Web Inspector vs Busymate DevTools
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Web Inspector
This app provides a suite of web development tools for Safari on mobile devices. Inspect and edit the DOM, view element styles, execute JavaScript commands, monitor network requests, and examine stored resources like cookies.
- DOM inspection and editing
- Element style viewer
- JavaScript console
- Network request monitoring
- Resource storage details
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Web Inspector expands Safari on iPhone and iPad with a set of web development tools: Elements: Browse the DOM tree and tap elements on the page to inspect them. View node details, styles, and computed values. Search the DOM, edit an element's HTML, and copy or delete nodes. Console: Type JavaScript commands to debug, modify, and get information about your webpage. Sources: Read the webpage's source with syntax highlighting. Network: See a list of network requests made by the webpage, with headers and responses. Filter requests, or copy one as a cURL command. Resources: Find details about the data stored by a webpage, such as cookies, local storage, and session storage. Tip: If you tap the Web Inspector button and nothing happens, reload the page once..
Busymate DevTools
Inspect HTTP and HTTPS traffic directly on your device. Capture requests, view headers and bodies, and decrypt specific domains without needing a desktop proxy. Ideal for developers debugging their own apps and websites.
- System-wide traffic capture
- HTTPS decryption for selected domains
- Real-time request/response feed
- Optional cloud sync for dashboard inspection
- On-device VPN tunnel
- User-controlled capture and decryption
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Busymate DevTools is a network debugging tool for developers. It captures the HTTP and HTTPS requests made on your device, so you can inspect headers, bodies, status codes, and timing while you build and debug your own apps and websites. It works like a desktop web-debugging proxy, but runs entirely on your iPhone or iPad — no Mac and no Wi-Fi proxy configuration required. WHAT IT DOES • Captures DNS and TCP traffic system-wide using Apple's NetworkExtension (a local, on-device VPN tunnel — nothing is routed through our servers). • Decrypts HTTPS only for the specific domains you add to the SSL-proxy list. Everything else stays end-to-end encrypted and is passed through untouched. • Shows every request/response pair in a real-time feed: method, URL, status, headers, query, and body. • Optionally syncs captures to your private Busymate dashboard at dash.busymate.dev so you can inspect them on a bigger screen, search, tag, and export to HAR. ADVANCED • Traffic rules — block, mock, or rewrite requests and responses that match your own rules, so you can test how your app handles errors, edge cases, and slow or missing responses. • Upstream proxy — optionally route a device's outbound traffic through an external proxy you have configured. • Deep links — open the app straight to a device or a request from a link. YOU ARE IN CONTROL • Capture never starts until you explicitly turn it on and accept the on-screen disclosure. • HTTPS is only ever decrypted for domains you choose. Add and remove them at any time. • Decryption requires installing and trusting a root certificate, used only to decrypt your own HTTPS traffic for the domains you choose — guided step-by-step inside the app. • You can stop capturing and remove the VPN profile from iOS Settings at any time. PRIVACY Busymate DevTools is built for inspecting traffic from apps and sites you own or are authorized to debug. Captured data can include sensitive values such as tokens and credentials, so only inspect domains you understand and control. Synced captures are stored under your own account and can be deleted at any time. See our privacy policy at busymate.dev/privacy. REQUIREMENTS • iOS / iPadOS 16.0 or later. • A free Busymate account (sign in with Apple or email) to pair the device and, optionally, sync captures to the dashboard. Busymate DevTools is intended for developers, QA engineers, and security testers working on their own software. It is not a tool for intercepting other people's traffic.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Busymate DevTools at 5.0 against Web Inspector's 3.9. Busymate DevTools also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 65%). Web Inspector's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (152 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Busymate DevTools holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Web Inspector has 152 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 65% of Web Inspector's written reviews are positive against 100% of Busymate DevTools's.
Web Inspector ships an update weekly, Busymate DevTools every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 26, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Web Inspector | Busymate DevTools |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.9 (152 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 65.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 152 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #63 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | And a Dinosaur | Sergiu Toderascu |
Customer experience
Web Inspector
Busymate DevTools
Bugs and requests
Web Inspector
Reported bugs
4 issues- Disappears when reloading webpage
- Doesn't work on newer iOS versions
- Doesn't load on crashed tabs
- Permissions issues
Requested features
4 requests- CSS editing capabilities
- Resizable panel
- Improved console functionality
- Better integration with Safari
Busymate DevTools
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Web Inspector
No in-app purchases
Busymate DevTools
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Web Inspector free?
Is Busymate DevTools free?
Which has better reviews, Web Inspector or Busymate DevTools?
Do Web Inspector or Busymate DevTools have ads?
Which is updated more often, Web Inspector or Busymate DevTools?
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