The hide.me free web proxy is one of the better-behaved tools in this category. It is run by a named company, eVenture Ltd, it shows no AdSense on the page, and it states that it does not log your online activity or your IP address when you use the free proxy. It also gives you useful switches: allow or block cookies, encrypt the URL, encrypt the page and strip scripts.
Its limit is geography. The proxy offers three countries, the Netherlands, Germany and Finland, all in Europe and none in the Americas or Asia. That is fine for getting past a block at school or work, but not for seeing a site as someone in the United States, Japan or Brazil sees it. In our test it also showed "This site can't be proxied" for BBC and YouTube, saying they use client-side rendering it cannot handle. The page is also built to lead you to the hide.me VPN app, which is how the free proxy pays for itself.
Shifter Web Proxy is a different trade. It runs on Shifter's residential network, lets you pick from 54 countries, and stays in your browser with nothing to install. It is free for 30 minutes and 100 MB a day, with a reCAPTCHA check at the start of each session.
Shifter Web Proxy vs hide.me Free Proxy
| Feature | Shifter Web Proxy | hide.me Free Proxy |
|---|---|---|
| Countries | 54 countries | 3 countries |
| Exit IP | Residential | Datacenter |
| Ads | None | None |
| Allowance | 30 minutes and 100 MB a day | No published limit |
| Account | Not required | Not required |
| Logs | No page logs | No page logs |
| Operator | Shifter | eVenture Ltd |
| Regions | Five regions | Europe only |
| Privacy switches | None | Cookies, encryption, scripts |
Facts checked on each site's own pages. Where we could not confirm something, the table says so.
What we measured
hide.me Free Proxy figures come from our scripted browsing session. Shifter Web Proxy figures come from its own service configuration and code.
| Test | Shifter Web Proxy | hide.me Free Proxy |
|---|---|---|
| Median page load | 1287 ms | 848 ms |
| Pages that loaded | 100% | 60% |
| Ad slots added to proxied pages | 0 | 1 |
| YouTube playback | Worked | Failed |
| Countries listed / verified in our test | 54 listed | 3 listed, 3 of 3 verified |
| Ad-network requests per page | 0 | 0 |
| Exit IP observed | Residential | Datacenter |
Why people switch from hide.me Free Proxy
The United States and beyond
hide.me's free proxy has no US option. Shifter starts on the United States by default and lists 54 countries across North and South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Geo checks that need a local IP
With three European exits, hide.me's proxy is a way to get past a block, not a way to look like a local. Shifter exits through residential IPs in the country you pick, so localized prices, search results and ads appear as they would for a visitor there.
Residential IPs, stated plainly
hide.me does not advertise residential IPs for its free proxy, and in our test its three countries exited through hosting networks, NForce in the Netherlands and Hetzner in Germany and Finland. Every Shifter session goes through an IP on a home broadband line, which large sites generally treat as an ordinary visitor rather than server traffic.
No VPN app in the funnel
hide.me's proxy page leads to its VPN download. When you outgrow Shifter's free allowance, the next step is the same residential network on a paid proxy plan, used from your own browser or tools, with city and ISP targeting.
hide.me Free Proxy pros and cons
- Named operator (eVenture Ltd) and a stated no-log policy for the free proxy
- No AdSense on the proxy page
- Options to block cookies, encrypt the URL and page, and strip scripts
- No published daily time or data cap
- All three countries exited where chosen, with no ad-network requests, in our test
- Three countries only: the Netherlands, Germany and Finland
- Showed "This site can't be proxied" for BBC and YouTube in our test
- No exit in the United States, Asia or Latin America
- The page is a funnel into the hide.me VPN app
Verdict
If you only need a European IP and value its privacy switches, hide.me's free proxy is a sound choice and we would not talk you out of it. If you need the United States or any country outside Europe, or a residential IP that passes as local, Shifter Web Proxy covers 54 countries within 30 minutes and 100 MB a day.