SOCKS5 Proxy Providers Compared: Products and Terms
Six providers compared on where SOCKS5 actually works: which products, which plans, free tests and billing units, read from each vendor's own pages.
Every provider here lists SOCKS5, so the useful question is where it works: on which products, on which plans, and how you can try it before paying. For a free SOCKS5 test with no end date, Webshare's free plan includes it; Oxylabs, Decodo and Bright Data offer one-off trials instead. For SOCKS5 across residential, datacenter and ISP from one vendor, Bright Data, Oxylabs, Decodo and IPRoyal all list it on all three. For SOCKS5 on owned datacenter exits in the US, Italy or Spain plus residential in 170+ countries on one credential, Node4. If you need UDP through the proxy, Node4 does not support it, and no vendor here documents UDP over SOCKS5 specifically.
The six were compared on which products carry SOCKS5, the free test, and the billing unit. Node4 publishes this comparison and sells one of the six products. Competitor facts link to each vendor's own page, checked October 5, 2026. These are published terms; no throughput test was run.
What SOCKS5 changes, and what it does not
An HTTP proxy understands HTTP; for HTTPS it opens a CONNECT tunnel. A SOCKS5 proxy relays any TCP connection, so it also carries database clients, mail, SSH and custom TCP protocols. For ordinary web scraping both work, and neither is reliably faster: each sets up a tunnel before your traffic flows, and the TLS handshake costs the same through either.
Pick SOCKS5 when your client only speaks it, when you tunnel non-HTTP traffic, or when you want DNS resolved at the proxy (socks5h:// in Python and curl). A quick check that it works:
curl --socks5-hostname USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT https://api.ipify.orgThe printed address should be the proxy's exit, not your server. If it prints your own address, the client ignored the proxy setting.
Six providers: where SOCKS5 is available
| Provider | SOCKS5 on | Free test | Billing units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Node4 | Residential, rotating datacenter, dedicated and shared datacenter, paid plans only; TCP only, no UDP | Free plan is HTTP(S) only | Per proxy, per GB, or per concurrent connection |
| Bright Data | SOCKS5 through its Proxy Manager on residential, datacenter, ISP and mobile | Residential: a free trial with no credit card required | Per GB (residential), per IP (datacenter), per IP or per GB (ISP) |
| Oxylabs | Residential: HTTP, HTTPS, HTTP3, SOCKS5 and MASQUE CONNECT-UDP; datacenter: HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 on every datacenter plan; HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 on ISP proxies | 5 free shared datacenter IPs with no card, available once | Per GB or per IP by product |
| Decodo | HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 on residential; HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 on every ISP plan type; HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 on all its datacenter proxy types | Residential: a 3-day free trial with 100 MB (the chosen plan starts automatically after the trial unless canceled, and using the trial voids the 14-day money-back) | Per GB (residential); per IP or per GB (ISP, datacenter) |
| IPRoyal | HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 on residential; HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 on ISP proxies; HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 on datacenter proxies | Trial terms not stated | Per GB (residential), per proxy (ISP, datacenter) |
| Webshare | HTTP and SOCKS5 endpoints on its plans; HTTP and SOCKS5 on the free plan | 10 datacenter proxies with up to 1 GB of data a month, with no expiry | Per proxy (datacenter), per GB (rotating residential) |
"Not stated" means the linked page did not say, not that the feature is missing. Bright Data's pricing page ties SOCKS5 to its Proxy Manager, while its residential FAQ lists SOCKS5 without that condition; check which applies to your setup.
Where each provider fits
Node4. SOCKS5 works on every paid product with the same username and password: residential from a partner network in 170+ countries, and dedicated, shared and rotating datacenter on IP blocks Node4 owns in the US, Italy and Spain. A SOCKS5 connection keeps one exit for its whole life on the rotating gateways; a session id holds one exit across connections, for up to 30 minutes from first assignment on rotating datacenter, and on a best-effort basis for up to 30 minutes on residential. Dedicated plans start at $7.45 a month for five proxies, and residential at $4.99 a month for 3 GB. The free plan is 3 free shared proxies, 1 GB a month, no card required, and it is HTTP(S) only; it has no end date, and if your free proxies carry no traffic for 30 days we pause them, and you can reactivate a fresh set from your dashboard in one click. Where it loses: no free SOCKS5 test, no UDP, and owned datacenter locations stop at three countries. Payment by card, PayPal or Bitcoin is covered in buying SOCKS5 proxies with crypto.
Bright Data. SOCKS5 is listed across every proxy type it prices, and residential comes with a no-card trial. Large buyers move to a sales quote. It suits a team that wants every proxy type from one vendor.
Oxylabs. SOCKS5 on residential, datacenter and ISP, and a one-time, no-card datacenter trial that is enough to test a SOCKS5 client. Its residential page also lists MASQUE (CONNECT-UDP), a UDP-capable transport that is not SOCKS5; confirm that path for your client before relying on it.
Decodo. SOCKS5 on residential, ISP and datacenter, with a short self-serve residential trial. It suits jobs that need postcode or ASN targeting over SOCKS5.
IPRoyal. SOCKS5 on residential, ISP and datacenter, and residential traffic that never expires. It suits irregular SOCKS5 jobs where unused gigabytes should carry over.
Webshare. The free plan carries SOCKS5 on datacenter proxies with no end date, so you can keep a SOCKS5 test running against your target at no cost. Its datacenter coverage is an advertised 50 or more countries, so check yours.
The decision
Settle three requirements in order. If you need UDP, none of the six documents it over SOCKS5; ask the vendor in writing before you buy. If you need a free SOCKS5 test, start with Webshare's free plan or Oxylabs' datacenter trial. Otherwise pick by exit type and location: residential breadth from Bright Data, Oxylabs, Decodo or IPRoyal, or owned datacenter exits in the US, Italy or Spain with residential on the same credential from Node4, on proxy plans. Setup for specific clients is in SOCKS5 proxy setup and SOCKS5 proxies for aiohttp; the protocol trade-off in more depth is in HTTP vs SOCKS5.