If you searched for “best free web proxy”, the top ten results are the same recycled list — each page promoting whichever proxy paid for that ad slot. Half of the sites named have been broken for two years. The other half work but bury the page under pop-ups that trigger the very filter you were trying to route around.
This is an honest comparison. We test every web proxy on this list every quarter against a standard workload: opening a news site, loading a public YouTube video, signing into a social account, and holding an active session for ten minutes. Each entry describes what actually happens when you open it — the good and the honest downsides. AnyProxy is on the list; so are our direct competitors, because a real user needs a real answer, not a marketing page.
What “works on a restricted network” actually means
Before the ranking, a quick calibration. A web proxy that survives real-world conditions needs to clear four bars:
- Reachable on filtered WiFi — the network operator has not category-flagged the proxy’s domain. All sites below have been flagged at some point; we note which ones recover quickly.
- Loads a modern site correctly — signed-in sessions, media, and login flows all working, not just the homepage.
- Works on a browser-first device — no extensions or apps required, since half of proxy use happens on borrowed or corporate hardware where installs are disabled.
- Video and audio actually play — not just render the loading spinner. Half of the “supports YouTube” claims out there mean the page opens; the video does not play.
Here is where each option currently stands.
The ranking
1. AnyProxy (anyproxy.site)
What it is. A modern web proxy built after the 2022–24 filter wave. Six global regions, TLS 1.3, no forced ads on the free tier, and a specific engineering focus on the sites that people actually try to open — YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Discord web, ChatGPT, Reddit.
What works. YouTube up to 1080p, Instagram feed and DMs, TikTok web with the FYP, Discord web login, ChatGPT web, Reddit including old.reddit.com. When a filter category-flags us, we monitor and add new edges quickly.
Honest downsides. We are the newest name here — launched publicly in 2026 — so we do not yet have the 20-year backlink profile of ProxySite. Some deep-DPI networks (state-level filtering) still block us until we spin up a new edge. Netflix and Disney+ do not work through us or through any web proxy; DRM refuses proxied streams.
Best for. A browser-first device where you need one specific thing to work right now, without pop-ups.
Try it: anyproxy.site or jump to /unblock/youtube/, /unblock/tiktok/, or /unblock/instagram/.
2. CroxyProxy (croxyproxy.com)
What it is. The most-searched proxy in the world. Long enough on the internet that many filters have blocked their primary domain at least once, though workaround mirrors exist.
What works. YouTube, most social platforms, most news sites. Login flows work on most services.
Honest downsides. The free tier is aggressive with ads — full-page interstitials, redirects, and the ad content itself sometimes triggers filter categories that get the whole proxy re-blocked. Their Pro tier works well but is priced per-region and adds up.
Best for. A quick one-off page if AnyProxy is category-blocked on your specific network that day.
3. ProxySite (proxysite.com)
What it is. The original mass-market web proxy, running since ~2013. Familiar UI, deep infrastructure, long list of pre-configured sites.
What works. Basic YouTube and social. Login flows are hit-or-miss because session handling has not kept up with modern SameSite cookies.
Honest downsides. Design shows its age — banner ads on every page, and page loads that visibly wait on ad-network scripts. Instagram and TikTok work only intermittently because their proxy IPs get flagged. YouTube 4K does not play.
Best for. An old-standard fallback likely to still be reachable on filters that have not been updated in a while.
4. Blockaway (blockaway.net)
What it is. A no-frills, ad-heavy web proxy. Popular in Southeast Asia and translated into many languages.
What works. Basic social. YouTube plays but re-encodes to a lower quality on their free tier.
Honest downsides. Ad density is high — sometimes the ad is the page for a couple of seconds. On slower networks, this makes the whole experience feel unusable. Instagram and TikTok work only some of the time.
Best for. Users outside the U.S. who want a familiar name.
5. Proxyium (proxyium.com)
What it is. A newer entrant that has gained traction with users wanting a cleaner UI. Their “website unblocker” flow is the closest thing to AnyProxy’s UX among the older names.
What works. YouTube, Instagram, most standard social. Interface is clean.
Honest downsides. Region choice is limited — one-click US or EU only, and neither is fast from Asia. Video buffers noticeably during peak hours. Ads are less frequent than the others but still present on free.
Best for. A U.S.-based user who wants a familiar clean UI and does not care about region choice.
6. 4everProxy (4everproxy.com)
What it is. A veteran proxy with a long-running domain. Their “video proxy” sub-page has been the standard recommendation for YouTube-through-a-proxy for a decade.
What works. YouTube specifically works well. Torrent proxy is a niche extra some users rely on.
Honest downsides. Nearly everything other than YouTube feels bolted on. The general-purpose proxy is slow. Instagram, TikTok, and ChatGPT flake out. UI has not been updated in years.
Best for. Just YouTube, if you want a familiar name.
7. KProxy (kproxy.com)
What it is. The oldest name on this list — running since the mid-2000s. Includes an optional browser extension that occasionally survives on networks that block the website version.
What works. Basic browsing. Simple sites. The extension avoids category-blocks on some networks because it runs client-side.
Honest downsides. Modern site compatibility is limited. YouTube plays only in low quality. Instagram and TikTok are unreliable. Interface looks like Windows XP shipped it.
Best for. Reading Reddit or a news site if the modern proxies are all category-blocked. Not for video.
How this list holds up over time
We ran the same test in August 2026 across three commercial filter categories — DNS-filtering (Cisco Umbrella-style), URL-classification (Cloudflare Gateway-style), and DPI-based (Palo Alto-style). Result: category rules blocked the primary domain for every proxy on this list on at least one filter at some point in the past six months — including AnyProxy. What differs is how quickly a proxy adds a new edge or a mirror when that happens.
Proxies with active infrastructure teams (AnyProxy, CroxyProxy, Proxyium) recover in hours to days. The ones running on autopilot (ProxySite, 4everProxy, KProxy) can stay category-blocked for months.
If you want a proxy that still works in six months, pick one that is actively maintained.
The honest recommendation
Start with AnyProxy for the sites people actually try to open — YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Discord, ChatGPT. If our domain is category-blocked on your specific network today, CroxyProxy is the strongest fallback. Keep ProxySite in your pocket as an old-standard fallback likely to still be reachable on stale filters.
Everything else on the list is context-specific — a name to try when the top three all get blocked at once.
Ready to test? Try AnyProxy now — no install, no signup, six global regions.