Proxyman
Ranked 3 of 3 HTTP debugging proxies by recommenders
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.
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.
24 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 20
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 20 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Native macOS app
“Proxyman is 100x value for 2x the price. Native UI, shortcuts, cert installation helper tools.”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Charles Proxy” “it was trivial in Proxyman. Proxyman also has a great app.”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Charles Proxy” “Proxyman is better, easier, and more macOS friendly.”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Charles Proxy” - Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Charles Proxy”
Better than Charles
“A much better alternative for MacOS folks”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Charles Proxy” “found it much better than Charles”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Charles Proxy” Easy certificate setup
“Proxyman makes this way nicer to work with and since switching I never faced certificate issues again.”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Charles Proxy” “Proxyman is 100x value for 2x the price. Native UI, shortcuts, cert installation helper tools.”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Charles Proxy” Simulator and remote debugging support
“Proxyman has great sim integration, including the ability to filter by apps within the sim.”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Charles Proxy” “It’s a slick tool and even works for remote debugging”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “Charles Proxy”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Hard to use, weak automation features
“All are great, but I've never been completely satisfied with the UX/features for building automations.”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “Launch HN: Kampala (YC W26) – Reverse-Engineer Apps into APIs” “Proxyman was always hard to use for me, so connecting it to a MCP was something I have been waiting for.”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “Launch HN: Kampala (YC W26) – Reverse-Engineer Apps into APIs” “Proxyman was always hard to use for me”
Comment from 16 Apr 2026 in “Launch HN: Kampala (YC W26) – Reverse-Engineer Apps into APIs”
Other HTTP debugging proxies people recommend
The two most recommended other HTTP debugging proxies, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Proxy | 30 | 15 | 67% | 5 | 10 yrs4 owners | Approved |
| mitmproxy | 27 | 9 | 75% | 7 | — | Approved |
| ProxymanThis page | 20 | 4 | 83% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
19 of the 24 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Proxyman was always hard to use for me”
“All are great, but I've never been completely satisfied with the UX/features for building automations.”
“Proxyman was always hard to use for me, so connecting it to a MCP was something I have been waiting for.”
“they are going too much for the profit instead of what the users really needs”
“debugging HTTP traffic with local proxies (like Charles or Proxyman) has become a bottleneck for me”
“proxyman's performance is a real step up”
“A much better alternative for MacOS folks”
“Charles and Proxyman help you figure that out.”
“Something all of these miss imo is a way to modify TLS handshakes.”
“it was trivial in Proxyman. Proxyman also has a great app.”
“Seeing a huge list of irrelevant items is annoying after some point.”
“it honestly didn't feel 'better' or more powerful so I didn't go for yet another license”
“found it much better than Charles”
“Proxyman is 100x value for 2x the price. Native UI, shortcuts, cert installation helper tools.”
“Proxyman is better, easier, and more macOS friendly.”
“Proxyman makes this way nicer to work with and since switching I never faced certificate issues again.”
“Proxyman has great sim integration, including the ability to filter by apps within the sim.”
“Looks much better, thanks for that tip”
“It’s a slick tool and even works for remote debugging”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.