Proxy vs VPN: the difference, and which job needs which

Originally published on proxymint.

Proxy vs VPN compared on scope, encryption, speed and detection: which jobs need a VPN, which need a proxy, and when to run both together.

TL;DR

• A VPN tunnels the whole device; a proxy carries only what a client sends it. A VPN routes every app's traffic to one exit at the network layer. A proxy is set per application or per request.
• A VPN encrypts traffic to its server; a proxy protocol does not. TLS still protects HTTPS content through a proxy, but the local network can see which hosts the client connects to.
• VPN exits sit in hosting ranges and get labelled. IP intelligence services flag known VPN exits as VPN and hosting, which is why a VPN fails on targets that score ASNs.
• Neither one is reliably faster. Both add a hop. The distance to the exit and the exit's own uplink matter more than the VPN's encryption.

Key takeaways

• Use a VPN to protect a device on a network it does not trust. Café and hotel Wi-Fi, remote access to a company network, and apps that ignore proxy settings are VPN jobs.
• Use a proxy when the target's view of the request matters. Scraping, geo checks and account work need chosen exits, locations and rotation that a VPN does not offer.
• Pick the proxy tier by how the target scores ASNs. Datacenter for lenient targets, residential for targets that block hosting ranges, mobile for mobile-first platforms.
• Check how an exit is labelled before a job scales. Look up the exit IP's ASN and privacy flags through the VPN and through the proxy, and compare them with what the target accepts.

Read the full guide on proxymint, with the commands, tables and sources.