Comparison

Shadowrocket vs Kitsunebi

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

Head to head

Shadowrocket

Rule based proxy utility

$2.99

🔧 Utilities

★ 4.512K ratingsView app →

Kitsunebi

A Versatile Proxy Utility

$4.99

🔧 Utilities

★ 3.4177 ratingsView app →

About

Shadowrocket

This utility client captures and redirects all device traffic to a proxy server. It records requests, allows rule-based configuration, and measures network performance. It also supports ad blocking, local DNS mapping, and advanced proxy features.

Highlights

Capture and redirect all device traffic
Record HTTP, HTTPS, and DNS requests
Configure rules by domain, IP, and GeoIP
Measure traffic usage and network speed
Import rule files from URL or iCloud
Block ads by domain and user agent
Local DNS Mapping

Features

Currently charting

Read full description

Rule based proxy utility client for iPhone/iPad. - Capture all HTTP/HTTPS/TCP traffic from any applications on your device, and redirect to the proxy server. - Record and display HTTP, HTTPS, DNS requests from your iOS devices. - Configure rules using domain match, domain suffix, domain keyword, CIDR IP range, and/or GeoIP lookup. - Measure traffic usage and network speed on WiFi, cellular, direct and proxy connections. - Import rule files from URL or iCloud Drive. - Block ads by domain, user agent rules. - Local DNS Mapping. - Work on cellular networks. - Decrypt HTTPS traffic. - Perform URL rewrite. - Fully IPv6 supports. - Script filter supports. - Multi-level forward proxy. - Support kcptun, cloak, gost, v2ray plugins. - Support DNS over HTTPS, DNS over TLS, DNS over QUIC.

About

Kitsunebi

Browse the internet more safely and easily with this versatile proxy utility. It functions as a full-featured V2Ray client, supporting multiple proxy and transport protocols. Advanced rule-based routing gives you granular control over your outgoing internet traffic.

Highlights

V2Ray client
SOCKS, Shadowsocks, VMess support
TCP, KCP, WebSocket, HTTP(H2), QUIC transport
Rule-based routing
Control outgoing traffic

Features

Read full description

A versatile proxy utility that helps you browser the internet safer and easier. It's a fully-featured V2Ray client, supports SOCKS, Shadowsocks and VMess proxy protocols, with TCP/KCP/WebSocket/HTTP(H2)/QUIC as transport protocols. It's rule-based, allows you control outgoing traffic easily by adding routing rules.

Screenshots

Shadowrocket4 screens

Kitsunebi4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Shadowrocket at 4.5 against Kitsunebi's 3.4. Shadowrocket also leads on ratings volume (12K vs 177) and chart position (#1 vs unranked). Kitsunebi's advantage is iOS requirement (10.2 vs 13.0). On update cadence, ads 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

Shadowrocket costs $2.99 and Kitsunebi $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Shadowrocket holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shadowrocket has 12K ratings behind it against 177, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Shadowrocket's written reviews are positive against 46% of Kitsunebi's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Shadowrocket ships an update every 10 days, Kitsunebi fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 12, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level

Shadowrocket versus Kitsunebi: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameter	Shadowrocket	Kitsunebi
Price	$2.99 — better	$4.99
Rating	4.5 (12K ratings) — better	3.4 (177 ratings)
Positive reviews	57.4% of reviews — better	45.6% of reviews
Number of ratings	12K — better	177
Update frequency	Every 10 days — better	Fortnightly
Ads	No	No
In-app purchases	No	No
Monetization	Paid	Free — better
Best chart rank	#1 — better	—
Devices	iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV — better	iPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS	13.0	10.2 — better
Further details — not scored
Size	53 MB	65 MB
Age rating	+4	4+
Developer	Shadow Launch Technology Limited	Kits Labs

Customer experience

Shadowrocket

All ratings12,216 ratings

Positive86.7%

Neutral3.5%

Negative9.8%

Written reviews1,477 reviews

Positive57.4%

Neutral10.0%

Negative32.6%

Kitsunebi

All ratings177 ratings

Positive60.5%

Neutral4.5%

Negative35.0%

Written reviews90 reviews

Positive45.6%

Neutral8.9%

Negative45.6%

User reviews

Shadowrocket

From 12K App Store ratings

What we love

🚀 Excellent VPN performance
👍 User-friendly interface
🔒 Robust security features
💡 Useful customization options

Room to improve

🐛 Connectivity issues after updates
🔋 High battery consumption
🤔 Confusing setup process for some users

