Proxyium is a popular free web proxy with a clean pitch: no registration, SSL on every proxied site, a dedicated YouTube page and an interface in 11 languages. It is free with no paid tier, and for a quick visit to a blocked page it does the job.
Look at the server picker, though, and the choice is narrow. There are three options: Poland/France, the United States and Singapore, and Proxyium labels the last two as slow on its own page. In our test the Poland/France option exited in Poland and the US option in the United States, both on hosting networks; our one Singapore check timed out. The landing page also promises browsing without annoying ads while carrying 16 Google AdSense tags when we checked. And the site does not say who runs it or publish a logging policy on its homepage, which is why people search for whether it is safe.
Shifter Web Proxy is built by Shifter, a residential proxy company, as a way to try its network for free. You pick from 54 countries, the page loads through a residential IP there, and there are no ads at all. The limit is a daily allowance of 30 minutes and 100 MB, with a reCAPTCHA check at the start of each session.
Shifter Web Proxy vs Proxyium
| Feature | Shifter Web Proxy | Proxyium |
|---|---|---|
| Countries | 54 countries | 3 countries |
| 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 | No policy |
| Operator | Shifter | Not disclosed |
Facts checked on each site's own pages. Where we could not confirm something, the table says so.
What we measured
Proxyium figures come from our scripted browsing session. Shifter Web Proxy figures come from its own service configuration and code.
| Test | Shifter Web Proxy | Proxyium |
|---|---|---|
| Median page load | 1287 ms | 2134 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 | 3 listed, 2 of 2 verified |
| Ad-network requests per page | 0 | 2 |
| Exit IP observed | Residential | Datacenter |
Why people switch from Proxyium
54 countries instead of three servers
Proxyium offers Poland/France, the United States and Singapore. Shifter offers 54 countries, from the United Kingdom and Japan to Brazil, India and South Africa, so you can see a site from the market you actually care about.
No server marked slow by its own operator
Proxyium tags its US and Singapore servers as slow, which leaves one recommended option for most of the world. On Shifter every country runs on the same residential network, and none is flagged as a second-best choice.
Ad-free in practice, not just in the copy
Proxyium's homepage says you can browse without annoying ads, yet it loaded 16 AdSense tags on our check. In our test it also added an ad slot to every proxied page, and ad network code loaded on them. Shifter Web Proxy shows no ads on the page or in the sites you open.
You know who runs it
Proxyium does not name its operator. Shifter Web Proxy is run by Shifter, the company that sells the residential and ISP proxies behind it, and the gateway keeps no log of the pages you visit.
Residential IPs that get fewer blocks
Proxyium does not advertise residential IPs, and our test exits came from MEVSPACE in Poland and DigitalOcean in the United States, both hosting networks. Shifter routes each session through an IP on a home broadband line, which large sites generally accept as an ordinary visitor instead of answering with a CAPTCHA or block page.
Know the limits before you hit them
Proxyium publishes no daily allowance or session rules on its homepage, so you find out what it tolerates by using it. Shifter says it up front: 30 minutes and 100 MB a day per visitor, and no account needed.
Proxyium pros and cons
- Free with no registration and no paid upsell
- SSL claimed for every proxied site, and a dedicated YouTube page
- Interface in 11 languages
- No published daily time or data cap
- Three server options, and the site labels the US and Singapore ones as slow
- 16 AdSense tags on a landing page that promises browsing without annoying ads
- Operator not named and no logging policy on the homepage
- No YouTube playback in our test, though the player loaded
Verdict
Proxyium is fine for a quick visit through its Poland/France server, with no published cap. If you need another country, want no ads at all, or want to know who handles your traffic, Shifter Web Proxy is the better fit, as long as 30 minutes and 100 MB a day covers your use.