Comparison

Charles Proxy vs Pharos Pro

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Charles Proxy

Capture and inspect network requests and responses directly on your iOS device. Debug networking issues without needing a computer. View detailed metadata, headers, and bodies, and even transfer sessions to a desktop for further analysis.

Highlights
  • Capture network requests and responses
  • Inspect metadata, headers, and bodies
  • SSL Proxying for plain text viewing
  • Measure network performance
  • Block requests to specific hosts
  • DNS spoofing
Features
Read full description

Charles Proxy for iOS lets you capture, inspect and modify network requests and responses on your iOS device. You can view metadata, headers and bodies in the app, so you can finally debug your app’s networking issues without a computer. Charles Proxy for iOS is an app from the creator of Charles Proxy for desktop. HOW IT WORKS Turn Charles on when you want to start capturing. Charles captures your network requests and responses in the background while you test your app or website. Return to Charles to inspect the requests and responses. If you also have Charles on your desktop, you can transfer recorded sessions to your desktop to explore them on the big screen. Charles creates a local VPN on your device. All of your network traffic passes through Charles on your device, and then out to the internet as usual over either WiFi or Mobile / Cellular data. There is no remote server involved, and your data always remains private to you. FEATURES * SSL Proxying to view SSL requests in plain text * View and share request and responses bodies * Syntax highlighting for text request and response bodies * Measure network performance over WiFi or Mobile / Cellular networks * Block requests to nominated hosts * DNS spoofing

About

Pharos Pro

This app acts as a powerful proxy client, capturing and redirecting all device traffic through configurable proxy servers. It supports numerous protocols and offers features like policy mode and node testing for secure and anonymous internet browsing.

Highlights
  • Capture all HTTP/HTTPS/TCP traffic
  • Redirect traffic to proxy servers
  • Support for multiple proxy protocols (Trojan, Vmess, SS, etc.)
  • Policy mode with Clash.Meta config
  • Subscribe to proxy configurations
  • Test node delay
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

*THIS APPLICATION DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY SERVER SIDE SERVICE* Pharos Pro is a simple but powerful proxy client. You can configure which traffics route to proxy servers,Its core value is to provide the most secure proxy, The NEVPNManager API gives Pharos Pro the ability to create and manage a Personal proxy configuration on iOS. It can capture all HTTP/HTTPS/TCP traffic from any applications on your device, and redirect to an HTTP/SOCK5 proxy server following highly configurable rules. # Feature: Capture all HTTP/HTTPS/TCP traffic from any applications on your device,and redirect to an HTTP/SOCK5 proxy server following highly configurable rules. - Support protocol : Trojan,Vmess,Https,SS,SS-Simpleobfs,SSR,Trojan-Go,Xray,Hysteria,,Tuic,Anytls,mieru. - Support policy mode with Clash.Meta config. - Support Subscribe. - Support scan QR code. - Support custom node. - Support test delay of node. - Easy to use — just tap the connect button. - Fast, reliable access to the safety internet. # What can you do with a proxy client? - Enhance your online privacy and enable you to safely and anonymously browse the Internet. - Protect you when using a public WIFI hotspot. - Allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet. #Notes: - Pharos Pro does not provide any server side services. Please setup your own servers. - Pharos Pro requires to add proxy Configurations to add your own proxy Configuration. - Pharos Pro is a client side application.No user data will be sent to our severs.More details are listed in https://pharospro.com/privacy-policy. # Privacy Policy: * When the user is in normal use, we will not log any logs related to the user. * Only when the app is crash, we will collect the necessary user connection and crash log. * Details: https://pharospro.com/privacy-policy

