Charles vs mitmproxy

Struggling to choose between Charles and mitmproxy? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Charles is a Development solution with tags like proxy, http, https, monitor, reverse-proxy.

It boasts features such as HTTP proxy, HTTP monitor, Reverse proxy, View HTTP/HTTPS traffic, View requests, View responses, View HTTP headers, View cookies, View caching information and pros including Debug HTTP/HTTPS connections, Inspect traffic between machine and internet, Identify performance issues, Troubleshoot network requests.

On the other hand, mitmproxy is a Security & Privacy product tagged with proxy, interception, inspection, https, ssl, tls, traffic-analysis, network-security.

Its standout features include Intercepts HTTP and HTTPS traffic and allows inspection and modification on the fly, Provides a console interface for interactive analysis, Allows traffic replay for testing and experimentation, SSL certificate spoofing for decrypting encrypted traffic, Flexible filtering to only intercept traffic matching specific criteria, Scripting interface to automate complex modification and replay tasks, Export of intercepted data in various formats like HTTP, HAR, and mitmdump, and it shines with pros like Free and open source, Very flexible and powerful for debugging, testing, and security analysis, Allows inspection of encrypted HTTPS traffic, Easy to install and use with good documentation, Active development community for support and new features.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

Charles

Charles

Charles is an HTTP proxy / HTTP monitor / Reverse Proxy that enables a developer to view all of the HTTP and SSL / HTTPS traffic between their machine and the Internet. This includes requests, responses and the HTTP headers (which contain the cookies and caching information).

Categories:
proxy http https monitor reverse-proxy

Charles Features

  1. HTTP proxy
  2. HTTP monitor
  3. Reverse proxy
  4. View HTTP/HTTPS traffic
  5. View requests
  6. View responses
  7. View HTTP headers
  8. View cookies
  9. View caching information

Pricing

  • Free
  • Open Source

Pros

Debug HTTP/HTTPS connections

Inspect traffic between machine and internet

Identify performance issues

Troubleshoot network requests

Cons

Steep learning curve

Manual configuration required

Extra overhead for all HTTP traffic

Potential privacy concerns


mitmproxy

mitmproxy

mitmproxy is an open source interactive HTTPS proxy that allows traffic flows to be intercepted, inspected, modified, and replayed. It provides a console interface that allows traffic flows to be inspected and manipulated on the fly.

Categories:
proxy interception inspection https ssl tls traffic-analysis network-security

Mitmproxy Features

  1. Intercepts HTTP and HTTPS traffic and allows inspection and modification on the fly
  2. Provides a console interface for interactive analysis
  3. Allows traffic replay for testing and experimentation
  4. SSL certificate spoofing for decrypting encrypted traffic
  5. Flexible filtering to only intercept traffic matching specific criteria
  6. Scripting interface to automate complex modification and replay tasks
  7. Export of intercepted data in various formats like HTTP, HAR, and mitmdump

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Free and open source

Very flexible and powerful for debugging, testing, and security analysis

Allows inspection of encrypted HTTPS traffic

Easy to install and use with good documentation

Active development community for support and new features

Cons

Can be complex for novice users

Requires configuration of client devices/browsers to trust mitmproxy certificate

Not designed for high-volume throughput

Lacks some features of commercial products like web interface