CroxyProxy is the free web proxy most people try first. It is quick to start, it has no signup, and it says it supports most modern websites and web apps, which is why it draws more visitors than any other proxy in its category. It also runs a second brand, BlockAway, on the same platform, so switching between the two does not change much under the hood.
The reasons people look for a CroxyProxy alternative tend to be the same three. You cannot choose the country you browse from before you start, and reviewers such as pixelscan describe its servers as mostly in Europe; our own test session exited in Poland, through Scaleway, a hosting company. Its own privacy policy says it records your IP address, browser, internet provider, the pages you visit and the links you click, and aims to keep those logs for 60 days. And the free version is paid for by advertising, with ad networks setting their own cookies.
Shifter Web Proxy takes a different approach. You choose one of 54 countries before the session opens, the site loads through a residential IP in that country, and nothing on the page is an ad. The trade-off is a firm free allowance of 30 minutes and 100 MB a day, which suits quick checks better than long browsing.
Shifter Web Proxy vs CroxyProxy
| Feature | Shifter Web Proxy | CroxyProxy |
|---|---|---|
| Countries | 54 countries | No location choice |
| Exit IP | Residential | Datacenter |
| Ads | None | Yes |
| Allowance | 30 minutes and 100 MB a day | No published limit |
| Account | Not required | Not required |
| Logs | No page logs | Records activity |
| Operator | Shifter | Not disclosed |
| Log retention | No page logs | 60 days |
Facts checked on each site's own pages. Where we could not confirm something, the table says so.
What we measured
CroxyProxy figures come from our scripted browsing session. Shifter Web Proxy figures come from its own service configuration and code.
| Test | Shifter Web Proxy | CroxyProxy |
|---|---|---|
| Median page load | 1287 ms | 2411 ms |
| Pages that loaded | 100% | 100% |
| Ad slots added to proxied pages | 0 | 1 |
| YouTube playback | Worked | Failed |
| Countries listed / verified in our test | 54 listed | No location choice |
| Ad-network requests per page | 0 | 2 |
| Exit IP observed | Residential | Datacenter |
Why people switch from CroxyProxy
Choose the country before you browse
CroxyProxy assigns a server after you submit an address, and you cannot pick a country from its homepage. Shifter lists 54 countries up front and lets you switch from the toolbar mid-session, so you see a site the way a local visitor in that country sees it.
No 60-day log of where you went
CroxyProxy's privacy policy lists IP address, browser, ISP, timestamps, the pages you entered and left from, and your clicks, with a stated aim of keeping them for 60 days. Shifter Web Proxy does not log the pages you visit. It keeps only a hashed anonymous token and the counters behind your daily allowance.
Residential IPs instead of shared proxy servers
CroxyProxy does not say its exits are residential, and in our test it exited through Scaleway, a hosting network. Shifter routes every session through IPs that belong to home broadband lines, so large sites generally treat the visit as an ordinary local one rather than traffic from a proxy server farm, which means fewer CAPTCHAs and block pages.
No ads to pay for the free tier
CroxyProxy carries AdSense and a sponsored banner on its landing page, and its policy says ad partners use their own cookies. Pixelscan reports that ads show up unless you pay for premium. In our test it also added an ad slot to every proxied page, and ad network code loaded on them. Shifter Web Proxy has no ads on the page or in the sites you open, because it is funded by our paid proxy plans.
A clear upgrade path for heavier use
CroxyProxy's paid option is premium access through Patreon, which rapidseedbox and pixelscan put at about $3 to $3.50 a month. When you outgrow Shifter's free allowance, the next step is the same residential network on a paid plan, with city and ISP targeting for scraping, ad checks and testing.
Limits written down, not a fair-use clause
CroxyProxy's terms forbid "excessive" use of its resources without saying where that line is. Shifter states its free allowance plainly, 30 minutes and 100 MB a day per visitor, so you know before you start how much one session can cover.
CroxyProxy pros and cons
- No signup, and every test page opened within seconds in our check
- Shareable proxied links and a browser extension with public source code
- Interface in 15 languages
- No published daily time or data cap on the free version
- No country choice before you browse; our test exit was a Scaleway hosting IP in Poland
- Privacy policy records IP, ISP, pages and clicks, with a stated 60-day retention aim
- Ads on the landing page, with third-party ad cookies named in its policy
- The YouTube player loaded but the video did not start in our test
Verdict
Stay on CroxyProxy if you want long, casual sessions and do not mind ads or its logging policy. Switch to Shifter Web Proxy when you need a specific country, a residential IP and no record of your browsing, and when 30 minutes and 100 MB a day covers what you need to do.