Screenshots

Charles Proxy4 screens
Pharos Pro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Charles Proxy at 4.0 against Pharos Pro's 3.2. Pharos Pro's advantage is price ($2.99 vs $8.99) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 4 months). On ratings volume, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Charles Proxy costs $8.99 and Pharos Pro $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Charles Proxy holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 185 and 105 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 52% of Charles Proxy's written reviews are positive against 64% of Pharos Pro's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Charles Proxy ships an update every 4 months, Pharos Pro every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Charles Proxy versus Pharos Pro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCharles ProxyPharos Pro
Price$8.99$2.99 — better
Rating4.0 (185 ratings) — better3.2 (105 ratings)
Positive reviews51.9% of reviews63.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings185 — better105
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#184 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB134 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperXK72 LimitedPharos Limited Co.,Ltd

Customer experience

Charles Proxy

All ratings185 ratings
Positive74.6%
Neutral5.4%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews231 reviews
Positive51.9%
Neutral11.7%
Negative36.4%

Pharos Pro

All ratings105 ratings
Positive55.2%
Neutral4.8%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews80 reviews
Positive63.7%
Neutral5.0%
Negative31.3%

User reviews

Charles Proxy

From 185 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great tool for developers
  • 👍 Useful for debugging
  • 🔒 SSL proxying works
  • 💡 Convenient to use on mobile

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Stability issues, crashes
  • 🐛 SSL certificate not trusted
  • 🐛 Doesn't handle gzip compression
  • 🐛 Slow performance compared to desktop

Pharos Pro

From 105 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and efficient
  • 👍 Supports many protocols
  • 👍 Compatible with Clash Meta
  • 👍 Good UI and interface
  • 👍 Fast speed

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Broken after updates
  • 🐛 Configuration lost after updates
  • 🐛 Crashes on import
  • 🐛 Cannot connect after upgrade
  • 🐛 VPN disconnects quickly

Bugs and requests

Charles Proxy

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Doesn't work with latest iOS versions
  • Fails to export sessions frequently
  • Incompatible with apps using VPN
  • Large JSON bodies not displayed properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to edit and replay requests
  • Improve JSON viewer and formatting
  • Add support for WebSockets
  • Provide option to map to local
  • Add scripting and breakpoint features

Pharos Pro

Reported bugs

24 issues
  • Configuration lost after updates
  • Crashes on import
  • Cannot connect after upgrade
  • VPN disconnects quickly
  • Not working on Mac
Show 19 more
  • Unusable
  • Cannot import addresses
  • Trojan protocol stops working
  • No support for socks5
  • Unstable connection
  • Cannot use at all
  • Configuration issues with Clash
  • Proxy mode not working
  • Cannot connect to VMess
  • Widget bug: cannot toggle on/off
  • App crashes occasionally on iOS 10.3.3
  • Incompatible with older devices
  • VPN connection unstable, switching between 4G and WiFi
  • Clash configuration not working for Netflix split
  • Update required error
  • Cannot connect b/c update is needed despite it being the latest version
  • Auto-update breaks connectivity
  • VPN closes automatically after a few seconds
  • Cannot enter tuic and hy2 protocols

Requested features

10 requests
  • Add select all option for deleting servers
  • Add widget support
  • Add dock function and night mode
  • Add iCloud sync between devices
  • Add websockets on vmess
Show 5 more
  • Add support for certificates on Trojan
  • Add IP address country icon for nodes
  • Add speed test display
  • Support for clash protocol
  • Support for testflight application

In-app purchases

None

Charles Proxy

No in-app purchases

None

Pharos Pro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Charles Proxy free?
Charles Proxy costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pharos Pro free?
Pharos Pro costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Charles Proxy or Pharos Pro?
Charles Proxy is rated higher. Charles Proxy averages 4.0 out of 5 from 185 ratings, while Pharos Pro averages 3.2 from 105 ratings.
Do Charles Proxy or Pharos Pro have ads?
Neither Charles Proxy nor Pharos Pro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Charles Proxy or Pharos Pro?
Charles Proxy ships an update every 4 months, and Pharos Pro every 6 weeks. Most recently, Charles Proxy was updated on September 24, 2026 and Pharos Pro on September 18, 2026.

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