# Shadowrocket vs AppEx CloudWAN

The clearest difference is price: AppEx CloudWAN at Free against Shadowrocket's $2.99. AppEx CloudWAN also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 57%) and rating (4.8 vs 4.5). Shadowrocket's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (12K vs 6). On ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

AppEx CloudWAN is free to download; Shadowrocket costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

AppEx CloudWAN holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shadowrocket has 12K ratings behind it against 6, 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 100% of AppEx CloudWAN's.

Shadowrocket ships an update weekly, AppEx CloudWAN every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Shadowrocket | AppEx CloudWAN |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.5 (12K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shadowrocket/id932747118/reviews) | **[4.8 (6 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/appex-cloudwan/id6446478839/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **12K** | 6 |
| Positive reviews | 57.5% of reviews | **100.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 2 months |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#1** | — |
| Size | 53 MB | 5 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPod, Mac |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shadow Launch Technology Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/687237009) | [AppEx Networks Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/1678044266) |

## What reviewers say

### Shadowrocket

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shadowrocket/id932747118)

**Currently charting:** #1 Top Paid, #1 Top Paid · Utilities, #129 Top Grossing · Utilities (US App Store)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

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

**Requested features**

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


### AppEx CloudWAN

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/appex-cloudwan/id6446478839)

Access an enterprise-grade SD-WAN solution for stable, flexible, secure, and fast network services. This cost-effective solution leverages SDN and WAN optimization technologies.

**Highlights:** Access CloudWAN network, Enterprise-grade SD-WAN, SDN powered, WAN optimization, Stable network service, Secure network service, Cost-effective solution

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Shadowrocket free?

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

### Is AppEx CloudWAN free?

AppEx CloudWAN is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Shadowrocket or AppEx CloudWAN?

AppEx CloudWAN is rated higher. Shadowrocket averages 4.5 out of 5 from 12K ratings, while AppEx CloudWAN averages 4.8 from 6 ratings.

### Do Shadowrocket or AppEx CloudWAN have ads?

Neither Shadowrocket nor AppEx CloudWAN shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Shadowrocket or AppEx CloudWAN?

Shadowrocket ships an update weekly, and AppEx CloudWAN every 2 months. Most recently, Shadowrocket was updated on October 12, 2026 and AppEx CloudWAN on October 3, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*