HTTPS Proxy Performance Benchmark

With over 95% of web traffic now encrypted, HTTPS performance through proxies is not optional -- it is the default operating mode. This benchmark measures the overhead that HTTPS proxying adds compared to direct connections, including TLS handshake time, cipher negotiation, and certificate validation.

Why HTTPS Overhead Matters

Every HTTPS request through a proxy involves two TLS handshakes: client-to-proxy and proxy-to-destination. This double handshake can add 50-200ms of overhead per request if not optimized. Providers that maintain persistent TLS sessions and use hardware-accelerated encryption can minimize this cost.

Test Configuration

We measured HTTPS performance using TLS 1.3 connections to 50 popular HTTPS endpoints. Each endpoint was tested with 2,000 requests measuring full TLS handshake time, session resumption rate, and total request overhead compared to HTTP-only connections.

TLS Handshake Performance

Hex Proxies completed full TLS 1.3 handshakes in a median of 28ms, with session resumption reducing subsequent handshakes to 8ms. The session resumption rate was 89%, meaning most follow-up requests avoided the full handshake cost.

| Metric | Hex Proxies | Provider B | Provider C | Industry Average | |--------|------------|-----------|-----------|-----------------| | Full TLS handshake | 28ms | 52ms | 78ms | 58ms | | Session resumption | 8ms | 18ms | 35ms | 22ms | | Resumption rate | 89% | 72% | 55% | 65% | | HTTPS overhead vs HTTP | +15% | +32% | +48% | +38% | | TLS 1.3 support | Yes | Yes | Partial | Varies |

HTTPS Overhead Analysis

Hex Proxies added only 15% latency overhead for HTTPS compared to HTTP requests. This is achieved through TLS session caching, hardware-accelerated encryption, and support for TLS 1.3 zero-round-trip resumption. Competing providers showed 32-48% overhead, significantly impacting performance for HTTPS-heavy workloads.

Cipher Suite Performance

We tested performance across common cipher suites. AES-256-GCM with X25519 key exchange (the TLS 1.3 default) showed the best performance on Hex Proxies infrastructure, with no measurable penalty compared to weaker ciphers. This means users get maximum security without sacrificing speed.

Certificate Validation

Proxy-side certificate validation adds latency if not cached. Hex Proxies caches certificate chains and OCSP responses, reducing validation overhead to under 2ms for previously seen certificates. First-time validation averages 15ms, compared to 30-50ms for providers without caching.

HTTP/2 Multiplexing Through HTTPS Proxies

Hex Proxies supports HTTP/2 multiplexing over HTTPS CONNECT tunnels, allowing multiple requests to share a single TLS connection. In our tests, multiplexing reduced per-request overhead by 65% for workloads making 10+ requests to the same destination, as the TLS handshake cost is amortized.

Recommendations

For HTTPS-heavy workloads, prioritize providers with TLS 1.3 support, high session resumption rates, and HTTP/2 multiplexing. Hex Proxies delivers all three, keeping HTTPS overhead to a minimum while maintaining full encryption security.