In short: Shadowrocket is a popular client app for iPhone and iPad that connects to a VPN service through a subscription link. Two things to know right away: it is paid (a one-off purchase in the App Store, about $2.99 - not a subscription, you pay once) and it runs only on Apple devices - there is no Windows or Android version. Below: what the app is, how to buy and set it up, and what to use instead if you are not on an iPhone.
What Shadowrocket is
Shadowrocket is a proxy utility: an app that passes your iPhone’s traffic through a chosen server according to rules you set.
For an ordinary user it is simply a convenient VPN client: you paste a subscription link from a service and connect. For an advanced one it is flexible routing: you can decide which apps and sites go through the server and which go directly.
Shadowrocket provides no servers of its own - it is only a client. To make it work you need a subscription from a VPN service, and that is the link you load into it. It understands every modern protocol: VLESS, VMess, Trojan, Shadowsocks, WireGuard.
The subscription can come from Tainet - one for every device, working in Shadowrocket and in any other client.
Try Tainet VPN with no card →What Shadowrocket costs
The app is paid - a one-off purchase in the App Store, about $2.99.
Important: it is not a subscription and not a monthly payment. You pay once and use it; updates are free. Under one Apple ID the app installs on all your Apple devices, both iPhone and iPad.
There is an important caveat for Russia: Shadowrocket cannot currently be bought directly from the Russian App Store - you need an Apple ID from another country (the US) and payment by a foreign card or an App Store gift card. That is a separate hassle for the sake of a paid client, and one more reason many people take a free client instead.
The app being paid is fine and even convenient: no ads and no “free” versions with a catch. But if you would rather not pay for an app, there are free clients that do the same thing: the choice of client ties you to nothing, the subscription works in any of them.
A word should be said separately about “free installs”: people sometimes offer Shadowrocket through signing into someone else’s App Store account. Do not do that: it is a stranger’s Apple ID with unknown consequences for your data. The app is bought in the official App Store only.
How to install and set up Shadowrocket
The whole path takes a couple of minutes:
- Buy the app. Open the App Store, find Shadowrocket (developer Shadow Launch Technology Limited), buy it for about $2.99 and install. Note: the purchase is currently unavailable from the Russian App Store - you will need an Apple ID from another country. If that is awkward, a free client is simpler (below).
- Get a subscription from a VPN service - you will receive a link. With Tainet that is in the Telegram bot or in your account, the first 7 days free with no card.
- Add the subscription. Copy the link, open Shadowrocket, tap ”+” at the top and paste it - or import it from the clipboard.
- Check the mode. On the main screen, Global Routing should be set to Proxy. Pick a server and flip the switch at the top to on.
- Allow the VPN configuration when iOS asks - the prompt appears once.
With Tainet you do not have to hunt for the link: in the account, under the connection menu, the "How to connect" button holds direct links to the apps and to the subscription - to test it on your own iPhone.
7 days free with no card →Shadowrocket on Windows, Android and Apple TV
The most common dead end: Shadowrocket exists only for iPhone and iPad. There is no app by that name for Windows, Android, Apple TV or an ordinary Mac. If you were looking for “Shadowrocket on Windows” or “Shadowrocket for Android”, it is not there, and third-party builds under that name are fakes.
What to use instead, by device:
- Android - the free v2rayNG or NekoBox: the same protocols, the same subscription link import.
- Windows - desktop clients, collected in the roundup of VPN clients for every platform.
- Apple TV and televisions - installing a VPN on a TV, or a connection through the router.
And the main point: one subscription covers all of these devices - how many devices one subscription can carry, with no tie to any particular app.
Shadowrocket or a free client
Honestly: Shadowrocket is a good client, but its only difference from the free ones is flexible rule-based routing - which app goes through which server. An ordinary user who just wants “switch it on and it works” does not need that flexibility, and a free client will do just as well.
| Shadowrocket | INCY / Happ / v2RayTun | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | about $2.99 once | Free |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac |
| Where to get it | A foreign Apple ID is needed | INCY - directly in the Russian App Store |
| Protocols | All modern ones | All modern ones |
| Fine-grained routing | Yes, flexible | Simpler |
| Who it is for | People who want rules and do not mind paying | Most people |
If fine-grained rules are exactly what you need, Shadowrocket gives you them.
If the goal is simply to connect, take the free INCY client for iPhone: it is in the Russian App Store directly, with no foreign account, simple and costs nothing. Happ, with its step-by-step setup, works too - but it is harder to install at the moment, so on iPhone it is easier to start with INCY. The subscription is the same for all of them.
FAQ
What does Shadowrocket cost?
About $2.99 - a one-off purchase in the App Store, not a subscription. You pay once, updates are free, and it installs on all your Apple devices under one Apple ID.
Is there a Shadowrocket for Android or Windows?
No, only for iPhone and iPad. On Android people use v2rayNG or NekoBox, on Windows desktop clients. The subscription stays the same.
Do I need a separate subscription for Shadowrocket?
Yes, a subscription from a VPN service - Shadowrocket provides no servers itself. You can test one for free: Tainet gives 7 days with no card, and it works not only in Shadowrocket but in any other client.
Can Shadowrocket be downloaded for free?
The app itself is paid (about $2.99), and it cannot currently be bought directly from the Russian App Store - a foreign Apple ID is needed. “Free” routes through someone else’s account are unsafe.
It is easier to take a free client: on iPhone, INCY from the Russian App Store, which needs no foreign account; on Android, v2rayNG. They do the same thing, and the subscription in them is the same.
Is Shadowrocket better than the free clients?
Its advantage is flexible rule-based routing. If you do not need that, the free Happ or v2RayTun will do just as well. The subscription is the same for all.
Summary
In short: Shadowrocket is a paid ($2.99) proxy client for iPhone and iPad only; there is no Windows or Android version, and there people install the free v2rayNG or NekoBox.
Either way you need a subscription: with Tainet it is one for every device and works in any client.
The first 7 days free with no card →Questions go to support.
