Disclosure
Affiliate Commissions

CyberWaters is supported by its readers, therefore we may receive affiliate commissions if you purchase goods or services via our links. We appreciate your support.

6 Best VPNs with SOCKS5

best vpn with socks5

Today, hiding your IP and getting past website blocks is easier than ever. This is thanks to different Internet protocols available for public use.

SOCKS5 is one such protocol, known for its support of authentication. It’s not only simple to set up but also affordable. This makes it great for keeping your IP hidden while you browse and torrent online.

Most top VPN providers offer SOCKS5 proxy servers. If you’re already using a VPN, you might get SOCKS5 servers for free. Looking for more choices or better reliability? Here’s a quick guide to the best VPNs with SOCKS5 proxies.

Best VPNs With Socks5 in 2024

  1. Surfshark – supports Shadowsocks and very easy to use
  2. Private Internet Access – with many SOCKS5 Proxies available
  3. IPVanish – great for P2P and torrenting
  4. TorGuard – suitable for advanced users
  5. NordVPN – the best VPN with SOCKS5 servers

What is SOCKS5?

SOCKS Protocol Version 5, or SOCKS5, is a way to use a proxy server on the Internet. It hides your IP address by rerouting your traffic. It was developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

When you send data from your device to a website, the proxy server covers your IP. This makes you anonymous to the website.

In short, SOCKS5 proxy does two main things:

  1. Makes you anonymous by hiding your IP address
  2. Helps you unblock regional restrictions by changing your location

SOCKS5 proxy can be set up for specific apps like a uTorrent or BitTorrent client, Telegram, and your favorite web browser. This way, only that app uses the proxy, keeping others connected as usual. Think of your torrent client using SOCKS5 while your Windows uses your original network.

Even though SOCKS5 proxy has been around for decades, it’s now more popular. This is because it’s easy to use, set up once, affordable, and reliable. Providers like Surfshark, IPVanish, and Private Internet Access (PIA) offer it.

Best VPNs with SOCKS5 – detailed list:

This guide aims to help you pick the best VPN with SOCKS5.

First, let’s clear up a common confusion. There’s no such thing as a “SOCKS5 VPN”. SOCKS5 and VPN serve different purposes. SOCKS5 is for proxying, while VPN is for encryption and private communication.

Both SOCKS5 proxy and VPN can help you stay safe while torrenting. But for most users, they are not the same thing.

1. Surfshark

🌐 Website:surfshark.com
🏢 Headquarters:The British Virgin Islands
📍Servers/Countries:3,200+ servers in 100 countries
₿ Accepts CryptocurrencyYes
💸 Deals & CouponsSave 84% Now!

Surfshark is great for more than just getting past China’s Great Firewall. It’s also good for unblocking websites and torrenting. It’s popular in many places, including Iran.

Shadowsocks by Surfshark is easy to use. You don’t need to know how to set it up. Just open your Surfshark VPN client, pick Shadowsocks as the proxy protocol, and you’re ready. It picks the best server for you, so you get fast speeds.

Verdict – Surfshark works well on Windows and Android phones. It’s easy to set up and has the fastest speeds.

Pros

  • A very affordable VPN provider
  • Unlimited simultaneous connections
  • Ad-blocking feature
  • Unblocks streaming platforms
  • Ad blocker and malware protection features
  • A fast and light WireGuard protocol
  • Allows split-tunneling and has a multi-hop VPN feature
  • No-log policy and robust security features
  • GPS spoofing on Android devices
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons

  • No free version
  • Does not allow P2P seeding

2. Private Internet Access

🌐 Website:privateinternetaccess.com
🏢 Headquarters:United States
📍Servers/Countries:30000+ servers in 60+ countries
₿ Accepts CryptocurrencyYes
💸 Deals & Coupons85% OFF + 3 months FREE!

PIA SOCKS5 is a strong second choice. Like others, it comes with the PIA VPN purchase.

PIA SOCKS5 stands out because you can set it up directly from the app. This lets you use a SOCKS5 proxy to connect to PIA’s VPN servers. This way, all your device’s traffic goes through the proxy server, not just certain apps.