Kitsunebi

From 177 App Store ratings

What we love

👍 Best v2ray client for iOS
🚀 Supports UDP forwarding
👍 Good for customizable proxy needs
👍 Can see blocked websites
👍 Can use specified DNS

Room to improve

🐛 Unstable connections and frequent disconnections
🐛 Poor performance and slow speeds
🐛 App crashes frequently
🐛 VPN connection drops
🐛 Cannot connect on jailbroken devices

Bugs and requests

Shadowrocket

Reported bugs

3 issues

Incompatibility with newer iOS versions
Unreliable server connections leading to timeouts
Subscription management and customer support issues

Requested features

3 requests

Add support for more protocols (e.g. SSTP, L2TP)
Implement auto-connect and load balancing features
Develop a native macOS version

Kitsunebi

Reported bugs

75 issues

Cannot read configs properly on iPhone
Cannot work as a VPN on iPhone
Local share not found or enabled
App not updated
App stopped working as proxy

Show 70 more

JSON configuration does not work with dokodemo-door
v2ray-core version is outdated
Latest v2ray core version adds breaking new features
App crashes under high throughput during Speedtest
Performance is poor
Connection crashes
Direct connection cannot access external network
Does not support aes-256-gcm
5 months without updates
iOS12 causes phone to disconnect from network
Speedtest is slow and disconnects
Unstable and performance really bad
App not maintained
Developer seems to have abandoned the project
Cannot work on tcp
App has stopped updating
Direct connection cannot access external network
Does not support aes-256-gcm
5 months without updates
iOS12 causes phone to disconnect from network
Speedtest is slow and disconnects
Unstable and performance really bad
App not maintained
Developer seems to have abandoned the project
Cannot work on tcp
App has stopped updating
App crashes
VPN cannot be turned off in system settings
Unresponsive, cannot connect to VPN
VPN connection is very unstable
Frequently switches between on and off
Wi-Fi disconnects when service is enabled
Screen off causes Wi-Fi to disconnect
Cannot connect on jailbroken device
No logs left on jailbroken device
QUIC not working
QR code recognition not working
Widget logs not scrolling
Widget shows loading errors
Cannot install for iPad
Buggy
Cannot import/export Vmess link
Cannot share with QRCode
UI is ugly
Repeated purchases required
Cannot use with cellular
VPN auto-reconnect and disconnect, stuck in a loop
Slow speed compared to Android v2rayNg
Network errors during speed tests
Tap switch from widget opens the app instead of just enabling/disabling
App crashes
Wi-Fi disconnects when service is enabled
Screen off causes Wi-Fi to disconnect
Cannot connect on jailbroken device
No logs left on jailbroken device
QUIC not working
QR code recognition not working
Widget logs not scrolling
Widget shows loading errors
Cannot install for iPad
Buggy
Cannot import/export Vmess link
Cannot share with QRCode
UI is ugly
Repeated purchases required
Cannot use with cellular
VPN auto-reconnect and disconnect, stuck in a loop
Slow speed compared to Android v2rayNg
Network errors during speed tests
Tap switch from widget opens the app instead of just enabling/disabling

Requested features

23 requests

Add Apple TV app support
Local share or LAN share
Update v2ray core to newest version
Add v2fly support
Add more nodes from USA and Canada

Show 18 more

Add dark mode
Add load balancing
Add on-demand connection like Shadowrocket
Add Websocket transport for Shadowsocks
Add rc4-md5 encryption for Shadowsocks
Add iOS13 dark mode
Update to support vless protocol
Update to support tls1.3
Update to support AES-256-GCM
Update to support latest v2ray
Add support for Android updates
Add dark mode
Fix configuration issues with dokodemo-door
Add on-demand connection
Add load balancing
Add dark mode for iOS13
Add Websocket transport for Shadowsocks
Add rc4-md5 encryption for Shadowsocks

In-app purchases

None

Shadowrocket

No in-app purchases

None

Kitsunebi

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Shadowrocket free?

Shadowrocket costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

Is Kitsunebi free?

Kitsunebi costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.

Which has better reviews, Shadowrocket or Kitsunebi?

Shadowrocket is rated higher. Shadowrocket averages 4.5 out of 5 from 12K ratings, while Kitsunebi averages 3.4 from 177 ratings.

Do Shadowrocket or Kitsunebi have ads?

Neither Shadowrocket nor Kitsunebi shows ads.

Which is updated more often, Shadowrocket or Kitsunebi?

Shadowrocket ships an update every 10 days, and Kitsunebi fortnightly. Most recently, Shadowrocket was updated on November 12, 2026 and Kitsunebi on November 2, 2026.