ProxyNestHow to test proxy speed and remove dead proxies in bulk
Proxy lists decay: datacenter IPs get banned, residential peers go offline, and plans expire. A quick bulk test before a work session saves you from debugging a dead proxy in the middle of a task.
What “speed” means for a proxy
A browser cares about latency more than bandwidth: how long it takes for a small request to go through the proxy and back. Rough guide for a request to a nearby server:
| Latency | Feels like |
|---|---|
| < 800 ms | Normal browsing |
| 0.8 – 2.5 s | Usable, pages feel sluggish |
| > 2.5 s | Slow; expect timeouts on heavy sites |
Distance matters: a proxy on another continent adds 150–300 ms per round trip, and HTTPS needs several round trips.
Reading failures
- Unreachable — nothing answers on that host:port (offline, wrong port, or blocked by your network).
- Timeout — it accepted the connection but did not deliver an answer in 12 seconds.
- Wrong username or password — the proxy replied 407 to the credentials. Check for typos or an expired plan.
- SOCKS5 with password — Chrome cannot use it at all; see why.
Bulk testing with ProxyNest
- Select proxies (or none to test the whole filtered list) and press Check. Six run in parallel.
- Filter by Not working to review failures.
- Press Remove dead to delete every proxy whose last check failed, or keep them and let rotation skip them.
Try it in Chrome
ProxyNest pastes any proxy list, logs in automatically and checks every proxy’s IP, location and speed — free for up to 3 proxies.
Add ProxyNest to Chrome
ProxyNest pastes any proxy list, logs in automatically and checks every proxy’s IP, location and speed — free for up to 3 proxies.
Add ProxyNest to Chrome
Tip: run checks when you start work rather than constantly — each check is a real request through the proxy and counts toward bandwidth on metered plans.