A proxy routes one tab. A VPN routes your whole device. That is the entire summary — the rest is nuance.
The one-sentence version
A web proxy is a website. You open anyproxy.site, type a site’s address, and the target page loads inside that same tab. Nothing is installed, and nothing keeps running when you close the tab, though the proxied addresses stay in your browser history. The proxy handles everything that passes through that tab: the pages it fetches and anything you type into them. AnyProxy is not a no-logs service; its privacy policy lists what it can record.
A VPN is an app that runs on your operating system. Once it is on, every request from every program — browser, email client, Steam, Slack, whatever — is wrapped in an encrypted tunnel to the VPN’s server. The VPN operator can see everything your device sends through the tunnel; your ISP sees only the encrypted tunnel. It is a heavier tool.
When you want a proxy
- You need one blocked site on a managed browser, right now.
- The page you need is region-restricted or blocked on your current network.
- You have no time or permission to install anything.
- The device is shared and you do not want to leave software behind.
When you want a VPN
- You want your whole device on a different network — public Wi-Fi safety, gaming region, or workflow that spans multiple apps.
- You need every browser and every mobile app to appear from a specific country.
- You want an encrypted tunnel that covers all your device traffic, not just one browser tab.
- You are willing to install an app and manage a monthly subscription.
The comparison table
| AnyProxy (web proxy) | A VPN app | |
|---|---|---|
| Install anything | No | Yes, an app |
| Create an account | No (free tier) | Usually |
| Cost | Free tier; Pro $4.99 a month or $39 a year | Usually a paid subscription; free VPNs exist |
| Managed Chromebook or work laptop | Runs in a tab, unless the admin blocks the proxy’s site | Needs an install, often not allowed |
| Speed | Depends on distance to the region (see below) | Depends on distance to the server |
| Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video | Not supported | Sometimes, if the service has not blocked that VPN |
| Phone apps | No, browser only | Yes |
| Whole-device coverage | ✗ (one tab) | ✓ |
| Encrypts local network traffic | Only to the proxy | Yes, all traffic |
| Best for | Opening one blocked site, now | All-day, all-app privacy |
What each one hides
A proxy hides the destination site from your local network and hides your IP from the destination site. The network can still see that you are using a proxy. Browser features that the proxy does not carry, such as WebRTC for video calls, can still reveal your real IP to the page. It does not hide your identity from a site you sign in to.
A VPN hides the destination site from your local network for every app on your device — not just one browser tab. Your ISP sees an encrypted tunnel, not the pages you open. It also does not hide your identity from a site you sign in to.
Speed differences
Both add one hop between you and the destination, and the cost of that hop is mostly distance. We measured AnyProxy once, from India on 15 October 2026, loading Wikipedia four times per route: median 1.15 s direct, 1.41 s through Singapore, 2.42 s through Frankfurt and 3.65 s through Virginia. We did not measure a VPN. The same rule applies to both: a server near you costs little; one on the far side of the world costs a lot.
Which one for streaming?
For ordinary web video, a proxy can work, but not for everything. On 15 October 2026 a regular YouTube video and TikTok played through AnyProxy, while YouTube Shorts stayed black and Vimeo stopped at a Cloudflare check that failed. A VPN does not rewrite pages, so these behave as on a direct connection, though we did not test one.
For Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video: these are not supported through AnyProxy. They need an account and apply licence and region checks. A VPN works only sometimes, because these services block addresses they recognise as VPN servers. DRM on its own is not the barrier: a Widevine-protected test clip from Google’s Shaka Player demo played through AnyProxy on 15 October 2026.
The honest answer
Most people asking “proxy or VPN?” only need to open one blocked page. That is what a web proxy is for. If you find yourself opening the proxy every hour, or wanting privacy on public Wi-Fi across every app on your phone, that is when the VPN subscription starts to earn its keep.
Try AnyProxy with a page you can’t open. If it does the job, you did not need the VPN.