PIA also offers Shadowsocks, a strong alternative to VPNs. It’s often used to get past China’s censorship.

The only downside is you need extra credentials for the proxy. But it’s not a big problem.

Verdict – For easy SOCKS5 setup, choose Private Internet Access.

Pros

  • Thousands of servers
  • Great for torrenting and P2P
  • Strong security and encryption
  • Block ads, trackers, and malware
  • 10 simultaneous device connections
  • Anonymous payment methods
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons

  • Based in the US
  • Not all streaming services can be unblocked

3. IPVanish

🌐 Website:ipvanish.com
🏢 Headquarters:United States
📍Servers/Countries:2200+ servers in 75+ countries
₿ Accepts CryptocurrencyYes
💸 Deals & Coupons67% OFF Coupon

IPVanish’s SOCKS5 servers are great for torrenting. They work well with BitTorrent clients like uTorrent and Deluge.

IPVanish’s SOCKS5 servers are flexible and private. You can choose from many locations without losing privacy. IPVanish also tells you that using its SOCKS5 servers means you’ll lose some security and speed. That’s honest.

Verdict – IPVanish’s SOCKS5 servers are the fastest for torrenting and surfing. Choose IPVanish for speed and anonymity.

Pros

  • Servers in lots of locations
  • Works with Netflix
  • Unlimited connections
  • Allows torrenting
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons

  • Average Speeds
  • Keeps connection logs, but deletes after ending the session

4. TorGuard

🌐 Website:torguard.net
🏢 Headquarters:United States
📍Servers/Countries:3000+ servers in 50 countries
₿ Accepts CryptocurrencyYes
💸 Deals & Coupons50% OFF Coupon

TorGuard calls its proxy servers Stunnel and Stealth. We’ll talk about Stealth. Like PIA, TorGuard’s VPN client lets you connect to its Shadowsocks proxy easily. You can pick from servers in 50 countries without extra setup.

TorGuard is special because you can use your main login for its SOCKS5 servers. No extra cost or setup needed.

Note – You can follow TorGuard’s official tutorial to start.

Verdict – TorGuard is great for simple SOCKS5 setup.

Pros

  • Supports torrenting with port forwarding
  • Double encryption and WireGuard protocol
  • No-logs policy
  • The most customizable VPN
  • Has DNS options, stealth proxies, and other security features
  • Offers a wide range of Dedicated IP addresses

Cons

  • Only 7-day money-back guarantee
  • Based in the US
  • Apps look clunky

5. NordVPN

🌐 Website:nordvpn.com
🏢 Headquarters:Panama
📍Servers/Countries:5800+ servers in 60 countries
₿ Accepts CryptocurrencyYes
💸 Deals & CouponsGet 68% off + 3 months extra

NordVPN SOCKS5 servers were once our top pick. But, after some changes in 2020, we lowered its rating a bit.

Back then, NordVPN’s SOCKS5 servers were great because you didn’t have to buy them separately. If you had a NordVPN license, you could pick a SOCKS5 server in any country. It offered three types of servers: maximum speed, maximum security, and hybrid.

The maximum speed server worked well for downloads and uploads. It was fast, even compared to other services.

But, NordVPN’s SOCKS5 servers had one big drawback: speed. By April 2021, it started using P2P servers for torrenting instead. These servers were also fast and good for torrenting.

Note #1 – In July 2020, NordVPN began updating its SOCKS5 servers. This made some servers unavailable. You can check the NordVPN Server Selection page for more info.

Note #2 – NordVPN has a helpful tutorial on setting up SOCKS5 proxy on uTorrent.

These are quick reviews of SOCKS5 servers from six top VPN providers.

Pros

  • Thousands of lightning-fast and well-optimized servers
  • Unblocks all the major streaming sites
  • Fully supports Torrenting and P2P
  • Strict no-logs policy and RAM-disk servers
  • Ad blocker and malware protection features
  • Robust security features and military-grade encryption to protect you from DDoS attacks and other online threats
  • 24/7 live chat support
  • 30-day money-back guarantee

Cons

  • Only 6 simultaneous connections
  • No free trial

6. Windscribe

Windscribe is changing how we browse the web. Its VPN client is simple and charming. Its SOCKS5 servers are just as easy to use.

