A Charles Proxy alternative for Mac
Charles has been the default web-debugging proxy for the better part of two decades, and it earned that. But it's a Java application, and on a Mac it has always looked and felt like one. elcapture is the same job rebuilt as a native macOS app. Here's an honest look at where each one wins.
Why people go looking past Charles
Nothing is wrong with what Charles does. The reasons to switch are about the shell around it. It runs on the JVM, so the window is a Swing interface that never quite matches the rest of your desktop: the tree, the toolbar icons, the modal dialogs all read as cross-platform rather than Mac. Dark mode and Retina text are passable, not crisp. On a long capture the memory climbs and the list starts to lag. And the license is tied to a seat you have to track.
If you only work on a Mac, you're paying the cross-platform tax without using the cross-platform part.
What elcapture does instead
elcapture is built for Apple silicon and nothing else, so the list stays smooth on a session with tens of thousands of requests, the certificate trust is one click, and the system proxy is one toggle. There's no account to create and no cap on how many rules you keep.
The debugging tools are the ones you'd reach for in Charles, plus a few it doesn't have:
- Breakpoints that can pause a request or response so you can edit it by hand, with an optional auto-continue after a few seconds so a forgotten breakpoint doesn't hang your app.
- Map Local and Map Remote to serve a file or redirect a host, and rewrite rules for headers, status and body.
- A script engine for the cases a rule can't express.
- An API client in the same window, so you can compose and replay a request next to the traffic that inspired it instead of pasting into a separate app.
- Android device setup that installs the certificate and points the device at your Mac, over adb, without the usual manual dance.
Charles, Proxyman, Reqable, elcapture
These are the four tools most people compare. None of them is the wrong answer; they aim at different people.
| elcapture | Charles | Proxyman | Reqable | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS (Apple silicon) | Mac, Windows, Linux | macOS, plus iOS and others | Mac, Windows, Linux, mobile |
| Native Mac app | Yes | No (Java) | Yes | Yes (Flutter) |
| Account required | No | No | No | Optional |
| Pricing | Free in beta; $29 one-time Pro | One-time license | Free tier + paid plans | Free tier + paid Pro |
| Breakpoints | Yes, with auto-continue | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Map Local / Remote | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scripting | Yes | Limited | Yes (paid) | Yes |
| Built-in API client | Yes | No | Partial | Yes |
| Android device setup | One-click over adb | Manual | Manual | Companion app |
The short version: Charles is still the safe pick if you need Windows or Linux and don't mind the JVM. Proxyman is a polished native Mac app with its heavier features behind a plan. Reqable is the strong free, cross-platform newcomer with a good API client. elcapture is for people who live on a Mac, want it to feel native, and would rather pay once than subscribe.
Switching from Charles
You don't have to rebuild your setup. elcapture reads Charles session files and HAR exports, so you can open an old capture and keep going. Rewrite and map rules you'd set up by hand in Charles have direct equivalents, and the certificate and system-proxy steps that Charles walks you through are collapsed into two clicks on first run.