Squid vs SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway

SSquid9.1Visit SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway7.8Visit

Higher score S Squid #2 in Forward Proxy Software 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 3 features Visit Squid

vs

SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway #8 in Forward Proxy Software 7.8/10 Pricing on request ✓ 3 of 3 features Visit SafeSquid

• Squid fits best

  Free caching and enterprise-style proxy control

• SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway fits best

  Hybrid gateways needing strong identity integration

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Side by side

Feature	SSquid 9.1/10 Visit ↗	SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway 7.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	7.8
Ranking	#2 in Forward Proxy Software	#8 in Forward Proxy Software
Best for	Free caching and enterprise-style proxy control	Hybrid gateways needing strong identity integration
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	Pricing on request
Free plan	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	Web, Windows, Linux
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Tickets, Community, Docs
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Squid 0/3 · SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway 3/3
SSL inspection	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Web filtering	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
User authentication	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Deployment	Not checked yet	Hybrid
Proxy protocols	Not checked yet	Http/https
Concurrent connections	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Free, open-source deployment with no commercial license tier Caches HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and gopher content in memory or on disk ACLs, cache peering, load balancing, and request logging support control	Broad HTTP/HTTPS filtering, SSL inspection, and application controls Integrates with Active Directory, LDAP, Kerberos, ICAP, and SIEM systems Supports malware scanning, DLP, reporting, clustering, and hybrid deployment
Cons	Self-hosted deployment requires your team to manage the server Configuration spans proxy, cache, access-control, and peer settings Not a vendor-managed cloud proxy service	Pricing is handled through sales rather than a public rate card Its broad policy scope may require more administration than a narrow proxy Its forwarding focus is centered on HTTP and HTTPS traffic
Our verdict	Squid is an open-source, self-hosted forward proxy caching server for network operators, websites, and organizations managing web traffic. It caches and reuses HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and gopher objects, with support for both in-memory and… Read the review →	SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway is a software-based HTTP(S) forward proxy for enterprise web security. It inspects and controls Layer 7 traffic, with URL, domain, text, image, and custom-category filtering alongside HTTPS inspection, malware… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Squid — where it wins

  • Free, open-source deployment with no commercial license tier
  • Caches HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and gopher content in memory or on disk
  • ACLs, cache peering, load balancing, and request logging support control

  Where it doesn't

  • Self-hosted deployment requires your team to manage the server
  • Configuration spans proxy, cache, access-control, and peer settings
  • Not a vendor-managed cloud proxy service

• SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway — where it wins

  • Broad HTTP/HTTPS filtering, SSL inspection, and application controls
  • Integrates with Active Directory, LDAP, Kerberos, ICAP, and SIEM systems
  • Supports malware scanning, DLP, reporting, clustering, and hybrid deployment

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing is handled through sales rather than a public rate card
  • Its broad policy scope may require more administration than a narrow proxy
  • Its forwarding focus is centered on HTTP and HTTPS traffic

• SSquid9.1/10 · Free plan

  Free open-source proxy software with caching, access controls, and cache peering.

  Visit SquidFull verdict →
• SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway7.8/10 · Pricing on request

  A hybrid forward proxy with deep filtering, identity controls, inspection, and reporting.

  Visit SafeSquidFull verdict →