Forward proxy vs reverse proxy: what's the difference?
Short answer
A forward proxy sits in front of clients: your browser or script sends requests to it, and it connects to websites for you, so the sites see the proxy's IP instead of yours. A reverse proxy sits in front of servers: visitors connect to it as if it were the site, and it passes each request to the servers behind it. Forward proxies are used to choose where outgoing traffic comes from, and reverse proxies to balance load, cache content and terminate TLS for a site.
Forward proxy vs reverse proxy at a glance
| Feature | Forward proxy | Reverse proxy |
|---|---|---|
| Sits in front of | Clients: browsers, scripts, apps | Servers: websites, APIs, apps |
| Who sets it up | The client side, which is configured to use it | The site owner; visitors usually can't tell it's there |
| Whose IP it hides | The client's, from the sites it visits | The servers', from the visitors |
| Who connects to it | Your own apps and tools | Anyone who visits the site |
| Typical jobs | Choosing the exit IP and location, outbound access control, caching for a network | Load balancing, TLS termination, caching, compression, routing requests |
| Common examples | Corporate web proxies, commercial proxy networks | NGINX, HAProxy, Caddy, load balancers and CDNs |
- Your app
- Forward proxy
- Website
The website sees the proxy's IP address, not your app's.
- Visitor
- Reverse proxy
- Your servers
The visitor only ever talks to the reverse proxy.
When to use each
Use a forward proxy to
- Choose which IP and country your outgoing requests come from
- Check localized content, prices or ads as visitors in another market see them
- Control or log outgoing traffic from a network
- Route one tool's traffic without changing the whole device
Use a reverse proxy to
- Spread incoming traffic across several app servers
- Terminate TLS in one place and manage certificates centrally
- Cache and compress responses before they reach visitors
- Keep origin servers off the public internet and route requests by host or path
Who each one works for
Both are servers that pass requests along. The difference is whose side they are on. A forward proxy works for the client: you configure your browser, script or tool to send its requests to the proxy, and the proxy opens the connection to the website. A reverse proxy works for the website: the site's domain points at it, visitors connect to it, and it hands each request to one of the servers behind it.
So a forward proxy changes what websites see about the client, and a reverse proxy changes what visitors see about the servers.
One program, either role
The role comes from how a proxy is deployed, not from the software. Squid is mostly run as a forward caching proxy but can also sit in front of web servers, and NGINX is mostly run as a reverse proxy. A CDN works as a reverse proxy spread across many locations: visitors reach its edge servers, which serve cached content or fetch it from your origin.
Where BuyProxy fits
BuyProxy sells forward proxies. You point a client at a gateway host and port with a username and password, and each request leaves from an IP in the pool or rental you chose. That kind of gateway is often called a backconnect proxy. BuyProxy doesn't host reverse proxies; for that side, our reverse proxy guide has use cases and an NGINX example.
Forward proxies from BuyProxy
Each line works over HTTP (which also carries HTTPS) or SOCKS5, with username and password authentication. Pick the type by the IPs a job needs.
- Core ResidentialRotating residential IPs in 195+ countries with country targeting.
- Premium ResidentialResidential IPs with state, city and ASN targeting and sticky sessions you set.
- SOCKS5 proxiesSOCKS5 on every network, for tools that speak SOCKS5 rather than HTTP. SOCKS5 lines use their own port, shown on each line.
- Static ISP ProxiesA fixed ISP IP for the whole rental, for allowlists and long-lived sessions.
- All proxy typesResidential, mobile, ISP, datacenter and IPv6 side by side, with live per-GB prices.
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between a forward and a reverse proxy?
Which side it serves. A forward proxy acts for clients and hides their IP from the sites they visit. A reverse proxy acts for servers and receives visitors' requests on their behalf.
Is a load balancer a reverse proxy?
An HTTP load balancer is: it receives requests and passes them to backend servers. Some load balancers work at the connection level and only forward TCP connections, which is a narrower job than a full reverse proxy.
Is a VPN a forward proxy?
Not quite. Both forward your traffic, but a VPN tunnels and encrypts all of a device's traffic to the VPN server, while a forward proxy handles the apps or requests configured to use it and adds no encryption of its own.
Does BuyProxy offer reverse proxies?
No. BuyProxy sells forward proxies: residential, mobile, ISP, datacenter and IPv6 IPs, billed per GB or rented for a fixed period.
