In today’s highly interconnected digital age, barrier-free access to global internet information is crucial for learning, work, and personal growth. However, for various reasons, internet access is restricted in some regions. This article will focus on several free and open-source proxy client software for Apple iPhone, and analyze their characteristics in detail, hoping to provide a practical guide for iPhone users who pursue internet freedom.
Related recommendation: Query the public IP of your machine accessing different websites to detect proxy routing configuration. You can open it for testing after configuring the client.
The following client software:
- Completely free
- Apple users need an Apple account from a region other than mainland China to download
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Sing-Box
Sing-Box is a rising star that has attracted much attention in recent years. It is a powerful and highly customizable general proxy platform. Although it is a core component itself, developers have developed a graphical client for iOS based on this core, making it convenient for iPhone users to use.
It is the first free, open-source proxy client for iOS that supports multiple emerging proxy protocols. (Note that this sentence has many qualifications). Many clients are also based on its kernel.
Core Features:
- Multi-protocol support: Sing-Box is known for its powerful protocol support capabilities, compatible with various mainstream and emerging proxy protocols including AnyTLS, Hysteria2, TUIC, Naive, VMess, VLESS, Trojan, SOCKS5. This means that users can flexibly choose protocols according to the configuration of their own servers.
- Highly customizable: Sing-Box provides extremely rich configuration options, allowing users to finely adjust routing rules, DNS settings, outbound and inbound connections, etc., to meet the personalized needs of advanced users. For example, it can realize domestic and foreign traffic splitting, ad blocking and other functions.
- Excellent performance: Sing-Box focuses on performance and efficiency in design, striving to maintain low resource consumption and high connection speed while providing powerful functions.
- Active community and development: The Sing-Box project has an active development team and user community. The software is updated frequently, and it can keep up with the latest network technologies and deal with potential blockades in a timely manner.
- Multi-platform support: Writing a configuration file can be used on Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, and iOS multi-platforms.
- Ways to add proxy nodes: You can add proxy nodes by adding subscription links or importing configuration files.
Disadvantages:
- Requires a configuration file in a strict format, which has a learning curve for novices.
- The format of configuration items is frequently modified, and the configuration file needs to be updated in time for upgrades.
- The operation interface UI and the convenience of operation are not as good as the Clash ecosystem.
- Most proxy service providers still only provide Clash subscription links. Even if Sing-Box subscription links are provided, the configuration items may be incompatible (because Sing-Box frequently modifies the format of configuration items), and the subscription links cannot be used directly, requiring various processing
- Does not support the load balance function supported by Clash
- You can add proxy nodes by adding subscription links or importing configuration files.
For configuration file writing, please refer to: Configuration - sing-box
Code:
https://github.com/SagerNet/sing-box
https://github.com/SagerNet/sing-box-for-apple
Clash MI
A new Clash client released in April 2025, developed by the developers of Karing.
It is the first free, open-source proxy client for iOS based on Clash. (Note that this sentence has many qualifications.)
Core Features:
- Multi-protocol support: Based on the latest and continuously updated Mihomo (Clash Meta) kernel. Clash is known for its powerful protocol support capabilities, compatible with various mainstream and emerging proxy protocols including AnyTLS, Hysteria2, TUIC, mieru, Snell, VMess, VLESS, Trojan, SOCKS5. This means that users can flexibly choose protocols according to the configuration of their own servers.
- Highly customizable: Clash provides extremely rich configuration options, allowing users to finely adjust routing rules, DNS settings, outbound and inbound connections, etc., to meet the personalized needs of advanced users. For example, it can realize domestic and foreign traffic splitting, ad blocking and other functions.
- Excellent performance: Clash focuses on performance and efficiency in design, striving to maintain low resource consumption and high connection speed while providing powerful functions.
- Active community and development: Clash related projects have an active development team and user community. The software is updated frequently, and it can keep up with the latest network technologies and deal with potential blockades in a timely manner.
- Multi-platform support: You only need to write a configuration file to use it on Mihomo (Clash Meta) kernel clients on multiple platforms such as Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, and iOS.
- User interface: The user interface is simpler to operate than Sing-Box, and you can easily select a proxy in the graphical interface.
