Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Burp Suite VS Charles Proxy

Compare Burp Suite VS Charles Proxy and see what are their differences

Burp Suite logo Burp Suite

Burp Suite is an integrated platform for performing security testing of web applications.

Charles Proxy logo Charles Proxy

HTTP proxy / HTTP monitor / Reverse Proxy
  • Burp Suite Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-16
  • Charles Proxy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-20

Burp Suite features and specs

  • Comprehensive Features
    Burp Suite offers a wide range of tools such as a proxy server, scanner, spider, repeater, and intruder, enabling extensive security testing.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The platform provides an intuitive and well-organized interface, making it accessible for both novice and experienced security professionals.
  • Customization and Extensibility
    Users can customize Burp Suite via extensions, allowing them to tailor functionality to their specific needs and integrate with other tools.
  • Active Community
    Burp Suite has a vibrant community that contributes to extensions, plugins, and offers support through forums and other channels.
  • Regular Updates
    The software is regularly updated with new features, bug fixes, and improvements, ensuring it remains up-to-date with the latest security trends.

Possible disadvantages of Burp Suite

  • Cost
    The professional version of Burp Suite can be quite expensive, which might be prohibitive for small businesses or individual practitioners.
  • Learning Curve
    Despite its user-friendly interface, Burp Suite has a steep learning curve due to its extensive features and functionalities.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running Burp Suite, especially during intensive scans, can consume significant system resources, potentially affecting the performance of other applications.
  • Manual Effort Required
    While Burp Suite automates a lot of tasks, effective use still requires a considerable amount of manual effort, particularly for complex security assessments.
  • Limited Free Version
    The free version of Burp Suite (Community Edition) offers limited functionality compared to the Pro version, restricting its usefulness for advanced testing.

Charles Proxy features and specs

  • Comprehensive HTTP/HTTPS Debugging
    Charles Proxy offers robust capabilities to inspect HTTP and HTTPS traffic, making it easier for developers to debug and optimize network requests.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    The tool has an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface, which makes it accessible for both novice and experienced users.
  • Support for Various Platforms
    Charles Proxy is available on multiple operating systems including Windows, macOS, and Linux, enhancing its accessibility to a wide range of users.
  • Throttling Feature
    It allows users to simulate different internet speeds, latency, and bandwidth conditions, which is useful for testing applications under various network scenarios.
  • SSL Proxying
    Charles can decrypt SSL traffic, which is crucial for developers to inspect secure web traffic in development and testing phases.
  • Session Recording and Exporting
    It allows users to record network sessions and export them to share or analyze later, facilitating team collaboration and troubleshooting.

Possible disadvantages of Charles Proxy

  • Cost
    Charles Proxy is a paid tool. While it offers a trial version, a license must be purchased for continued use, which could be a limitation for some users or small teams with restricted budgets.
  • Steep Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    Although the interface is user-friendly, some advanced functionalities have a steep learning curve, especially for users who are not familiar with network debugging.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running Charles Proxy can be resource-intensive on your system, potentially slowing down performance, especially when monitoring large amounts of traffic.
  • Manual Configuration
    Users need to manually configure their devices or browsers to route through Charles Proxy, which can be cumbersome and time-consuming.
  • Limited Automation Capabilities
    Charles Proxy has limited support for automation compared to other modern debugging tools, which may affect its suitability for automated testing workflows.
  • Compatibility Issues
    There may be compatibility issues with certain applications or devices, particularly those with strict security measures against proxying, which can impede testing efforts.

Burp Suite videos

Web App Penetration Testing - #1 - Setting Up Burp Suite

More videos:

  • Review - Burp Suite Pro Walkthrough

Charles Proxy videos

No Charles Proxy videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Burp Suite and Charles Proxy)
Security
82 82%
18% 18
Developer Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Web Application Security
100 100%
0% 0
Security Monitoring
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Burp Suite and Charles Proxy

