Quick Answers

What Is a Forward Proxy?

A forward proxy sits in front of users and makes requests to the internet for them. It is what people usually mean when they say "proxy".

By Team of Monkeys Editorial Updated 1 min read Affiliate disclosure

This guide contains affiliate links to Geonode, Webshare and Rayobyte. If you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

What Is a Forward Proxy illustration: a forward proxy sits in front of users and makes requests to the internet for them 3jdej38j4

The short answer

A forward proxy works for the client. You (or your company, or your scraper) send requests to it, and it goes out to the internet for you. Websites see the forward proxy's IP. Every commercial proxy you can buy, residential, datacenter, ISP or mobile, is a forward proxy.

Typical uses

Hiding or changing your IP, appearing in another country, filtering employees' browsing, caching, and spreading scraping traffic across many IPs.

Somewhere in here, your datacenter proxy is working hard (animated GIF) 3jdej38j4
Somewhere in here, your datacenter proxy is working hard. GIF via Tenor

Also known as

Outbound proxy, client-side proxy, web proxy.

Learn more

Affiliate disclosure: Team of Monkeys is an affiliate of Geonode, Webshare and Rayobyte. Links and banners marked as sponsored, and links to Geonode, Webshare and Rayobyte in the text, use our referral links, and we may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Our explanations and comparisons are written to be useful whichever provider you choose.

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.
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