You can generate SOCKS5 servers on its website. No extra credentials needed. It’s easy to set up from the Windscribe app. We tested it on a Windows desktop and found it fast and reliable.

But, its US servers (from India) slowed down our internet by about 20%. This might not be ideal. Yet, our IP was always hidden.

Verdict – If you’re a Windscribe Pro user, use its SOCKS5 servers for free. It’s super easy to set up.

Pros

  • 10 GB Free plan available
  • Unlimited simultaneous connections
  • Top security features
  • Suitable for torrenting
  • Good no-logs policy

Cons

  • No independent audit
  • Average speeds
  • Sometimes does not work with stremaing
  • WireGuard only on Android

How Does Socks5 in VPN Help?

Using a SOCKS5 setup in a VPN client lets you pick from many proxy servers. This makes it easy and fast to unblock sites. It also offers extra protection if one connection fails.

But, it’s best to connect your apps directly to a reliable SOCKS5 proxy server. This keeps your connection safe. Using a VPN and proxy together can cause problems.

SOCKS5 doesn’t encrypt your data, unlike a VPN. This means your online activities can be seen by others. Your internet service provider might also know what you’re doing online.

In places like China and Iran, this setup is risky. It’s better to use a VPN that encrypts your data for more privacy.

Applications of SOCKS5 With an Example

SOCKS5 is useful for:

  • Bypassing sites like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, Wikipedia, Reddit, Twitter, etc.
  • Hiding your IP address while torrenting (peer-to-peer sharing)
  • Private file sharing across protocols like HTTP and FTP

Here’s an example:

Clara from London wants to hide her torrent connections. She uses uTorrent for P2P sharing. Her IP address is 192.186.9.9. How can SOCKS5 help her?

Setting up a SOCKS5 proxy on uTorrent masks her IP address. Once set up, all torrent traffic goes through the proxy server. Her P2P connections show the proxy server’s IP, not her own.

This hides Clara’s IP and lets her torrent safely. She can also use SOCKS5 to unblock Netflix US from London.

How to Set Up SOCKS5?

Setting up SOCKS5 on any app is quick and easy. Here’s how to do it on uTorrent.

  1. Open uTorrent and go to Preferences
  2. In Connection, choose Proxy Server and pick SOCKS5
  3. Enter the proxy URL (e.g.: proxy-nl.privateinternetaccess.com) and port number (e.g.: 1080)
  4. Choose Authentication and input your VPN provider’s credentials
  5. Click on Apply
uTorrent connection settings screen

First, set up your proxy. Then, check if it’s working. You can do this by going to ipleak.net and following the instructions. We explained how to test it in a previous guide here.

Or, you can skip this by using SOCKS5 from PIA or TorGuard. They have VPN clients with SOCKS5 proxy support built-in.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About SOCKS5

Here are answers to common questions about SOCKS5.

Will SOCKS5 provide 100% anonymity?

No. No proxy or software offers 100% anonymity. SOCKS5 hides your IP but doesn’t encrypt, so it’s not fully anonymous.

What are the advantages of SOCKS5?

SOCKS5 makes it easy to unblock sites, has no traffic limits, and offers fast, reliable connections. It also supports P2P well.

How is SOCKS5 better than previous SOCKS versions?

SOCKS5 uses new security methods like one-way or two-way (GSS-API) authentication. This is not found in older versions like SOCKS4.

Is SOCKS5 a paid feature?

Yes. You need to buy SOCKS5 proxy servers. But, many providers give it away for free with their VPN.

Can I use SOCKS5 and VPN?

Yes, you can use them together. But, it’s not recommended. It might mess up your connection and privacy. It’s safer to use one or the other.

How to use SOCKS5 with VPN?

You can use VPNs like Surfshark, Private Internet Access, and TorGuard with SOCKS5.

Which one is better: SOCKS5 or VPN?

It depends on what you need. SOCKS5 is good for hiding your IP for unblocking sites. VPNs offer more security with encryption and are better for torrenting and sharing private data.

Should I use free proxies?

No. Free proxies are unreliable and don’t provide good privacy.

These articles could be helpful too
Leave Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *