Proxifier alternatives for Mac, compared honestly
Proxifier is the long-standing way to push a Mac app through a proxy. Here is what else does the job, what each costs, and when Proxifier is still the right choice.
Updated 10 November 2026
The short answer
If you want one or a few Mac apps to use a SOCKS5 or HTTP proxy while everything else stays on your normal connection, you have five realistic options:
- The app's own proxy setting, if it has one. Free.
- Proxifier: the most configurable. $39.95 once.
- Reroute: per-app rules and nothing else. £9.99 once.
- AppLanes: splits apps between a VPN you already run, direct and blocked. $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year.
- Your VPN app's split tunnelling: only with that provider's servers.
Prices and trial lengths were checked on the makers' own sites on 10 November 2026. Check them again before you buy.
Try the free ways first
Many apps have their own proxy setting: Firefox, Telegram, most torrent clients and many developer tools do. If the app you care about has one, use it and you need no extra software. See how to route one app through a proxy on a Mac for the steps, and for command-line tools, which take environment variables or proxychains-ng instead.
The tools below are for apps with no proxy setting, or for when you want every connection an app makes, including its helper processes, to follow one rule.
Side by side
| Proxifier for Mac | Reroute | AppLanes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $39.95 once | £9.99 once | $2.99 a month or $19.99 a year |
| Free trial | 31 days | 7 days, no card or account | 3 days |
| What it routes into | SOCKS and HTTPS proxies, and chains of them | One SOCKS5, HTTP or HTTPS proxy per rule | A VPN app you already run |
| Rules | By app, hostname, IP address and port | By app only: proxy, direct or block | By app: VPN, direct or block |
| Sold by | Direct, licence key | Direct, licence key for up to 3 Macs | Mac App Store subscription |
When Proxifier is the right choice
Proxifier has been doing this for many years on both Windows and the Mac, and it does more than any tool here. Pick it if you need:
- Proxy chains: one connection passed through several proxies in a row.
- Rules by destination: this hostname, IP range or port through that proxy, whichever app asks.
- The same tool on Windows, with the same way of working.
- A long trial: 31 days is enough to test a complicated set-up properly.
The cost is a more technical window and a higher price. If all you need is “this app, that proxy”, you are paying for a lot you won't use.
When Reroute is enough
Reroute does the common case and stops there. Add an app, choose a proxy, and that app (with the helper tools its developer ships) uses the proxy while every other app stays on your normal connection.
- £9.99 once for up to 3 Macs, after a 7-day trial with every feature on.
- It fails closed. If the proxy is down, a routed app's connections fail instead of quietly using your normal connection.
- It isn't a VPN, so it runs beside Tailscale and VPN apps.
- An activity view shows what each routed app is connecting to.
What it doesn't do: there are no proxy chains and no rules by hostname or port. You can't add a bare command-line tool. It carries a routed app's TCP connections; UDP is refused by default (or sent direct if you choose), and plain DNS lookups stay on your normal connection. Safari isn't verified yet. It also doesn't include a proxy: you bring your own. If any of those matter to you, use Proxifier.
When AppLanes fits better
AppLanes answers a slightly different question. It doesn't use a proxy at all: it decides, app by app, which apps go into the VPN you already have connected, which go direct and which are blocked. If you already pay for a VPN, keep its app running and simply want some apps kept out of it, AppLanes is the closer fit. It is a subscription.
Your VPN app's own split tunnelling
If your VPN app has split tunnelling on the Mac, it costs nothing extra. It only works with that provider's servers, and a VPN app that is switched on can stop Tailscale or a work VPN from running beside it. See how to use a VPN for only one app and Tailscale and a VPN at the same time.
Questions people ask
What is the best Proxifier alternative for Mac?
It depends on what you used Proxifier for. For sending chosen apps through one SOCKS5 or HTTP proxy, Reroute does that for £9.99 once. For splitting apps between a VPN you already run and your normal connection, AppLanes does that on subscription. For proxy chains or rules by hostname and port, Proxifier is still the tool to use.
Is there a free alternative to Proxifier on a Mac?
For apps with their own proxy setting, such as Firefox, the free answer is that setting. Command-line tools can use environment variables or the open-source proxychains-ng. For ordinary Mac apps with no proxy setting there is no free tool we can recommend, which is why paid ones exist.
How much does Proxifier for Mac cost?
Proxifier for Mac is $39.95 for a perpetual licence, with a 31-day free trial, according to proxifier.com on 10 November 2026.
Is Reroute cheaper than Proxifier?
Yes. Reroute is £9.99 once for up to 3 Macs. It also does less: per-app rules only, with no proxy chains and no rules by hostname or port.
Does Reroute work on Apple silicon?
Yes. Reroute runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs with macOS 15 Sequoia or later.
More guides
Questions about your set-up? Email support@flavrapps.com. All guides.