Comparison

a vs Proxyman

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

Head to head
About

a

Run Unix commands locally on your iOS device with a powerful terminal emulator. Supports file transfer, editing, scripting with Python and Lua, and network utilities. Integrates with Shortcuts and supports multiple windows for multitasking.

Highlights
  • Local Unix terminal emulator
  • SSH client
  • File transfer (scp, curl)
  • Text editing (vim, ed)
  • Scripting (Python, Lua, JavaScript)
  • Network utilities (nslookup, ping)
  • Shortcuts integration
  • Multi-window support
Features
Read full description

a-Shell mini is a complete local terminal emulator, allowing to run most Unix commands on you iOS device. You can transfer files using scp and curl, edit them with vim and ed, process them using grep, awk and sed. Work with git repositories using lg2. Most commands are compiled for iOS native Arm64 format, making them fast and well integrated with iOS underlying BSD Unix. a-Shell mini includes Python, Lua, JavaScript and webAssembly for programming and scripting. It also includes native ffmpeg and convert for fast image and video conversion. There are also multiple network utilities: nslookup, ping, whois, ifconfig... Type help for help, help -l to get the full list of commands. a-Shell mini can be controlled from Shortcuts: run commands in order, process files in a-Shell, get the results as text or files, transfer files to other apps... a-Shell mini uses iPadOS 13+ “multiple windows” ability, so you can run multiple shells at the same time, with different commands, in different directories. You can edit a file in one window with vim and process it in the other with python. a-Shell mini is a minimalist terminal, designed to have a very small footprint (less than 250 MB). If you need more commands, please consider a-Shell, which has more Python packages, more JavaScript modules, Perl, make, a C and C++ compiler and TeX.

About

Proxyman

This app acts as a web debugging proxy, allowing you to capture and inspect HTTP/HTTPS traffic directly from your iPhone or iPad. It decrypts requests and responses, offers advanced debugging tools, and ensures your sensitive data remains on your device.

Highlights
  • Capture & Inspect HTTP/HTTPS from iOS devices
  • Decrypt and view requests/responses
  • JSON syntax highlighting
  • Quick filtering by URL, header, body
  • Advanced debugging tools (SSL Proxying, Block List)
  • Secure with FaceID/TouchID/Passcode
Features
Read full description

Meet a superb Web Debugging Proxy that can act like a middleman, aka Proxyman.  ### Features - Directly Capture & Inspect HTTP/HTTPS from your iOS/iPad Devices without using MacBooks. - Decrypt and View HTTP/HTTPS Request/Response in plain text - JSON Syntax Highlighting - Exclusively designed for iPhone and iPad (Landscape and Two Columns) - Share traffic to Proxyman macOS - a native macOS app for better inspection - Pin working domains - Quick filter with URL, Header Body, and Type of Request/Response (e.g., JSON, Form, HTML, CSS, Document, etc) - Better Request/Response Previewer: Multiple columns, JSON Preview, JSON TreeView, etc - Safe Lock: Protect your sensitive data with FaceID / TouchID / Passcode - Advanced Debugging Tools: SSL Proxying, Block List, Map Local, Breakpoint, etc - Rewrite & Scripting ### Proxyman macOS Proxyman for iOS works perfectly with Proxyman for macOS (native macOS app, supports macOS 26 and M4 Chip) ### How it works Proxyman iOS creates a local VPN on your device and then forwards all traffic to a Local Man-in-The-Middle Server. As long as the VPN is active, Proxyman iOS can capture all traffic over Wi-Fi and cellular Data. ### How about my sensitive data? - Proxyman Root Certificate is a self-signed certificate that is generated on your local machine. Thus, all requests and responses are captured and stored on your devices and Proxyman does not have access to your data. - There are no remote servers involved. What’s in your devices, it’s in your devices. ************* - Support: https://proxyman.com/support - Privacy Policy: https://proxyman.com/privacy - Terms of Services: https://proxyman.com/terms-of-use