- Ways to add proxy nodes: You can add proxy nodes by adding subscription links or importing configuration files.
Disadvantages:
- Requires a configuration file in a strict format, which has a learning curve for novices.
- Clash MI is a new client, there may be unknown bugs, and the interface, settings, etc. may be frequently modified.
For configuration file writing, you can refer to: Configuration - Mihomo Kernel Documentation
Code:
Client https://github.com/KaringX/clashmi
Kernel https://github.com/MetaCubeX/mihomo/tree/Alpha
Hiddify
A general-purpose network proxy tool based on Sing-Box.
Core Features:
- Multi-protocol support: Based on Sing-Box, compatible with various mainstream and emerging proxy protocols including Hysteria2, TUIC, VMess, VLESS, Trojan, SOCKS5. This means that users can flexibly choose protocols according to the configuration of their own servers.
- TLS Features: Provides the function of enabling TLS data segmentation, TLS mixed SNI, and TLS padding. This is a function that the other clients in this article do not have.
- User interface: The user interface is friendly to novices. Easy to operate.
- Built-in traffic splitting rules: In the region selection, you can choose Iran, China, Russia, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Turkey, and Brazil. Automatically split traffic according to the network conditions of these regions. If you want a global proxy, you can choose others.
Disadvantages:
- It seems that you can only choose one proxy node to use. It will automatically connect to the best proxy based on testing, but you can also manually select the desired proxy.
- Does not allow users to finely set complex rules, such as traffic splitting, etc.
- Ways to add proxy nodes: It seems that you can only add proxies by adding subscription links.
Client Introduction App Guide - Hiddify
Code
https://github.com/hiddify/hiddify-app
https://github.com/hiddify/hiddify-sing-box
Karing
A Clash-compatible general-purpose network proxy tool based on Sing-Box that supports clash/v2ray/ss subscriptions
Core Features:
- Multi-protocol support: Based on Sing-Box, compatible with various mainstream and emerging proxy protocols including Hysteria2, TUIC, VMess, VLESS, Trojan, SOCKS5. This means that users can flexibly choose protocols according to the configuration of their own servers.
- Highly customizable: Provides extremely rich configuration options, allowing users to finely adjust routing rules, DNS settings, outbound and inbound connections, etc., to meet the personalized needs of advanced users. For example, it can realize domestic and foreign traffic splitting, ad blocking and other functions.
- Excellent performance: Sing-Box focuses on performance and efficiency in design, striving to maintain low resource consumption and high connection speed while providing powerful functions.
- User interface: The user interface is friendly to novices and provides some additional functions. Allows users to add nodes one by one through the graphical interface.
- Ways to add proxy nodes: You can add proxy nodes by adding subscription links, importing configuration files, or manually entering them one by one through the graphical interface.
Disadvantages:
- User interface, I feel that the support for proxy routing is not very good.
Clash Compatibility List | Karing - Clash compatible & Powerful proxy utility
Code:
https://github.com/KaringX/karing
Kernel: https://github.com/KaringX/sing-box
Outline
Outline is an open-source proxy tool developed by Jigsaw team under Google. It is based on the Shadowsocks protocol, but provides very easy-to-use server-side deployment scripts and client software.
It is one of the earlier free, open-source proxy clients provided on iOS.
Although it is still being maintained, since the protocol is Shadowsocks, if you are located in China, it is still recommended to avoid using it as much as possible.
Official website: Outline - Access to the free and open internet
Code https://github.com/Jigsaw-Code/
WireGuard
It is one of the earlier free, open-source proxy clients provided on iOS. Cloudflare Warp also uses the WireGuard protocol.
If you are located in China, it is still recommended to avoid using it as much as possible. Because the WireGuard protocol is no longer suitable for GFW.
Disadvantages:
- Only supports the WireGuard protocol
- Can only select one proxy node to use.
- Does not allow users to finely set complex rules, such as traffic splitting, etc.
Source code:
https://git.zx2c4.com/wireguard-apple
Other free clients
Streisand is compatible with protocols including Hysteria (V2) and TUIC
v2box supports Reality, utls protocols
Surge provides some free protocols, and emerging proxy protocols require payment.
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