At SOAX, we provide full support for HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5 protocols — allowing you to choose the most suitable option based on your specific needs and tasks.
This guide explains the differences between these protocols and helps you select the right one for your use case.
HTTP proxy
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is one of the most common protocols used for web browsing and web data extraction.
✅ Key advantages:
Simple and widely supported
Fully compatible with browsers, scrapers, and web automation tools
Supports caching to optimize performance
Easy to integrate and configure
Best for:
Web scraping
SEO monitoring
Ad verification
General browsing automation
HTTPS Proxy (NEW!)
We recently added full HTTPS support across all SOAX proxy types.
HTTPS adds an extra layer of security by encrypting the connection between your device and the SOAX proxy server.
✅ Key advantages:
Encrypted and secure connection
Protects sensitive data and prevents interception
Required for accessing modern websites that strictly enforce HTTPS connections
Seamless integration with most modern scraping tools and automation platforms
Best for:
Accessing secure websites that enforce HTTPS
Scraping modern platforms that require encrypted connections
Automation tools that default to HTTPS
Handling sensitive or private data
Extra protection against traffic interception
Performance note (for high-volume scraping tasks):
While HTTPS offers strong security benefits, encryption adds some processing overhead:
Maximum RPS (requests per second) may be approximately 6% lower compared to HTTP.
TTFB (time to first byte) may be approximately 15–26% higher due to encryption/decryption processes.
For most standard use cases, this performance difference is minimal.
For very high-speed scraping scenarios, HTTP may deliver slightly better raw performance.
How to use HTTPS:
Simply replace http:// with https:// in your proxy string.
No changes to credentials are required — everything else works the same.
Example:
curl -k -x "https://package-000000-country-us:<package_key>@proxy.soax.com:5000" -L https://checker.soax.com/api/ipinfo -v
SOCKS5 Proxy
SOCKS5 operates at a lower transport layer and supports a wider range of protocols beyond HTTP(S).
It handles both TCP and UDP traffic, offering high flexibility and stability for non-standard use cases.
✅ Key advantages:
Supports both TCP and UDP protocols
Low latency and highly stable connections
Helps bypass internet restrictions, geo-blocks, and firewalls
Supports authentication and optional encryption
Compatible with a wide range of non-web applications
Best for:
Digital marketing tools
E-commerce monitoring
DaaS platforms
Proxy reselling
Gaming, streaming, and latency-sensitive applications
Complex integrations beyond standard web traffic
Quick comparison table
Feature | HTTP | HTTPS | SOCKS5 |
Encryption | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ (optional) |
Protocol layer | Application | Application | Transport |
UDP support | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
Web scraping & browsing | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Gaming/streaming/non-web protocols | ❌ | ❌ | ✅ |
Which protocol should you choose?
HTTP — for most web scraping, browsing, and general automation tasks where maximum speed is desired.
HTTPS — when encryption and secure connections are required (or enforced by target websites).
SOCKS5 — for advanced non-web use cases, UDP support, and complex integrations.
💡 The good news: All SOAX proxies fully support HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS5. You can switch between them anytime depending on your needs.
Need help?
If you're not sure which protocol is best for your project, feel free to contact our support team — we’ll be happy to advise you and help you configure your proxies for optimal performance.