Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · Web Debugging Proxies

NetworkSpy vs Charles

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 7 checks side by side
Higher score NetworkSpy #5 in Web Debugging Proxies 8.8/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 5 of 6 features Visit NetworkSpy
Charles #10 in Web Debugging Proxies 8.3/10 30-day trial Free trial✓ 6 of 6 features Visit Charles

NetworkSpy leads on 1 check, Charles on 0, and 6 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 7 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreNetworkSpy · 8.8/10
  • Free planonly NetworkSpy
  • Free trialonly Charles
  • Most featuresCharles · 6 of 6

NetworkSpy scores higher on our rubric for web debugging proxies: 8.8 against 8.3 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #10.

NetworkSpy offers free plan; Charles doesn't.

NetworkSpy is the better fit for budget-conscious teams wanting rich traffic analysis. Charles is the better fit for developers needing a general-purpose desktop proxy.

  • NetworkSpy fits best

    Budget-conscious teams wanting rich traffic analysis

  • Charles fits best

    Developers needing a general-purpose desktop proxy

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature NetworkSpy 8.8/10 Visit ↗ Charles 8.3/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.8 8.3
Ranking #5 in Web Debugging Proxies #10 in Web Debugging Proxies
Best for Budget-conscious teams wanting rich traffic analysis Developers needing a general-purpose desktop proxy
Pricing model Free plan + paid Paid
Starting price $18/user/yr $50/user one-time
Free plan ✓ (best) —
Free trial — 30 days
Deployment Desktop, Self-hosted Desktop
Platforms Windows, macOS, Linux Windows, macOS, Linux
Support Email, Community, Docs · 24/7 Email, Docs
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features NetworkSpy 5/6 · Charles 6/6
Request/response editing ✓ ✓
Breakpoint rules ✓ ✓
Traffic replay ✓ ✓
Response mocking ✓ ✓
WebSocket inspection ✓ ✓
Proxy chaining Not checked yet ✓ (best)
Specs
Platforms Desktop Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Inspects HTTP, HTTPS, GraphQL, WebSocket, and gRPC traffic
  • Replays requests, compares traffic, and applies live breakpoints
  • Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux with AI and MCP features
  • Covers inspection, editing, breakpoints, replay, rewriting, and mapping
  • Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux with CLI and headless operation
  • Supports SSL decryption, throttling, WebSockets, and proxy chaining
Cons
  • Personal includes a license for only one device
  • Custom AI providers and MCP start with Professional
  • Team billing and shared presets require Team Starter or higher
  • No separate perpetual free plan
  • Licensing is tied to one computer for individual licenses
  • Paid licensing may not suit users seeking a free debugging proxy
Our verdict

NetworkSpy is a desktop HTTP/HTTPS traffic debugger for developers and development teams. It intercepts and decrypts application traffic, then exposes request metadata, payloads, timing, and validation details for inspection. Its audience…

Read the review →

Charles is a desktop web debugging proxy for developers working with web and networked applications. It records HTTP, HTTPS, and related traffic so users can inspect requests, responses, headers, cookies, and bodies. The product runs on…

Read the review →
  1. NetworkSpyWeb Debugging Proxies 8.8Free plan
  2. CharlesWeb Debugging Proxies 8.330-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • NetworkSpy — where it wins

    • Inspects HTTP, HTTPS, GraphQL, WebSocket, and gRPC traffic
    • Replays requests, compares traffic, and applies live breakpoints
    • Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux with AI and MCP features

    Where it doesn't

    • Personal includes a license for only one device
    • Custom AI providers and MCP start with Professional
    • Team billing and shared presets require Team Starter or higher

  • Charles — where it wins

    • Covers inspection, editing, breakpoints, replay, rewriting, and mapping
    • Runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux with CLI and headless operation
    • Supports SSL decryption, throttling, WebSockets, and proxy chaining

    Where it doesn't

    • No separate perpetual free plan
    • Licensing is tied to one computer for individual licenses
    • Paid licensing may not suit users seeking a free debugging proxy
  • NetworkSpy8.8/10 · Free plan

    A low-cost desktop proxy for inspecting, replaying, comparing, and modifying application traffic.

    Visit NetworkSpyFull verdict →
  • Charles8.3/10 · 30-day trial

    A broad desktop proxy toolkit for inspecting, editing, replaying, and routing web traffic.

    Visit CharlesFull verdict →

More comparisons

All web debugging proxies comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update