Comparison

tpPLC vs NetSpot WiFi Analyzer

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

Head to head
About

tpPLC

Easily view and manage your TP-Link powerline devices from your smartphone or tablet. Connect to your powerline extender's Wi-Fi to control individual adapters, update settings, and monitor your entire powerline network.

Highlights
  • View all compatible powerline devices
  • Manage individual device settings
  • Control Wi-Fi settings for extenders
  • Add new powerline devices
  • Set network-wide LED status
  • Monitor data rates
Features
Read full description

TP-Link tpPLC app lets you conveniently view and manage your TP-Link powerline devices via your smart device. Simply connect your smart device to the Wi-Fi network of a compatible TP-Link powerline extender and start managing with ease. It will list all the compatible powerline adapters and powerline extenders in your current network, and allow you to manage your powerline devices individually as well as the whole powerline network with a few taps. Features • Display information of all compatible powerline devices in the current network. • Manage a powerline device such as changing its device name, turning on or off its LEDs, viewing its data rate, resetting to factory defaults, and removing it from the current network. For a powerline extender, you can also change and schedule its Wi-Fi settings, and redirect to the web management interface. • Manage the whole powerline network such as adding a new powerline device, setting a new powerline network name, and turning on or off the LEDs on all the powerline devices in the network. Compatible Devices: https://www.tp-link.com/powerline/compatible-devices/ Privacy Policy & Terms of Use https://privacy.tp-link.com/app/tpPLC/privacy

About

NetSpot WiFi Analyzer

Analyze and troubleshoot wireless networks with interactive heatmaps and speed tests. Discover connected devices and test network latency. Visualize WiFi coverage and identify areas needing improvement.

Highlights
  • WiFi heatmaps
  • Internet speed tests
  • Ping tests
  • Device discovery
  • Network analysis
  • Site survey projects
Read full description

NetSpot 3 delivers powerful WiFi site surveys with internet speed, ping tests and device discovery to iPhone and iPad users. Build realistic WiFi heatmaps right on your iPhone or iPad in minutes, without additional expensive hardware! Analyze and troubleshoot your wireless networks with color-coded interactive heatmaps, very simple to create and interpret. NetSpot, famous for its versatile network tools with millions of business and home users across all platforms, is the only WiFi scanner app with heatmap visualizations on the App Store. Effortlessly manage your Wi-Fi survey projects by organizing them into multiple zones and snapshots for each surveyed area. Flexible configuration settings let you customize the look and feel of your WiFi map and choose the desired gradient to properly highlight areas with high WiFi speed and stable connection, as well as the areas with low WiFi signal that may need improvements. NetSpot’s WiFi speedtest is a great one-tap solution to verify and track performance of your wireless setups over time. NetSpot also offers Ping Tests. A ping test is a great way to check network connectivity for any underlying network issues and measure the latency. High latency may indicate slow or laggy internet, which affects gaming or video calls quality. NetSpot offers a handy Device Discovery mode, which basically turns the app into a network scanner collecting information on all devices connected to your network. It depends on devices, which information can be collected, but in general you can see such data as MAC address, IP address, device names, software and firmware versions, a class of device (e.g. smartphone, smart device or a laptop.), etc. The free version of NetSpot for iOS lets you use Device Discovery mode, as well as test the ping and Internet speed. WiFi Survey mode with heatmaps is available in NetSpot Plus - a one-time in-app purchase. USE NETSPOT AS... * WiFi analyzer - diagnose your wireless network connection speed and latency * WiFi scanner - collect and visualize your WiFi data * Speed tester - check your internet, WiFi or mobile download and upload speed, record historical results * WiFi mapper - conduct active WiFi site surveys for connected networks * Ping tester - verify your WiFi or mobile connection latency to major or custom websites * Network scanner – find and collect information about devices currently connected to your wireless network * WiFi troubleshooting app NetSpot WiFi heat mapper is fast, accurate and extremely simple. It helps you see the true coverage of your WiFi like never before, regardless of your mesh or no-mesh configuration, security settings, interfering networks or other factors. Every time you use NetSpot internet speed meter for WiFi site surveys, it delivers reliable interactive heatmaps that are easy to analyze. NETSPOT IS INCREDIBLY HELPFUL FOR... * WiFi network setup verification * WiFi signal, speed and ping test * Creating WiFi heat map to detect areas of weak signal (part of NetSpot Plus) * Find out who is on your Wi-Fi * Extending WiFi coverage and more

