mitmproxy vs SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway

mitmproxy8.2Visit SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway7.8Visit

Higher score mitmproxy #5 in Forward Proxy Software 8.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 3 features Visit mitmproxy

vs

SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway #8 in Forward Proxy Software 7.8/10 Pricing on request ✓ 3 of 3 features Visit SafeSquid

• mitmproxy fits best

  Developers inspecting and replaying web traffic

• SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway fits best

  Hybrid gateways needing strong identity integration

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Side by side

Feature	mitmproxy 8.2/10 Visit ↗	SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway 7.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.2	7.8
Ranking	#5 in Forward Proxy Software	#8 in Forward Proxy Software
Best for	Developers inspecting and replaying web traffic	Hybrid gateways needing strong identity integration
Pricing model	Free	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	Pricing on request
Free plan	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Desktop, Browser extension, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web, Windows, macOS, Linux	Web, Windows, Linux
Support	Community, Docs	Tickets, Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features mitmproxy 0/3 · SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway 3/3
SSL inspection	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Web filtering	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
User authentication	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Deployment	Not checked yet	Hybrid
Proxy protocols	Not checked yet	Http/https
Concurrent connections	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Inspects and edits HTTP, HTTPS, HTTP/1–3, and WebSocket traffic Supports replay, recording, response mocking, and proxy chaining Offers browser, CLI, Python API, and self-hosted interfaces	Broad HTTP/HTTPS filtering, SSL inspection, and application controls Integrates with Active Directory, LDAP, Kerberos, ICAP, and SIEM systems Supports malware scanning, DLP, reporting, clustering, and hybrid deployment
Cons	Automation and mocking depend on Python addons and scripting mitmweb runs as part of the local mitmproxy tool No built-in AI features	Pricing is handled through sales rather than a public rate card Its broad policy scope may require more administration than a narrow proxy Its forwarding focus is centered on HTTP and HTTPS traffic
Our verdict	mitmproxy is a free, open-source forward proxy for developers, testers, security researchers, and privacy analysts who need to capture and control web traffic. It handles HTTP, HTTPS, HTTP/1, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, and WebSocket traffic, with… Read the review →	SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway is a software-based HTTP(S) forward proxy for enterprise web security. It inspects and controls Layer 7 traffic, with URL, domain, text, image, and custom-category filtering alongside HTTPS inspection, malware… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• mitmproxy — where it wins

  • Inspects and edits HTTP, HTTPS, HTTP/1–3, and WebSocket traffic
  • Supports replay, recording, response mocking, and proxy chaining
  • Offers browser, CLI, Python API, and self-hosted interfaces

  Where it doesn't

  • Automation and mocking depend on Python addons and scripting
  • mitmweb runs as part of the local mitmproxy tool
  • No built-in AI features

• SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway — where it wins

  • Broad HTTP/HTTPS filtering, SSL inspection, and application controls
  • Integrates with Active Directory, LDAP, Kerberos, ICAP, and SIEM systems
  • Supports malware scanning, DLP, reporting, clustering, and hybrid deployment

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing is handled through sales rather than a public rate card
  • Its broad policy scope may require more administration than a narrow proxy
  • Its forwarding focus is centered on HTTP and HTTPS traffic

• mitmproxy8.2/10 · Free plan

  A flexible toolkit for developers who need deep HTTP and WebSocket traffic control.

  Visit mitmproxyFull verdict →
• SafeSquid Secure Web Gateway7.8/10 · Pricing on request

  A hybrid forward proxy with deep filtering, identity controls, inspection, and reporting.

  Visit SafeSquidFull verdict →