VPNs, proxies, and Tor are all tools that can change your IP address and give you some degree of online privacy. But they work very differently, offer very different levels of protection, and are suited for very different use cases. Choosing the wrong one can leave you thinking you are protected when you are actually exposed.
What Is a Proxy?
A proxy server acts as a middleman between your device and the internet. When you send a request through a proxy, the request goes to the proxy server first, which then forwards it to the destination website. The website sees the proxy's IP address instead of yours.
Crucially, proxies do not encrypt your traffic. Your ISP can still see every website you visit and every piece of data you transfer. The only thing a proxy hides is your IP address from the destination website. There are different types of proxies -- HTTP proxies only work with web traffic, SOCKS5 proxies work with any type of traffic, and transparent proxies do not even hide your IP. Most free web proxies are HTTP-only and offer minimal privacy.
What Is Tor?
Tor (The Onion Router) routes your traffic through three randomly selected volunteer-operated servers (called nodes or relays) around the world. Each relay only knows the identity of the relay immediately before and after it, so no single point in the chain knows both who you are and what you are accessing.
Tor provides the strongest anonymity of any of these tools. It uses layered encryption -- each relay peels off one layer, like layers of an onion -- which is why it is called 'onion routing.' The entry node knows your IP but not your destination. The exit node knows the destination but not your IP. This makes it extremely difficult for anyone to trace traffic back to you.
The tradeoff is speed. Because your traffic bounces through three servers in different countries, Tor is painfully slow. Typical speeds are 2-5 Mbps, making it unusable for streaming, gaming, or large downloads. Tor is designed for anonymity, not performance.
What Is a VPN?
A VPN encrypts all traffic from your device and routes it through a single server operated by the VPN company. Unlike a proxy, a VPN encrypts everything -- not just browser traffic, but all applications on your device. Unlike Tor, a VPN uses a single hop instead of three, which means much faster speeds (typically 85-98% of your normal speed with a good VPN).
The trust model is different too. With Tor, you trust the design of the network (no single node can identify you). With a VPN, you trust the VPN provider not to log or misuse your data. This is why choosing a VPN with a verified no-logs policy and independent audits is so important.
Head-to-Head Comparison
Encryption
- VPN: Full encryption (AES-256 or ChaCha20) on all device traffic
- Proxy: No encryption whatsoever
- Tor: Layered encryption through three relays
Speed
- VPN: Fast (85-98% of baseline with WireGuard)
- Proxy: Fast (no encryption overhead, but depends on proxy server)
- Tor: Very slow (2-5 Mbps typical, due to triple relay routing)
Anonymity Level
- VPN: High (hides IP from websites, encrypts from ISP, but VPN provider can see traffic)
- Proxy: Low (hides IP only, no encryption, proxy operator sees everything)
- Tor: Very high (no single point knows both your identity and destination)
Ease of Use
- VPN: Very easy (install app, click connect)
- Proxy: Moderate (configure per-app or use browser extension)
- Tor: Easy (download Tor Browser), but slow and some sites block Tor exit nodes
Cost
- VPN: $2-5/month for a reputable service, some free options exist
- Proxy: Many free options available, paid SOCKS5 proxies cost $5-15/month
- Tor: Completely free and open-source
Streaming
- VPN: Excellent (top VPNs unblock Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, etc.)
- Proxy: Poor (most streaming services block known proxy IPs)
- Tor: Impossible (too slow for video, and most streaming sites block Tor)
Torrenting
- VPN: Excellent (encrypts P2P traffic, hides IP from peers)
- Proxy: Moderate (SOCKS5 proxies work but no encryption)
- Tor: Strongly discouraged (slow speeds, puts strain on volunteer network)
When to Use Each
Use a Proxy When:
You just need to bypass a simple geo-block and you do not care about encryption. For example, accessing a region-locked website at work. Proxies are fine for low-stakes tasks where privacy is not a concern.
Use Tor When:
Maximum anonymity is your priority and speed does not matter. Journalists communicating with sources, whistleblowers, activists in repressive countries, and anyone who needs to be untraceable should use Tor. For everyday browsing, Tor is overkill and impractical.
Use a VPN When:
You want strong privacy and encryption without sacrificing speed. For 95% of people, a VPN is the right choice. It protects all your traffic, works with streaming and torrenting, and is easy to use on every device. If you are reading this article trying to decide which tool to use, the answer is almost certainly a VPN.
Can You Combine Them?
Yes. Several VPNs offer 'Tor over VPN' features that route your VPN-encrypted traffic through the Tor network for double protection. NordVPN offers this as 'Onion over VPN,' and Proton VPN's Secure Core feature provides a similar multi-hop approach. This gives you the encryption of a VPN plus the anonymity of Tor, though speeds will be significantly slower.
For most people, a good VPN alone provides more than enough privacy and security. Only combine VPN + Tor if you have a specific threat model that requires maximum anonymity.