In today’s highly interconnected digital age, seamless access to global internet information is crucial for learning, work, and personal growth. However, due to various reasons, network access is restricted in some regions. This article will focus on several free and open-source proxy client software suitable for Apple iPhones and analyze their features in detail, hoping to provide a practical guide for iPhone users pursuing network freedom.
Related recommendation: Check your public IP when accessing different websites, which can detect proxy split tunneling configurations. You can test it after completing the client configuration.
The following client software:
- Completely free
- Apple users, requires an Apple ID from a region other than mainland China to download
This article does not provide services to residents of China. If detected, you will be blocked from accessing this webpage; however, other articles on this site can be accessed normally.
Sing-Box
Sing-Box is a rising star that has gained significant attention in recent years. It is a powerful and highly customizable universal proxy platform. Although it is a core component itself, developers have built a graphical client for iOS based on this core, making it convenient for iPhone users.
It is the first proxy client available for free on iOS, open-source, and supports multiple emerging proxy protocols. (Note: many restrictions were added to this sentence). Many clients are also based on its kernel.
Core Features:
- Multi-protocol support: Sing-Box is known for its powerful protocol support, compatible with various mainstream and emerging proxy protocols including AnyTLS, Hysteria2, TUIC, Naive, VMess, VLESS, Trojan, and SOCKS5. This means users can flexibly choose protocols based on their server configuration. Currently, it is one of the few clients that supports NAIVE outbound.
- Highly customizable: Sing-Box offers extremely rich configuration options, allowing users to fine-tune routing rules, DNS settings, outbound and inbound connections, etc., to meet the personalized needs of advanced users. For example, it can achieve domestic and international traffic splitting, ad blocking, and other functions.
- Excellent performance: Sing-Box is designed with a focus on performance and efficiency, striving to maintain low resource consumption and high connection speeds while providing powerful features.
- Active community and development: The Sing-Box project has an active development team and user community. Software updates are frequent, allowing it to keep up with the latest network technologies and respond to potential blocks in a timely manner.
- Multi-platform support: A single configuration file can be used across multiple platforms including Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, and iOS.
- Methods for adding proxy nodes: Proxy nodes can be added by adding subscription links or importing configuration files.
Disadvantages:
- The free version of the client has not been updated for a long time and does not support new features like NAIVE outbound (this feature is only supported by the sing-box kernel).
- Requires a configuration file with a strict format, which has a learning curve for beginners.
- Configuration item formats are frequently modified, requiring timely updates to configuration files upon upgrades.
- The user interface (UI) and ease of operation are not as good as those in the Clash ecosystem.
- Most proxy service providers still only offer Clash subscription links. Even if they provide Sing-Box subscription links, they may be incompatible with configuration items (because Sing-Box frequently modifies configuration item formats), making them unusable directly without various processing.
- Does not support the load balancing feature supported by Clash.
- Proxy nodes can be added by adding subscription links or importing configuration files.
Configuration file writing can be referred to: Configuration - sing-box
Code:
https://github.com/SagerNet/sing-box
https://github.com/SagerNet/sing-box-for-apple
Clash MI
A Clash client released in April 2025, developed by the developer of Karing.
It is the first proxy client based on Clash available for free on iOS, and open-source. (Note: many restrictions were added to this sentence.)
Core Features:
- Multi-protocol support: Based on the latest and continuously updated Mihomo (Clash Meta) kernel. Clash is known for its powerful protocol support, compatible with various mainstream and emerging proxy protocols including AnyTLS, Hysteria2, TUIC, mieru, Snell, VMess, VLESS, Trojan, and SOCKS5. This means users can flexibly choose protocols based on their server configuration.
- Highly customizable: Clash offers extremely rich configuration options, allowing users to fine-tune routing rules, DNS settings, outbound and inbound connections, etc., to meet the personalized needs of advanced users. For example, it can achieve domestic and international traffic splitting, ad blocking, and other functions.
- Excellent performance: Clash is designed with a focus on performance and efficiency, striving to maintain low resource consumption and high connection speeds while providing powerful features.
- Active community and development: Clash-related projects have an active development team and user community. Software updates are frequent, allowing them to keep up with the latest network technologies and respond to potential blocks in a timely manner.
- Multi-platform support: You only need to write one configuration file to use it with Mihomo (Clash Meta) kernel clients on multiple platforms including Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, and iOS.
- User Interface: The user interface is simpler to operate than Sing-Box, allowing easy proxy selection through the graphical interface.
- Methods for adding proxy nodes: Proxy nodes can be added by adding subscription links or importing configuration files.
Disadvantages:
- Requires a configuration file with a strict format, which has a learning curve for beginners.
- Clash rules on iOS are not compatible with rules on other platforms. Rules like geosite/geoip/ip-asn may cause app crashes.
- Clash MI is a newly released client and may have unknown bugs, and the interface and settings may be frequently modified.
