Charles

At a glance

• Editor score
  8.3 / 10
• Pricing
  30-day trial
• Best for
  Developers needing a general-purpose desktop proxy
• Free plan
  No
• Paid from
  $50/user one-time
• Facts checked
  20 Sep 2026

• 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

Our verdict on Charles

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 Windows, macOS, and Linux, and it can proxy traffic from browsers, applications, mobile devices, and other clients. Its broad feature set makes it a fit for users who want one general-purpose proxy for investigating and changing network traffic across desktop and connected application workflows.

Its strongest angle is depth across the core debugging workflow. Charles supports request and response editing with breakpoints, traffic replay, rewriting, Map Local and Map Remote routing, SSL proxying and traffic decryption, bandwidth throttling, and WebSocket support. It also includes command-line and headless operation, which extends the product beyond an interactive desktop interface. Request and response inspection covers headers, cookies, and bodies, while HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS proxying provide broad protocol coverage. This combination suits developers who need to reproduce traffic, alter requests or responses, mock responses, or inspect encrypted sessions.

Licensing is paid, with a 30-day trial and no separate perpetual free plan. The published license plans show $50 per license for 1-4 User Licenses, $40 per license for 5+ User Licenses, and $30 per license for 10+ User Licenses, with volume pricing at the larger tiers. A 1-4 User License is for one computer at a time; site licensing costs $400 per site, while a Multi-Site License costs $700 per site. Charles is sold as a one-time license for a major version rather than a recurring subscription. Choose it for wide desktop proxy coverage and advanced traffic control; choose an alternative if a free plan is essential.

Your product? Our editors can test Charles in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $99/mo →

Charles pricing

All 5 Charles plans and prices →

Charles fact sheet

Alternatives to Charles

• mitmproxyA broad, programmable proxy for debugging HTTP, HTTPS, WebSockets, and related traffic.9.4
• FluxzyA broad debugging proxy with a capable free personal tier and €49 perpetual Pro access.9.3
• HTTP ToolkitA broad HTTP debugging proxy for teams working across browsers, apps, containers, and APIs.9.2

See all Charles alternatives →

Featured on iTechGuides

Charles is listed in our Web Debugging Proxies directory. Add the badge to your site — it links back to this page.

<a href="https://www.itechguides.com/products/charles/"><img src="https://www.itechguides.com/best/badge/charles.svg" alt="Featured on iTechGuides" width="230" height="46"></a>

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

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. How we rank.

Last updated 7 Oct 2026 · How we research and update