Comparison

Surge 5 vs LocationLab

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

Head to head
About

Surge 5

This advanced network utility allows developers to intercept, process, and forward network traffic. It offers deep control over connections, including URL redirection, local file mapping, and HTTPS decryption. Ideal for debugging and network analysis.

Highlights
  • Network connection takeover
  • Modify network requests/responses
  • Forward traffic to other proxies
  • Intercept and save network data
  • Decrypt HTTPS traffic
  • Rule-based forwarding
  • Ad blocking by domain
Features
Read full description

Surge is an advanced network toolbox and proxy utility. It is designed for developers and therefore requires professional knowledge to use. These four capabilities form the core workflow of Surge: · Takeover: Take over the network connections sent by the device. Surge supports both proxy service and virtual NIC takeover, capturing HTTP, HTTPS, TCP, and UDP traffic from any app — even those ignoring proxy settings. All features work on the cellular network. · Processing: Modify the requests and responses that have been taken over: URL rewrite, header and body rewrite, local file mapping, custom DNS answers, and JavaScript-based modification. · Forwarding: Forward requests to proxy servers, either globally or driven by a flexible rule system. Policy groups select the best server automatically by latency, availability, or learned connection quality. · Intercept: Record and inspect requests and responses, including headers and bodies, and decrypt HTTPS traffic with MITM. Highlighted Features · Proxy protocols: HTTP/HTTPS, SOCKS5, SOCKS5-TLS, HTTP2 CONNECT, TrustTunnel, Shadowsocks, Snell, Trojan, Hysteria 2, AnyTLS, and SSH, with UDP relay support. · Used as a WireGuard or Tailscale client, converting the L3 VPN into a proxy policy. · Rules based on domain match/suffix/keyword/wildcard, CIDR IP range, GeoIP, ASN, protocol, port, and logical combinations; reusable rule sets hosted locally or remotely. · Policy groups: manual selection, automatic latency testing, fallback, load balancing, and the self-learning Smart group. · Complete DNS suite: DNS-over-HTTPS, DNS-over-HTTP/3, DNS-over-QUIC, DNS-over-TLS, and concurrent queries for the fastest answer. · Local DNS mapping (equivalent to /etc/hosts) with wildcards, aliases, and per-domain DNS servers. Switch your app between production and development environments without changing any code. · Decrypt HTTPS traffic with Man-in-the-Middle and a built-in CA certificate generator. · Record and display HTTP requests and responses with JSON, text, image, and video viewers for the captured body; album mode for the request list; pre-filter for capturing. · Raw L3 packet capture. · Scripting: extend Surge with JavaScript — modify requests and responses, write custom rules, customize DNS answers, and run scheduled tasks. · Block unwanted requests by rules with high-performance pre-matching. · Measure traffic usage and network speed on Wi-Fi, cellular, and proxy connections. · Remote Dashboard: observe and debug traffic in real time from a Mac via Wi-Fi or USB, including cellular traffic. · Surge Ponte: access your home or office network remotely via your own devices, with no third-party service involved. · HTTPS proxy protocol supports client-side TLS certificate validation. · Safari extension to add rules; widgets and Information Panel for quick control. · Sync profiles across devices with iCloud Drive or Dropbox. · Full IPv6 support, TLS 1.3, HTTP/2, and QUIC. · High performance and industrial-grade stability, suitable for intensive use. Surge does not provide any proxy or VPN service; you need to configure your own servers. You may read the online manual for more information: https://nssurge.com/support Terms and Conditions: https://nssurge.com/legal/terms Privacy Policy: https://nssurge.com/legal/privacy

