Shadowsocks AlternativesVPN Services and other similar apps like Shadowsocks

Shadowsocks is described as 'Secure SOCKS5 proxy with strong encryption, cross-platform support, high-speed asynchronous networking, open-source code, and easy deployment across devices' and is a very popular VPN service in the security & privacy category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Shadowsocks for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Android, Mac, iPhone and Linux apps. The best Shadowsocks alternative is Tor, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Shadowsocks are Mullvad VPN, OpenVPN Connect, WireGuard and Tor VPN.

Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard
Shadowsocks alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Tor icon
     1822 likes

    Tor is free software and an open network that helps you defend against traffic analysis, a form of network surveillance that threatens personal freedom and privacy, confidential business activities and relationships, and state security.

    62 Tor alternatives

    Cost / License

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
     
    |
    1
  2. Mullvad VPN icon
     279 likes

    Delivers anonymous, privacy-focused VPN connections with no signup data or logs, anonymous payments, support for the latest encryption, WireGuard multihop, SOCKS5, DNS ad-blocking, kill switch, high-speed servers up to 40Gb/s, and open-source transparency.

    227 Mullvad VPN alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Chrome OS
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • F-Droid
    • WireGuard
    • Tor
    • OpenWrt
    • Tomato
    • pfSense
    • DD-WRT
     
  3. OpenVPN Connect icon
     772 likes

    OpenVPN Connect provides flexible VPN solutions to secure your data communications, whether it's for Internet privacy, remote access for employees, securing IoT, or for networking Cloud data centers.

    59 OpenVPN Connect alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Freemium
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • Cloudron
     
  4. WireGuard icon
     261 likes

    Implements modern cryptographic standards, maintains a small codebase for security auditing, ensures fast cross-platform VPN performance, supports embedded and enterprise environments, offers easy deployment, IPv4/IPv6, secure key exchange, and mobile app support.

    59 WireGuard alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • BSD
    • iPad
    • Self-Hosted
    • FreeBSD
    • OpenWrt
    • Termux
     
  5. Tor VPN icon
     60 likes

    A VPN that grants network-level privacy on mobile by routing app traffic through Tor, assigns each app a separate circuit for improved separation, bypasses app-level censorship, features per-app routing, security via Rust-based implementation, and awaits early adopter feedback.

    61 Tor VPN alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
     
  6. Windscribe icon
     179 likes

    Windscribe is a desktop application and browser extension that work together to block ads and trackers, restore access to blocked content and help you safeguard your privacy online.

    219 Windscribe alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Microsoft Edge
    • Google Chrome
    • Apple TV
    • F-Droid
    • Android TV
    • Fire TV
    • Mozilla Firefox
    • HUAWEI AppGallery
     
  7. I2P icon
     238 likes

    The I2P network provides strong privacy protections for communication over the Internet. Many activities that would risk your privacy on the public Internet can be conducted anonymously inside I2P.

    46 I2P alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • BSD
    • F-Droid
     
  8. Psiphon icon
     254 likes

    Enjoy unfiltered Internet access globally using Psiphon's open-source VPN. It offers AES-256 encryption, split tunneling, WireGuard support, and more, all without requiring user registration. Perfect for communities in censored regions and those seeking privacy-focused alternatives.

    193 Psiphon alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
     
  9. Obscura VPN icon
     21 likes

    Privacy-focused VPN without IP or traffic logs, ensuring user anonymity with random logins; supports Bitcoin payments, uses end-to-end encryption through WireGuard; excels in bypassing internet filters and maintaining user anonymity with two-party protocol involving exit servers operated by Mullvad.

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • iPhone
    • WireGuard
     
  10. RiseupVPN icon
     42 likes

    Riseup offers Personal VPN service for censorship circumvention, location anonymization and traffic encryption. To make this possible, it sends all your internet traffic through an encrypted connection to riseup.net, where it then goes out onto the public internet.

    123 RiseupVPN alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • F-Droid
    • Snapcraft
     
  11. Outline VPN icon
     35 likes

    Journalists need safe access to information to research issues, communicate with sources, and report the news. Outline lets news organizations easily provide their network safer access to the open internet.

    188 Outline VPN alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • AppImageHub
    • Homebrew
    • F-Droid
     
12 of 188 Shadowsocks alternatives