SOCKS5 is a general-purpose proxy protocol that operates at the network layer, routing any type of TCP or UDP traffic — HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, or custom protocols. Unlike HTTP proxies, which only handle web traffic, SOCKS5 proxies work with any application that supports the SOCKS protocol.
SOCKS5 also supports authentication and can tunnel UDP traffic, making it suitable for use cases beyond web scraping: gaming, VoIP, torrenting, and custom client applications. Most proxy providers offer both HTTP and SOCKS5 endpoints from the same IP pool, giving you flexibility to choose based on your client library or use case.