Glossary · Networking
VPN
A virtual private network that encrypts and routes all of your device's traffic through one server, where a proxy usually routes a single app.
A VPN and a proxy both change the address the internet sees, but they work at different levels. A VPN builds an encrypted tunnel that carries every connection your whole device makes, system-wide and secured. A proxy typically routes one application, the browser or the scraper you point at it, and does not necessarily encrypt anything.
That difference decides which fits. A VPN suits a person who wants all their traffic private and protected on one server. A proxy suits work that needs many different addresses, granular control per request, or a specific residential IP in a specific country, none of which a single VPN endpoint provides.
For scraping and automation the proxy model wins because it scales across addresses. One VPN gives you one exit; a proxy pool gives you thousands, which is the whole requirement for anything running at volume.
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