How proxies and VPNs work
A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel for your whole device and sends everything through a single provider server. Its purpose is privacy and security, hiding your traffic from your local network and masking your IP behind one endpoint.
A proxy reroutes traffic at the application level. You point a browser, scraper, or tool at the proxy, and only that traffic uses the new IP. Proxy services can expose large pools of IPs you rotate through, which VPNs typically do not.
Choosing between a proxy and a VPN
Pick a VPN when you want to protect a personal connection, secure yourself on public Wi-Fi, or route your entire device through one trusted location. It is simple and encrypts everything by default.
Pick proxies when you need many IPs, precise geo-targeting, or per-app control for tasks like web scraping, price monitoring, ad verification, and testing how a site appears in different regions. Rotation and scale are where proxies clearly outperform a single VPN endpoint.
Proxy vs VPN side by side
The two overlap on masking your IP but diverge on scope, scale and control.
| Proxy | VPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | One app or tool | Whole device |
| IPs available | Large pools you can rotate | Usually one IP per server |
| Location control | Country, state, city and ISP | Fixed server locations |
| Main purpose | Scraping, automation, geo-testing | Personal privacy and security |
| Pricing model | Pay for traffic used | Flat subscription |
Nefo is on the proxy side
Nefo is a proxy provider, not a VPN. Residential proxies cover 227 countries and territories with HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5, username and password or IP allowlist auth, and rotating or sticky sessions from 1 minute to 24 hours.
That suits automation and data work rather than whole-device privacy. If you only need to encrypt your own connection, a VPN is simpler. If you need many trusted IPs and fine-grained geo-targeting, start with 5 GB for $4.50. Learn the basics in what is a proxy server and why use one.
Frequently asked questions
For device-wide privacy on untrusted networks, a VPN is usually better because it encrypts all traffic through one tunnel. A proxy reroutes specific app traffic and offers many IPs, which serves automation more than personal privacy.
Not well at scale. A VPN gives you one IP per server, so large jobs get rate-limited quickly. Proxies provide large rotating pools and geo-targeting, which is what data collection needs. See residential proxies.
No. Nefo provides residential, mobile and datacenter proxies, plus static IPs. For whole-device encryption use a VPN; for many trusted IPs, rotation and precise targeting, use proxies.
Proxies. Nefo residential proxies reach 227 countries and territories, 22,417 cities and 14,252 ISPs/ASNs, so you can test from specific places far more granularly than a typical VPN server list. See coverage.
VPNs usually charge a flat subscription for one tunnel. Nefo residential proxies are billed by traffic, from $4.50 for 5 GB, and the bandwidth never expires, so you pay only for what your tasks use. See pricing.