# Proxyman

20 Hacker News commenters recommended Proxyman and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as an easier, more macOS-friendly alternative to Charles, with good certificate handling and simulator support. Critics say it isn't clearly more powerful than rivals and pricing favors profit.

## Why people recommend it

- Native macOS app (4 comments): "Proxyman is 100x value for 2x the price. Native UI, shortcuts, cert installation helper tools." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46334761)) "it was trivial in Proxyman. Proxyman also has a great app." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46336061)) "Proxyman is better, easier, and more macOS friendly." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46334447))
- Better than Charles (2 comments): "A much better alternative for MacOS folks" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46338490)) "found it much better than Charles" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46334764))
- Easy certificate setup (2 comments): "Proxyman makes this way nicer to work with and since switching I never faced certificate issues again." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46334427)) "Proxyman is 100x value for 2x the price. Native UI, shortcuts, cert installation helper tools." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46334761))
- Simulator and remote debugging support (2 comments): "Proxyman has great sim integration, including the ability to filter by apps within the sim." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46334323)) "It’s a slick tool and even works for remote debugging" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46334219))

## What people warn about

- Hard to use, weak automation features (3 comments): "All are great, but I've never been completely satisfied with the UX/features for building automations." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47796161)) "Proxyman was always hard to use for me, so connecting it to a MCP was something I have been waiting for." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47795679)) "Proxyman was always hard to use for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47796380))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Charles Proxy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/charles-proxy.md): 30 recommend
- [mitmproxy](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mitmproxy.md): 27 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://proxyman.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Proxyman", https://hackerapproved.com/p/proxyman/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).