly slower internet speeds.

We also found this server selection too narrow for most use cases. For instance, our bitrate was too slow for torrenting large files as our closest SOCKS5 server was hundreds of miles away from our real-life location.

Unencrypted Proxy Connection & No Multi-hop
Unlike PIA and Mullvad, NordVPN’s SOCKS5 proxy is not integrated at app-level. As such, it functions separately from the VPN service, including its encryption and protocols.

Though disappointing, NordVPN does provide multi-hop VPN servers in its base subscription. This feature encrypts your traffic twice, reducing your speed, so it’s only suited for privacy-conscious users.
How to Set Up SOCKS5 with NordVPN
Subscribe to NordVPN.

Log into your NordVPN client area.

Locate your authentication credentials: Navigate to Services > NordVPN > Manual setup.

Make a note of the username and password.

Open the proxy settings on the client you want to route through the proxy server.

Enter your NordVPN SOCKS5 address: You can find a full list of servers on NordVPN’s website.

Enter 1080 for the port number.

Fill in your authentication details from Step 3.
Get NordVPN

SOCKS5 vs VPN: What’s the Difference & Which Is Better?

If you’re deciding between using a VPN or a SOCKS5 proxy as a standalone solution, your choice should be based on your specific needs.

The main difference between SOCKS5 proxies and VPNs is that a VPN connection is encrypted, ensuring that no one can snoop on your web activity, whereas SOCKS5 proxies don’t provide any encryption.

As a result, VPNs protect you from a range of cyberattacks and also conceal your browsing activity from your ISP.

For this reason, we normally recommend using a VPN, but there are pros and cons to both VPNs and SOCKS5 proxies.

Below is a table comparing the key features of VPN and SOCKS5 proxies:

Attribute	VPN	SOCKS5 Proxy
Hides Your IP Address	Yes	Yes
Spoofs Geo-Location	Yes	Yes
Encryption	Yes	No
Easy Setup	Yes	No
P2P	Some Conflict	No Conflict
Kill Switch	Yes	No
Speed	Slower	Faster

1. Both VPN and SOCKS5 Proxies Hide Your IP Address

VPN services and SOCKS5 proxies are both effective tools for masking your true IP address.

Both tools make it appear as if you’re connecting to the internet from a different location or country. This helps to unblock geo-restricted websites and hide your identity while torrenting.

SOCKS5 proxies use TCP, one of the most popular protocols for internet traffic. As a result, they are less likely to be spotted and blocked than VPN connections, which are easy to identify.

Due to the use of the TCP protocol, SOCKS5 proxies tend to be more effective at bypassing censorship than VPNs.

2. SOCKS5 Proxies Don’t Encrypt Your Web Browsing Data

SOCKS5 is often faster than a VPN on average, which is particularly useful when transferring large amounts of data. It’s less likely to come into conflict with P2P connections too, which makes it very popular with torrenters.

The drawback is that SOCKS5 proxies are not encrypted, which means your ISP or government will still be able to see which websites you have visited. If your connection is not secured by HTTPS, they will be able to access all the data you have sent.

To test this, we ran a packet-inspection program whilst simultaneously torrenting a file via NordVPN’s SOCKS5 Proxy.

As you can see from the results below, our traffic was unencrypted the entire time, confirming that SOCKS5 proxies don’t encrypt your traffic like a VPN does.

A high-quality torrenting VPN will work well with P2P connections while also encrypting your data, which offers you a greater degree of security.

3. VPN Services Are Typically Easier to Configure

You can use a SOCKS5 proxy without downloading anything, but it’s not always easy to configure. While it might be more flexible and secure than other types of proxy server, it does take a lot more effort to set up.

Unless you’re a hardcore torrent user, you might find the time and hassle required to set up and use SOCKS is excessive compared to the simplicity of a VPN.

Most VPN services come with easy-to-use applications that update automatically and barely require any manual configuration. To hide your IP address and encrypt your data, you simply download the VPN client and connect to your chosen server.

The best VPNs also come with a must-have kill switch, which prevents data leaks if you disconnect from the server unexpectedly.

If you’re interested in using SOCKS5, we recommend using a VPN service that also offers access to a SOCKS5 proxy. This way, you can choose between trustworthy VPN servers and SOCKS5 proxy servers all with just one subscription.

How We Test & Rate SOCKS5 VPNs

We’ve created a methodology for evaluating SOCKS5 VPNs based on five key categories. Each category is rated based on the VPN’s performance, with the ratings weighted by their significance.

All five weighted ratings are combined into an overall score, allowing us to rank the VPNs accordingly and disqualify any that perform too poorly.

