HTTP vs SOCKS5 Proxies: What's the Difference?
Updated 2026-10-28
For websites, use the HTTP proxy type: it opens HTTPS sites too, and every browser and antidetect tool can log in to it. Use SOCKS5 for apps that aren't web browsers or that only speak SOCKS5. Speed is the same.
HTTP proxies (and HTTPS sites)
An HTTP proxy opens a tunnel (CONNECT) to the site, and the encrypted HTTPS traffic passes straight through it: the proxy can't read it. That's why tools call it HTTP or HTTP/HTTPS. An "HTTPS proxy" setting, where the connection to the proxy itself is encrypted, is something else, and ProxyFall doesn't use it: set your tool to HTTP.
SOCKS5 proxies
SOCKS5 forwards any TCP connection, not only web traffic, and can resolve domain names at the proxy (socks5h://). Browsers can't send a username and password to a SOCKS5 proxy, so use HTTP there.
At ProxyFall both work on the same address, gw.proxyfall.com:59731, with the same login; a sticky session keeps the same IP over either. UDP isn't carried.
| HTTP | SOCKS5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Carries | Web traffic (HTTP and HTTPS) | Any TCP connection |
| Login in browsers | Yes | No |
| DNS at the proxy | Yes, for HTTPS tunnels | With socks5h:// |
| Speed | Same | Same |
See also: prices, providers compared and setup in your tools.