Telerik Fiddler is a powerful web debugging proxy tool for macOS, Windows and Linux. The current Progress Telerik Fiddler product family includes Fiddler Everywhere for cross-platform HTTP/S debugging and Fiddler Classic for legacy Windows workflows
HttpWatch is a network focused debugger for Chrome and Edge that simplifies the diagnosis of web and network related issues for developers, in-house users or customers. It keeps browser network traffic, HTTPS sessions, page timing, console output and documentation-friendly log files in one focused troubleshooting tool.
Why Choose HttpWatch as your Fiddler Alternative?
| Fiddler |  HttpWatch |
|---|---|
| The basics | |
Works at the proxy level with any browser or application |
Closely integrated with Edge and Chrome |
Supports MacOS, Windows and Linux |
Windows only |
| Setup and HTTPS | |
Configuration has to be changed to add Fiddler as an extra network step. This can change the performance and behavior of the network connection |
Monitors browser network traffic without configuration changes |
A Fiddler specific CA root certificate needs to be installed and trusted by Windows |
Fully supports encrypted HTTPS traffic |
Fiddler Everywhere supports HTTP/2 but not HTTP/3 |
Fully supports HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 |
| What gets recorded | |
Console output is not available |
Records output from browser console (Chrome/Edge) |
No request indicators |
Indicates whether requests were initiated by XHR, Fetch or Service Workers |
Only shows requests that resulted in a network round trip |
Records requests that were read from the browser or memory cache |
Submitted passwords are recorded and saved to log files |
Automatically masks password fields to stop them being recorded |
| Finding your way around | |
Requests are stored sequentially from all web pages and tabs with no grouping |
Groups requests by page to simplify debugging of multi-page scenarios |
No page level timings |
Page level timing such as Page Load, DOM Load, etc are displayed in the time chart |
A separate analysis tool must be run to gain performance insights |
Displays warnings where performance and security could be improved within the network log |
No summaries provided |
Summaries are available at the page level, complete log file or a selection of requests |
No built-in info tips |
Info tips quickly explain headers and other types of data |
| Price | |
Free |
Perpetual license for HttpWatch Professional from $ 625 per userIncludes support by email and forum. Customers and in-house users can send you HWL files using the free Basic Edition |
Strength Missing or harder Difference to be aware of
Browser Network Debugging with HttpWatch and Fiddler
Fiddler remains a broad proxy-based family of tools for developers who need to capture, inspect, modify and replay HTTP/S traffic from many applications. HttpWatch is a more focused option when the debugging experience needs to stay inside Chrome or Edge, especially for teams testing browser performance, API calls, authentication, caching, redirects and customer-reported issues.
For a company that needs clear documentation from support cases, HttpWatch log files can be shared by customers using the free Basic Edition and reviewed by developers with the Professional Edition. That makes it practical for in-house troubleshooting, support workflows, testing and observability without asking every user to configure a separate proxy tool.
Evaluating HttpWatch as a Fiddler Alternative
The Basic Edition of HttpWatch is available for free and lets you evaluate the network debugging workflow in Chrome and Edge, including requests, responses, headers, cookies, timings and saved log files. Check the current edition details before deployment to confirm which sites or usage limits apply.
Got questions about HttpWatch or how it is licensed? Please email us at sales@neumetrix.com