Burp Suite Reviews

10 Best Burp Suite Alternatives For Windows In 2023
Answer: Burp Suite is popular in industry circles as an effective web application security tester. It is known for its penetration testing and vulnerability detection skills. Developers who hail the tool praise it for its comprehensive UI and report generating capabilities. Burp Suite also receives a lot of flak for its inability to automatically verify detected threats and...
Best Burp Suite Alternatives (Free and Paid) for 2023
Burp Suite is a vulnerability scanner used to execute manual security testing of web applications whereas ManageEngine Vulnerability Manager Plus is a complete vulnerability management software that not only offers continual visibility, comprehensive coverage, risk-based assessment but also provides built-in remediation with patching for vulnerabilities, misconfigurations...
Burp suite alternatives
Burp suite is a set of tools used for penetration testing of a web application. It is the most popular tool among web security researchers and bug hunters. Its ease of use makes it make it more suitable for the uses. Still, there are other alternatives are there in the market which can be used in place of burp suite. In this article, we are going to these alternatives of...
Source: www.educba.com
10 Best Tenable Nessus Alternatives For 2021 [Updated List]
Burp Suites is a web application security scanner ideal for identifying zero-day and other types of exotic vulnerabilities. It is most prominently used by penetration testers. It features a centralized visual dashboard that provides a holistic snapshot of all your assets, scanned activity, and detected vulnerabilities in the form of comprehensive graphs and stats.
Best Nessus Alternatives (Free and Paid) for 2021
Burp Suite by PortSwigger an advanced set of tools for finding and exploiting vulnerabilities in web applications – all within a single product. From a basic intercepting proxy to a cutting-edge vulnerability scanner, it can be used to test and report on a large number of vulnerabilities, including SQLi, XSS, and the whole OWASP top 10.

Charles Proxy Reviews

Top 10 HTTP Client and Web Debugging Proxy Tools (2023)
Charles Proxy is another tool that has a good popularity. It is a web proxy i.e., HTTP proxy or HTTP monitor that runs on your computer. Compared to Paw which works on only macOS, Charles proxy if configured or run correctly is agreeable with all OS, web browsers, any smart devices, personal computers, and internet applications.
12 HTTP Client and Web Debugging Proxy Tools
As the name says, Charles proxy is an HTTP and reverse proxy. It works by routing local traffic through it.
Source: geekflare.com
Comparing Charles Proxy, Fiddler, Wireshark, and Requestly
Although thousands of developers around the globe use Wireshark and Charles Proxy, they fail to occupy the top side in the design aspect. Wireshark’s interface is robust and detailed but can be intimidating for beginners. While Charles Proxy has a more approachable interface compared to Wireshark, it might seem cluttered to some users. Fiddler’s UI is information-rich and...
Source: dev.to

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Burp Suite seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 15 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Burp Suite mentions (15)

  • My VAPT Learning Journey
    The topics will be mostly from Portswigger Website. Also, for some more practical discussion, I'll refer to Kontra. - Source: dev.to / 24 days ago
  • Automated ways to security audit your website
    There are many tools available for this, e.g. Burp Suite, ZAP, etc. We've evaluated a few and found Probely to be the most comprehensive. They have a trial, so your first few scans will be free. After each scan, you will get a report that includes a list of all findings and a recommendation on how to fix them. You will also get a PCI-DSS and OWASP compliance report. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • OWASP Dependency Check in Node js 🛡️
    In addition, tools such as snyk or burp can be used to control the dependencies of a project. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • How do I by pass two step verification?
    Check https://portswigger.net, they have learning material and labs about this topic. Source: about 2 years ago
  • I want to make a website with django. What are best courses/syllabus for it?
    I ask about serving websites because understanding how a web server works (very basically) with a browser or any client is a huge step in understanding HTTP, host headers, and even host header attacks (if you're into that sort of thing.. As an aside I did a quick google search and https://portswigger.net/ showed up.. Apparently they have interactive labs and very informative documentation on various attack... Source: over 2 years ago
View more

Charles Proxy mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Charles Proxy yet. Tracking of Charles Proxy recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Burp Suite and Charles Proxy, you can also consider the following products

Nessus - Nessus Professional is a security platform designed for businesses who want to protect the security of themselves, their clients, and their customers.

Fiddler - Fiddler is a debugging program for websites.

Qualys - Qualys helps your business automate the full spectrum of auditing, compliance and protection of your IT systems and web applications.

Proxyman.io - Proxyman is a high-performance macOS app, which enables developers to view HTTP/HTTPS requests from apps and domains.

OpenVAS - The Open Vulnerability Assessment System (OpenVAS) is a framework of several services and tools...

HTTP Toolkit - Beautiful, cross-platform & open-source tools to debug, test & build with HTTP(S). One-click setup for browsers, servers, Android, CLI tools, scripts and more.