Continue reading to find out why we chose these testing categories, how the tests are conducted, and the preferred result:

1. Privacy (25%)

Test Conducted: We analyzed each VPN’s logging policy and cataloged the data they collect and how long they keep it for. We also checked for any features that improve privacy, like transparency reports or diskless server networks.
Why It’s Important: A private logging policy ensures your online anonymity isn’t undermined while using a SOCKS5 VPN. Many VPNs, usually free ones, log and sell your data to advertisers.
Optimal Result: A no-logs policy that’s clearly written and has been proven by an audit or real-world events. In addition, diskless VPN servers that have a track record of deleting user data.

2. SOCKS5 Server Locations (20%)

Test Conducted: We recorded each VPN’s number of SOCKS5 proxy server locations and the total number of available IP addresses. We also personally connected to each server location to confirm that they assigned the correct IP address.
Why It’s Important: To provide multiple options to change your online location to and to minimize the possibility of server congestion.
Optimal Result: SOCKS5 proxy servers in 3+ locations and 25+ IP addresses.

3. SOCKS5 User Experience (20%)

Test Conducted: We personally used each SOCKS5 VPN over several weeks of testing and documented our experience. We specifically rewarded VPNs that integrated SOCKS5 functionality within its desktop app, allowing for more straightforward setup.
Why It’s Important: A user-friendly SOCKS5 VPN eliminates the need for technical knowledge and results in a pleasant user experience.
Optimal Result: A SOCKS5 proxy built into the VPN app for easy configuration.

4. Speed (20%)

Test Conducted: We measured the speed loss while connected to each VPN’s proxy servers in a range of locations (where possible). Tests were conducted multiple times to calculate an average percentage speed loss for download and upload speeds.
Why It’s Important: Your connection speed determines your browsing speed, streaming quality, and general connectivity. As such, it’s essential to choose a VPN service with the least impact on your internet speeds.
Optimal Result: A download speed loss of below 10% across all server locations.

5. Proxy & VPN Security (15%)

Test Conducted: We checked each SOCKS5 proxy for an authentication method and tested the encryption of its corresponding VPN. We used a mixture of proprietary and third-party tools to carry out testing, including an open-source packet analyzer.
Why It’s Important: An encrypted connection is essential for protecting your personal data from malicious third-parties.
Optimal Result: A SOCKS5 proxy with authentication enabled alongside a VPN with ChaCha20 or AES-256 encryption.

FAQs

Can I Use a SOCKS5 Proxy for Free?

You can find free SOCKS5 proxies online, but we don’t recommend it.They are typically less safe and secure, and they often throttle your internet speeds.

There are several dedicated SOCKS5 proxy services you can pay for access to, although these have become less common in recent years.

Generally, the best way to get access to a SOCKS5 proxy is to subscribe to a trustworthy VPN service that also offers access to a SOCKS5 proxy as part of the subscription.

How Do I Find My SOCKS5 Proxy IP Address From a URL?

SOCKS5 providers often give you a URL, but torrenting clients and web browsers will often ask for an IP address. Luckily, it’s fairly simple to find an IP address from the URL you have been given.

Here are the instructions for finding a SOCKS5 IP address from a URL on Windows 10 & 11:

In the search bar, type “run” and press enter
In Run, type “cmd” and click “OK”
In the command console, type “ping [server url]” or “nslookup [server url]” for a full list of ip addresses
Press Enter
The IP listed is the SOCKS5 server IP, and you can use it in your client

What Is a SOCKS5 Proxy & Which VPNs Offer It?

Overview

Why Trust Us?

What Is a SOCKS5 Proxy?

How Does SOCKS5 Work?

When Should I Use SOCKS5?

Is SOCKS5 Safe to Use?

How to Connect to a SOCKS5 Proxy

On Windows

With Your Torrent Client

In a Firefox Web Browser

Why You Should Use SOCKS5 Alongside a VPN

The Best SOCKS5 VPNs

1. Mullvad: Best SOCKS5 VPN Overall

Mullvad VPN

SOCKS5 Proxy Works inside the VPN Tunnel

Proxy Configuration Supports Several Use Cases

Private Logging Policy & Anonymous Payments

How to Set Up SOCKS5 with Mullvad

2. PIA VPN: Easiest SOCKS5 VPN to Use

Private Internet Access

SOCKS5 Integrated at App Level

Robust Authentication & VPN Encryption

SOCKS5 IP Addresses Are Limited to Amsterdam

Verified No-Logs Policy Guarantees Anonymity

How to Set Up SOCKS5 with Private Internet Access

3. NordVPN: Best Standalone SOCKS5 Proxy

NordVPN

Minimal Impact on Connection & File-Sharing Speeds

SOCKS5 Server Coverage Limited to 3 Countries

Unencrypted Proxy Connection & No Multi-hop

How to Set Up SOCKS5 with NordVPN