# TCP Console vs Charles Proxy

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.

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | TCP Console | Charles Proxy |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $8.99 |
| Rating | [3.6 (12 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tcp-console/id642104251/reviews) | **[4.0 (187 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/charles-proxy/id1134218562/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 12 | **187** |
| Positive reviews | **63.6% of reviews** | 51.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 2 months** |
| Monetization | **Free with in-app purchases** | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | **#108** |
| Size | 3 MB | 20 MB |
| Requires iOS | **7.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Fausto Ristagno](https://appshunter.io/developer/482102205) | [XK72 Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/284393209) |

## What reviewers say

### TCP Console

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/tcp-console/id642104251)

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.

**Highlights:** 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

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (1)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Remove Advertising | $0.99 | one-time |


### Charles Proxy

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

**Currently charting:** #108 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


## Frequently asked questions

### Is TCP Console free?

TCP Console is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Charles Proxy free?

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

### Which has better reviews, TCP Console or Charles Proxy?

Charles Proxy is rated higher. TCP Console averages 3.6 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while Charles Proxy averages 4.0 from 187 ratings.

### Do TCP Console or Charles Proxy have ads?

Neither TCP Console nor Charles Proxy shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, TCP Console or Charles Proxy?

TCP Console ships an update every 7 months, and Charles Proxy every 2 months. Most recently, TCP Console was updated on September 30, 2026 and Charles Proxy on September 30, 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.*