What Rayobyte supports
At the time of writing, Rayobyte lists these protocols:
| Product | Protocols |
|---|---|
| Premium Residential | HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5, SOCKS5 UDP, HTTP/3 |
| Static ISP and datacenter | HTTP(S) and SOCKS |
| Rotating ISP and datacenter | HTTP(S); check the dashboard for SOCKS options |
| Web Unblocker | HTTP proxy endpoint |
| HTTP/3 proxies | QUIC on the residential network |
The residential list is unusually complete. Most providers stop at HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 over TCP.
HTTP and HTTPS proxies
An HTTP proxy understands web requests. For HTTPS sites, your client sends a CONNECT request and the proxy opens an encrypted tunnel, so the proxy can't read your traffic. Almost every scraping library, browser and tool supports this, which makes HTTP the default choice. See HTTP vs HTTPS proxies.
SOCKS5
SOCKS5 works at a lower level. It forwards any TCP connection without caring what's inside, so it supports non-web protocols too: mail, FTP, game clients, custom apps. It's also the choice for some browsers and tools that prefer SOCKS. The key detail is DNS: use socks5h:// (or the equivalent setting) so hostnames are resolved by the proxy, not your machine. Otherwise your DNS lookups leak your real location. See SOCKS5 proxies and DNS leaks and proxies.
SOCKS5 UDP
Standard SOCKS5 proxies only carry TCP in practice, even though the protocol defines UDP support. Rayobyte's Premium Residential supports SOCKS5 with UDP, which matters for:
- Games and voice apps, which send real-time data over UDP.
- DNS over the proxy, for tools that send their own DNS queries.
- QUIC and HTTP/3, which run over UDP.
- Streaming and some messaging apps.
Your client must support SOCKS5 UDP ASSOCIATE for this to work; many libraries don't. Check before you build around it.
Residential tip: Before scaling, run a short pilot with Rayobyte on your real targets and record success rate, latency and GB per result. Our our complete Rayobyte guide explains which Rayobyte product fits which job.
HTTP/3
HTTP/3 runs over QUIC, a UDP-based transport. A TCP-only proxy forces browsers back to HTTP/2, which is a subtle fingerprint difference on sites that support HTTP/3. Rayobyte's HTTP/3 proxies carry QUIC on the residential network at Premium Residential prices. See Rayobyte HTTP/3 proxies.
Which tool needs which protocol
| Tool | Best protocol |
|---|---|
| Python Requests, HTTPX | HTTP (or SOCKS5 with the extra package) |
| Scrapy | HTTP |
| Node.js, Axios | HTTP via an agent |
| Puppeteer, Playwright, Selenium | HTTP; SOCKS5 without auth in some browsers |
| cURL | HTTP or SOCKS5 (--socks5-hostname) |
| Games, voice, custom UDP apps | SOCKS5 UDP |
| Browsers wanting full realism | HTTP/3-capable setup |
One gotcha: Chromium-based browsers don't support username and password authentication on SOCKS5 proxies. If you need SOCKS5 in a browser, whitelist your IP instead. See Rayobyte authentication options.
Common protocol problems
- 407 errors usually mean bad credentials or an unsupported auth method for the protocol.
- Timeouts on SOCKS5 often mean you used the HTTP port; protocols may use different ports.
- Wrong location with SOCKS5 usually means local DNS resolution.
- HTTPS certificate errors through an HTTP proxy usually mean the client is trying to talk HTTPS to the proxy itself.
Our Rayobyte troubleshooting guide and common proxy errors cover fixes.
Proxy tip: If your residential usage goes up and down, compare Geonode: its per-GB residential bandwidth doesn't expire, so you only pay for what you use. See Rayobyte vs Geonode.
How it compares
Geonode supports HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5; Webshare supports HTTP and SOCKS5. Neither lists SOCKS5 UDP or HTTP/3 at the time of writing. If UDP apps or HTTP/3 realism matter to you, that's a genuine Rayobyte advantage. See Rayobyte vs Geonode protocols, Rayobyte vs Webshare protocols and all three compared.
Rayobyte, Geonode and Webshare are three options among many. Our best proxies in 2026 guide explains how to match a proxy type to each task, and cheap proxies that work shows where budget providers fit.
Budget tip: If you want a cheap proxy to try this with, Webshare has a free plan with 10 datacenter proxies and 1 GB of bandwidth a month, no card required. Paid lists let you pick proxy count, bandwidth and location. See Webshare authentication options.
Key takeaways
- Rayobyte residential supports HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS5, SOCKS5 UDP and HTTP/3.
- Use HTTP for most scraping; SOCKS5 for non-web apps; SOCKS5 UDP for games, voice and QUIC.
- Resolve DNS through the proxy when using SOCKS5.
- Browsers can't use SOCKS5 with a password; whitelist your IP instead.
FAQ
Does Rayobyte support SOCKS5?
Yes, on residential, static ISP and static datacenter products at the time of writing.
What is SOCKS5 UDP used for?
Real-time apps such as games and voice calls, DNS queries and QUIC traffic, all of which use UDP rather than TCP.
Is SOCKS5 faster than HTTP?
Not meaningfully for web scraping. Choose based on what your tool supports.
Editorial note: Proxy providers change their pools, features and prices often, so treat any figures here as typical ranges at the time of writing and confirm current terms with the provider before you buy.