Comparison

Parakey vs Pocket Notifier

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Parakey

Transform your smartphone into a digital key for various locked spaces like offices and parking garages. This app eliminates the need for physical keys, fobs, or cards, offering convenient access even without an internet connection.

Highlights
  • Smartphone as a digital key
  • Access locked spaces without internet
  • Automatic door detection
  • NFC sticker unlocking
  • Lock screen widgets
Features
Read full description

Use your smartphone as a key to locked spaces, such as the office, parking garage or gym – even without internet access. No more physical keys, fobs or entry cards to keep track of! — Features — • Automatic detection of doors you are close to and have access to – no need to scroll through long lists of doors • Tap your phone on a Parakey NFC sticker to unlock • Add widgets to open the app or NFC reader from the lock screen • Access to many locked spaces? Your frequently unlocked ones are displayed at the top • ... and much more! — Requirements — • Parakey-devices installed in the locked areas • You need to be invited by an administrator in order to create an account and login as a user • iPhone 6s or greater • iOS 15.0 or greater

About

Pocket Notifier

Features
Read full description

Pocket Notifier turns just about anything — a server, a script, a cron job, a home-automation rule, a CI pipeline, a webhook — into a push notification on your iPhone and iPad. No code needed on the receiving end. How it works: 1. Create a notification group and get a unique API key. 2. Have any system send an HTTP POST to /api/notify with your key. 3. The notification arrives instantly on your devices. Features: • Unlimited notification groups, each with its own API key • Full notification history, with a home-screen widget for the latest • Mute individual groups per device when you want quiet • Teams (Premium): share a group so notifications reach every member Free plan: 100 notifications per month, 3 devices, 3 notification groups. Premium: a one-time purchase that unlocks unlimited notifications, devices, and groups, plus Teams.

Screenshots

Parakey4 screens
Pocket Notifier4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Parakey at none against Pocket Notifier's 1. Parakey also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). Pocket Notifier's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 weeks). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Pocket Notifier sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Parakey asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Parakey ships an update every 5 weeks, Pocket Notifier every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Parakey versus Pocket Notifier: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterParakeyPocket Notifier
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.0 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size26 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperParakey ABVanmo IT AB

In-app purchases

None

Parakey

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Pocket Notifier

One-time1
  • Premium$3.99

Questions

Is Parakey free?
Parakey is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pocket Notifier free?
Pocket Notifier is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Parakey or Pocket Notifier have ads?
Neither Parakey nor Pocket Notifier shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Parakey or Pocket Notifier?
Parakey ships an update every 5 weeks, and Pocket Notifier every 5 days. Most recently, Parakey was updated on September 24, 2026 and Pocket Notifier on September 20, 2026.

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