Screenshots

tpPLC4 screens
NetSpot WiFi Analyzer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: NetSpot WiFi Analyzer at 3.7 against tpPLC's 1.7. NetSpot WiFi Analyzer also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 4 months). tpPLC's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.5). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads 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. NetSpot WiFi Analyzer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. tpPLC asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NetSpot WiFi Analyzer holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 1.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 165 and 337 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 15% of tpPLC's written reviews are positive against 18% of NetSpot WiFi Analyzer's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

tpPLC ships an update every 4 months, NetSpot WiFi Analyzer every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on September 22, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
tpPLC versus NetSpot WiFi Analyzer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametertpPLCNetSpot WiFi Analyzer
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.7 (165 ratings)3.7 (337 ratings) — better
Positive reviews14.9% of reviews17.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings165337 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size16 MB51 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTP-Link Systems Inc.Etwok Inc

Customer experience

tpPLC

All ratings165 ratings
Positive15.8%
Neutral3.6%
Negative80.6%
Written reviews363 reviews
Positive14.9%
Neutral5.0%
Negative80.2%

NetSpot WiFi Analyzer

All ratings337 ratings
Positive67.1%
Neutral3.3%
Negative29.7%
Written reviews361 reviews
Positive17.7%
Neutral1.7%
Negative80.6%

User reviews

tpPLC

From 165 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy setup
  • 🔒 Secure network
  • 👍 Reliable performance

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inconsistent device detection
  • 🔍 Limited functionality
  • 🤔 Confusing configuration
  • 💤 Frequent disconnections

NetSpot WiFi Analyzer

From 337 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Helped identify Wi-Fi issues
  • 💡 Useful for mapping Wi-Fi coverage
  • 🚀 Speedy and accurate

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Limited functionality on iOS
  • 🔒 Requires expensive hardware to unlock full features
  • 🔒 Misleading about hardware requirements
  • 🐛 Inaccurate speed test results
  • 🐛 Confusing to set up and use

Bugs and requests

tpPLC

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App fails to detect compatible devices
  • Inability to change passwords or settings
  • Frequent crashes and timeouts
  • Incompatibility with newer iOS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Support for more device models
  • Improved network diagnostics
  • Better mobile app integration
  • Scheduled Wi-Fi on/off controls

NetSpot WiFi Analyzer

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Unable to scan for data points beyond a certain distance
  • Crashes when trying to create heat maps
  • Speed test functionality is unreliable

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add ability to scan for nearby Wi-Fi networks
  • Improve heat mapping capabilities
  • Allow importing floor plans without external hardware
  • Provide more detailed signal strength analysis

In-app purchases

None

tpPLC

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

NetSpot WiFi Analyzer

Subscriptions1
  • NetSpot Plus Monthly$8.991 Month
One-time2
  • NetSpot Plus$6.99
  • NetSpot Plus Lifetime$29.99

Questions

Is tpPLC free?
tpPLC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NetSpot WiFi Analyzer free?
NetSpot WiFi Analyzer is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, tpPLC or NetSpot WiFi Analyzer?
NetSpot WiFi Analyzer is rated higher. tpPLC averages 1.7 out of 5 from 165 ratings, while NetSpot WiFi Analyzer averages 3.7 from 337 ratings.
Do tpPLC or NetSpot WiFi Analyzer have ads?
Neither tpPLC nor NetSpot WiFi Analyzer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, tpPLC or NetSpot WiFi Analyzer?
tpPLC ships an update every 4 months, and NetSpot WiFi Analyzer every 2 weeks. Most recently, tpPLC was updated on September 22, 2026 and NetSpot WiFi Analyzer on September 22, 2026.

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