Comparatively, as a proxy platform, Clash is more suitable as a client; Sing-Box is more suitable as a server.
Configuration file writing can be referred to: Configuration - Mihomo Kernel Documentation
Code:
Client https://github.com/KaringX/clashmi
Kernel https://github.com/MetaCubeX/mihomo/tree/Alpha
Everywhere
It integrates three of the most popular open-source proxy kernels and supports Xray-core, sing-box, and mihomo (Clash) simultaneously.
Core Features:
- Multi-protocol support: Because it includes three major kernels, it supports the largest number of protocols. Compatible with various mainstream and emerging proxy protocols including AnyTLS, Hysteria2, TUIC, mieru, Snell, VMess, VLESS, Trojan, and SOCKS5. This means users can flexibly choose protocols based on their server configuration.
- Methods for adding proxy nodes: Proxy nodes can be added by adding subscription links or importing configuration files.
Disadvantages:
- Requires a configuration file with a strict format, which has a learning curve for beginners.
- Currently does not support NAIVE outbound. This feature is only supported by the sing-box kernel, but this feature does not seem to be compiled yet.
- Clash rules on iOS are not compatible with rules on other platforms. Rules like geosite/geoip/ip-asn may cause app crashes.
- It is a newly released client and may have unknown bugs, and the interface and settings may be frequently modified.
Download client https://apps.apple.com/app/id6766003090
Code https://github.com/NodePassProject/Everywhere
Anywhere
High-performance, multi-protocol supporting client.
Most iOS proxy clients use a Go/C++ bridge to encapsulate sing-box or Xray-core. Anywhere takes a different approach – all protocols, all transport layers, the QUIC protocol stack, and the entire packet tunnel are implemented natively in Swift and C. This results in smaller binary files, lower memory usage, higher system integration, and no bridging overhead.
Download client https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id6758235178
Code https://github.com/NodePassProject/Anywhere
NaiveProxy
Client that only supports Naive, can only proxy globally, and cannot split traffic.
One of the few clients supporting NAIVE on iOS.
Download client https://testflight.apple.com/join/uMD85SgV
Code https://github.com/ZonD80/naivetools
Hiddify
A universal 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, and SOCKS5. This means users can flexibly choose protocols based on their server configuration.
- TLS Features: Provides functions for enabling TLS data fragmentation, TLS mixed SNI, and TLS padding. These are features not available in other clients in this article.
- User Interface: The user interface is beginner-friendly and easy to operate.
- Built-in Split Tunneling Rules: In the region selection, you can choose Iran, China, Russia, Afghanistan, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil. It automatically splits traffic based on the network conditions of these regions. If you want global proxy, choose “Other”.
Disadvantages:
- It seems that only one proxy node can be selected for 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.
- Methods for adding proxy nodes: It seems that proxy nodes can only be added 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 universal network proxy tool compatible with Clash, based on Sing-Box, supporting 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, and SOCKS5. This means users can flexibly choose protocols based on their server configuration.
- Highly customizable: Offers extremely rich configuration options, allowing users to fine-tune routing rules, DNS settings, outbound and inbound connections, etc., to meet the personalized needs of advanced users. For example, it can achieve domestic and international traffic splitting, ad blocking, and other functions.
- Excellent performance: Sing-Box is designed with a focus on performance and efficiency, striving to maintain low resource consumption and high connection speeds while providing powerful features.
- User Interface: The user interface is beginner-friendly and provides some additional features. It allows users to add nodes one by one through the graphical interface.
- Methods for adding proxy nodes: Proxy nodes can be added by adding subscription links, importing configuration files, or manually entering them one by one through the graphical interface.
Disadvantages:
- The user interface does not seem to support proxy traffic splitting very well.
Clash Compatible 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 Google’s Jigsaw team . It is based on the Shadowsocks protocol but provides very easy-to-use server-side deployment scripts and client software.
It was one of the earlier proxy clients offered for free on iOS and open-source.
Although still maintained, due to the protocol being Shadowsocks, it is recommended to avoid using it if you are located in mainland China.
Official website: Outline - Access to the free and open internet
Code https://github.com/Jigsaw-Code/
WireGuard
It was one of the earlier open-source proxy clients offered for free on iOS. Cloudflare Warp also uses the WireGuard protocol.
If you are located in mainland China, it is still recommended to avoid using it, as the WireGuard protocol is no longer suitable for the GFW.
Disadvantages:
- Only supports the WireGuard protocol.
- Only one proxy node can be selected for use.
- Does not allow users to finely set complex rules, such as traffic splitting.
Source code:
https://git.zx2c4.com/wireguard-apple
Other Free Clients
Streisand supports protocols including Hysteria (V2) and TUIC.
v2box supports Reality and utls protocols.
Surge offers some protocols for free; emerging proxy protocols require payment.
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