# Charles Proxy vs API

Charles Proxy and API both sit at 4.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of API's written reviews are positive against 52% of Charles Proxy's. API also leads on price (Free vs $8.99) and update cadence (every 6 days vs every 4 months). Charles Proxy's advantage is ratings volume (185 vs 1) and chart position (#46 vs unranked). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

API is free to download; Charles Proxy costs $8.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.0 for Charles Proxy against 4.0 for API. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Charles Proxy has 185 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 52% of Charles Proxy's written reviews are positive against 100% of API's.

Charles Proxy ships an update every 4 months, API every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and June 7, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Charles Proxy | API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $8.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.0 (185 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/charles-proxy/id1134218562/reviews)** | [4.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/api-client-testing/id6740306610/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **185** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 51.9% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | **Every 6 days** |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#46** | — |
| Size | 20 MB | 25 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [XK72 Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/284393209) | [Hoang Son Dinh](https://appshunter.io/developer/1560967856) |

## What reviewers say

### Charles Proxy

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/charles-proxy/id1134218562)

**Currently charting:** #46 Top Paid · Utilities (US App Store)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### API

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/api-client-testing/id6740306610)

Send and analyze HTTP/HTTPS requests directly from your mobile device. Save requests to collections for easy reuse and view detailed response information, including headers and round trip time. Customize connection timeout settings for efficient testing.

**Highlights:** Send HTTP/HTTPS requests, Analyze REST API responses, Request history, Save requests to collections, Display response headers and code, Customize connection timeout

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Charles Proxy free?

Charles Proxy costs $8.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is API free?

API is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Charles Proxy or API?

Charles Proxy is rated higher. Charles Proxy averages 4.0 out of 5 from 185 ratings, while API averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do Charles Proxy or API have ads?

Neither Charles Proxy nor API shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Charles Proxy or API?

Charles Proxy ships an update every 4 months, and API every 6 days. Most recently, Charles Proxy was updated on September 24, 2026 and API on June 7, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*