Screenshots

a4 screens
Proxyman4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: a at none against Proxyman's 5. a also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). Proxyman's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.6) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, review sentiment, ads 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

Both are free to download. Proxyman sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. a asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Proxyman holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Proxyman has 799 ratings behind it against 119, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 78% of a's written reviews are positive against 81% of Proxyman's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

a ships an update every 2 weeks, Proxyman every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
a versus Proxyman: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameteraProxyman
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (119 ratings)4.8 (799 ratings) — better
Positive reviews77.8% of reviews80.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings119799 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#58#8 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS14.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size373 MB71 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNicolas HolzschuchProxyman LLC

Customer experience

a

All ratings119 ratings
Positive89.9%
Neutral2.5%
Negative7.6%
Written reviews90 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral5.6%
Negative16.7%

Proxyman

All ratings799 ratings
Positive94.9%
Neutral2.0%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews152 reviews
Positive80.9%
Neutral4.6%
Negative14.5%

User reviews

a

From 119 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great app for shortcuts
  • 🚀 Efficient and functional
  • 💡 Useful for IT tasks
  • ✨ Free and awesome
  • 💻 Good for remote server connection

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Font size not adjustable
  • 🐛 Keyboard icons too large
  • 🐛 App deletes itself
  • 🐛 Rotating screen scrambles display
  • 🐛 Pasting text shows strange characters

Proxyman

From 799 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Powerful networking tools
  • 🔒 Secure and reliable
  • 💡 Helpful for debugging and development
  • 🤖 Great for reverse engineering APIs

Room to improve

  • 💰 Expensive premium version
  • 🔋 High data usage reported by some users
  • 🐛 Occasional crashes or bugs
  • 🤖 Confusing user experience for free version

Bugs and requests

a

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Keyboard icons comically large
  • App deletes itself
  • Rotating iPhone/iPad scrambles display
  • Pasting text results in strange characters
  • App only uses half of the screen when editing files
Show 7 more
  • Command not found errors for all commands
  • App crashes on launch after update
  • Cannot get own absolute path
  • Cannot execute own programs
  • App messes up .txt file association
  • Trouble selecting characters to copy and paste
  • No module named requests in shortcuts

Requested features

8 requests
  • Option to use old keyboard buttons
  • Add openssl support
  • Add libx265 codec for ffmpeg
  • Support telnet command
  • Add possibility to compile from source
Show 3 more
  • Make Ubuntu default
  • Add expansion of keys (e.g., echo {a..z})
  • Adjustable font size

Proxyman

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Breakpoint functionality not working properly
  • Losing session state when relaunching the app
  • Incompatibility issues with certain apps and websites
  • Crashes when trying to view large response bodies

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for Simplified Chinese
  • Implement scripting capabilities like the desktop version
  • Improve handling of WebSocket and MQTT traffic
  • Allow grouping of related requests
  • Add an option to change DNS settings within the app

In-app purchases

None

a

No in-app purchases

5 purchases

Proxyman

Subscriptions3
  • Premium Monthly Subscription$8.991 Month
  • PROJECT PASS Quarterly Subscription$19.993 Months
  • Premium Annual Subscription$49.991 Year
One-time2
  • Proxyman Lifetime with Black Friday$69.99
  • Lifetime Access$99.99

Questions

Is a free?
a is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Proxyman free?
Proxyman is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, a or Proxyman?
Proxyman is rated higher. a averages 4.6 out of 5 from 119 ratings, while Proxyman averages 4.8 from 799 ratings.
Do a or Proxyman have ads?
Neither a nor Proxyman shows ads.
Which is updated more often, a or Proxyman?
a ships an update every 2 weeks, and Proxyman every 8 days. Most recently, a was updated on September 21, 2026 and Proxyman on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, a or Proxyman?
a currently peaks at #58 in the App Store charts, and Proxyman at #8. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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