About

LocationLab

Read full description

LocationLab helps iOS developers and QA testers reproduce location scenarios on their own test iPhone. Search for places, enter exact coordinates or select points on the map to test stationary and moving locations. Features: • Paste multiple coordinates at once, review the parsed count, errors and preview, then confirm a temporary route. • Reorder favorites and saved routes; optimize route order, reverse routes and remove duplicate points. • Create, edit, import and share GPX routes; share plain-text coordinates, one point per line. • Petal Orbit and Ring Orbit patterns with adjustable radius and speed, and continuous or jump transitions between centers. • Share original centers, expanded paths or offset copies without modifying the original route. • Fixed or varying speed, point-to-point arrival pauses, continuous or jump-back loops, and random roaming with adjustable range and speed. • Remember the last selected position without automatically starting simulation on relaunch. • Stop testing and restore the real location. The free tier includes three successful location settings per local calendar day and a homepage banner, subject to consent and ad availability. Pro offers monthly, three-month and annual auto-renewable subscriptions with identical features: unlimited location settings, up to 500 favorites and 100 saved routes, route playback/orbits, random roaming and no banner while Pro is active. Prices are shown in the app. Eligible customers can start a 7-day free trial with Apple purchase confirmation; declining a subscription does not remove the daily free allowance. Restore Purchases and Manage Subscription are on the Pro page. After entitlement expiry, saved data is retained but new paid actions are blocked. A route already started with a valid entitlement may continue for up to 24 hours after its last verified expiry. This does not extend other Pro access, and stopping ends the allowance. Connection loss or system termination can still interrupt playback. Restore Real Location, pairing import and connection recovery are not subject to the daily quota. Requirements: • iOS 26 or later with Developer Mode enabled. • On iOS 27 or later, choose LL Pair to create a pairing file on the iPhone and send or export it. On iOS 26, or when choosing computer setup, connect to a Mac or Windows PC by USB and use the LocationLab Setup Assistant. The macOS release is notarized; Windows may show SmartScreen. • After initial device pairing, use Wi-Fi or follow the app’s built-in tunnel and brief manual Airplane Mode steps to create or rebuild the local connection. The computer is not needed after setup. • If the local connection has failed, follow the app’s reconnection guide before restoring the real location. LocationLab uses the iOS developer location-simulation workflow. Apple Maps and other Core Location apps may receive simulated locations. Pairing files, favorites and routes are processed locally; file sharing is initiated by the user. See the privacy policy for free-tier advertising data and choices. The app does not route general Internet traffic to developer servers. Before navigation, location sharing, emergency services or other safety-related activities, stop testing and confirm that the real location has been restored. Trials automatically renew at the selected plan price unless cancelled. To avoid charges, cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends. Manage or cancel subscriptions in your Apple Account settings. Privacy policy: https://locationlab.net/privacy.html Terms of use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Surge 54 screens
LocationLab4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: LocationLab at 5.0 against Surge 5's 4.1. LocationLab also leads on update cadence (daily vs monthly). Surge 5's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (1K vs 1). On price and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Surge 5 sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $14.99 per year and LocationLab sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

LocationLab holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Surge 5 has 1K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Surge 5 ships an update monthly, LocationLab daily. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Surge 5 versus LocationLab: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSurge 5LocationLab
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (1K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews51.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings1K — better1
Update frequencyMonthlyDaily — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
Best chart rank#6 — better#156
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple TV — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size73 MB12 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperSurge Networks Inc.SHU-CHIH LIN

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Surge 5

Subscriptions1
  • Feature Subscription$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Surge Pro$49.99
3 purchases

LocationLab

Subscriptions3
  • LocationLab Pro Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • LocationLab Pro Quarterly7 Days trial$9.993 Months
  • LocationLab Pro Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year

Questions

Is Surge 5 free?
Surge 5 is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is LocationLab free?
LocationLab is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Surge 5 or LocationLab?
LocationLab is rated higher. Surge 5 averages 4.1 out of 5 from 1K ratings, while LocationLab averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Surge 5 or LocationLab have ads?
LocationLab shows ads; Surge 5 does not.
Which is updated more often, Surge 5 or LocationLab?
Surge 5 ships an update monthly, and LocationLab daily. Most recently, Surge 5 was updated on November 11, 2026 and LocationLab on November 10, 2026.
Which is more popular, Surge 5 or LocationLab?
Surge 5 currently peaks at #6 in the App Store charts, and LocationLab at #156. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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