TCP Console vs Charles Proxy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
TCP Console
Test TCP/IP servers and clients by sending and receiving text strings. Connect multiple clients to your server or test server connectivity. Supports custom URL schemes for easy connection and content sending.
- Start TCP/IP server listening on a specified port
- Send text strings and EOL characters
- Display received responses
- Connect multiple clients simultaneously
- Disconnect clients individually
- Ping to verify LAN or firewall connectivity
- Custom URL scheme support
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You need to test your TCP/IP server or client? View incoming or outgoing text strings? TCP Console is the app for you! With a couple of taps could start a server TCP/IP listening on the port you want*, send text string or EOL characters and display the responses received. To your server can connect multiple clients at the same time and you can disconnect them one by one or PING** to verify that there are no problems in the LAN or firewall. If you need to test your server, it will be just as easy! Enter address, port No. and connect, in a few moments you will be able to send and receive text strings from the server. TCP Console will allow you to do all this in its simplicity, a few taps and you'll be connected! Custom URL scheme support: tcpconsole://host:port/?content=string_to_send[&encoding=base64] TCP Console starts, tries to connect to the server and send the content. Optionally TCP Console can decode a base64 string before sending. * You can not start a server listening on a port less than or equal to 1024. ** This feature requires you to download the app Utility Network, free on App Store.
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.
- 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
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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
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: TCP Console at Free against Charles Proxy's $8.99. TCP Console also leads on review sentiment (64% vs 52%) and iOS requirement (7.0 vs 17.0). Charles Proxy's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and rating (4.0 vs 3.6). On 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
TCP Console is free to download; Charles Proxy costs $8.99 up front. TCP Console sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Charles Proxy asks for nothing beyond the download.
Charles Proxy holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Charles Proxy has 187 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 64% of TCP Console's written reviews are positive against 52% of Charles Proxy's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
TCP Console ships an update every 7 months, Charles Proxy every 2 months. Both last shipped on September 30, 2026.
| Parameter | TCP Console | Charles Proxy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $8.99 |
| Rating | 3.6 (12 ratings) | 4.0 (187 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 63.6% of reviews — better | 51.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 187 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #153 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 7.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Fausto Ristagno | XK72 Limited |
Customer experience
TCP Console
Charles Proxy
Bugs and requests
TCP Console
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or 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
In-app purchases
TCP Console
- Remove Advertising$0.99
Charles Proxy
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is TCP Console free?
Is Charles Proxy free?
Which has better reviews, TCP Console or Charles Proxy?
Do TCP Console or Charles Proxy have ads?
Which is updated more often, TCP Console or Charles Proxy?
Other comparisons
