# Shadowrocket vs 芝麻开门VPN

The clearest difference is price: 芝麻开门VPN at Free against Shadowrocket's $2.99. Shadowrocket's advantage is rating (4.5 vs 1.5) and ratings volume (12K vs 2). On ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

Shadowrocket holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 1.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shadowrocket has 12K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Shadowrocket ships an update weekly, 芝麻开门VPN every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Shadowrocket | 芝麻开门VPN |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[4.5 (12K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/shadowrocket/id932747118/reviews)** | [1.5 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vpn/id6760990196/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **12K** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 57.4% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#1** | — |
| Size | 53 MB | 19 MB |
| Requires iOS | **13.0** | 15.6 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Shadow Launch Technology Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/687237009) | [Void Tesseract](https://appshunter.io/developer/1887171300) |

## What reviewers say

### Shadowrocket

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

**Currently charting:** #1 Top Paid · Utilities, #3 Top Paid, #161 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


### 芝麻开门VPN

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vpn/id6760990196)

Provides secure and private internet access for a connected world. Offers high-speed browsing and a focus on equality and freedom online. Recommended for a seamless scientific internet experience.

**Highlights:** Secure internet access, High-speed private browsing, Global connectivity, Focus on equality and freedom, Private scientific internet

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Shadowrocket free?

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

### Is 芝麻开门VPN free?

芝麻开门VPN is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Shadowrocket or 芝麻开门VPN?

Shadowrocket is rated higher. Shadowrocket averages 4.5 out of 5 from 12K ratings, while 芝麻开门VPN averages 1.5 from 2 ratings.

### Do Shadowrocket or 芝麻开门VPN have ads?

Neither Shadowrocket nor 芝麻开门VPN shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Shadowrocket or 芝麻开门VPN?

Shadowrocket ships an update weekly, and 芝麻开门VPN every 3 weeks. Most recently, Shadowrocket was updated on September 28, 2026 and 芝麻开门VPN on September 18, 2026.

---

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