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"Why pay when there are free proxies?" — the temptation is understandable, but dangerous. Free proxies from public lists often end up costing more than paid ones: stolen data, bans, and wasted time. Let's break down the real risks of free proxies, when you can still use them, and why paid ones are the better deal.
Why free proxies are dangerous
- Data theft. The owner of a free proxy sees all your unencrypted traffic. Logins, passwords, and cookies can be intercepted.
- Traffic tampering. Ads, miners, or malicious code get injected into the pages you visit.
- "Dirty" IPs. The addresses are already on blocklists, so accounts get banned immediately. Read about IP trust in our article "Which proxies to choose".
- Instability. A free proxy can drop at any moment, and the speed is low.
- Shared access. Hundreds of people use the same IP at once — it's overloaded and compromised.
Comparison: free vs paid
| Parameter | Free | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Security | Low, risk of theft | High |
| Speed | Low, unstable | High |
| Uptime | Unpredictable | Stable |
| IP trust | Often on blocklists | Clean IPs |
| Support | None | Available |
| Suitable for accounts | No | Yes |
When free proxies are acceptable
You can't call them completely useless. Free proxies are fine for:
- a one-off check of whether a site opens through a different IP;
- learning purposes and experiments without entering personal data;
- tasks where speed, stability, and security don't matter.
A special case is free MTProto proxies for Telegram: they carry already-encrypted traffic, so the risks are lower. An up-to-date list is on our MTProto proxies page.
Why paid proxies are the better deal
A paid proxy isn't just a "working IP" — it also means speed, stability, a clean address reputation, and support. For any account-related work (social networks, Avito, media buying, marketplaces) free proxies simply aren't an option — losing your accounts will outweigh any savings. Count the cost of the risk, not the price of the IP.
Case study: a free proxy and a stolen account
A user logged into an account through a free public proxy from an open list. A few days later the account was stolen: the proxy's owner had intercepted the session cookies. Recovery took weeks. The cost of a paid proxy for the same period was incomparably lower than the loss.
FAQ
Are there any safe free proxies?
There's always a risk: you don't control the owner. For any sensitive data, use only paid proxies.
Can I run accounts through free proxies?
No. "Dirty" IPs get banned right away, and the traffic can be intercepted. You need mobile or residential proxies.
And are free MTProto proxies for Telegram safe?
Relatively: the traffic is already encrypted. But for important accounts, private proxies are better. The list is on our MTProto page.
How much do paid proxies cost?
It depends on the type and duration. Current prices are in the PROXYLEET catalog; for the Russian internet, mobile proxies for Russia are popular.
