Rain Bird vs Paxton Key
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Rain Bird
Control your sprinklers remotely from your mobile device. Automate watering schedules and adjust for weather conditions to conserve water and reduce costs. Compatible with various Rain Bird controller models.
- Remote sprinkler control
- Customizable watering schedules
- Automated weather adjustments
- Water and money saving
- Controller model compatibility
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Smart Watering Made Simple. Connect your Rain Bird controller to your mobile device to turn on sprinklers, set up customized watering schedules, and automate weather adjustments, saving you water and money. Compatible with the following Rain Bird controller models: ST8-WIFI ESP-TM2 ESP-RZXe ESP-Me ESP-ME3 RC2 ARC8 For more information: http://wifi.rainbird.com 1-800-RAINBIRD
Paxton Key
Transform your iPhone into a virtual key for building and car park access. Control your Paxton10 system to grant entry and perform predefined actions like setting alarms. This app eliminates the need for physical access cards.
- Use iPhone as a virtual access key
- Gain access to buildings and car parks
- Control Paxton10 system
- Perform predefined system actions
- Receive virtual keys remotely
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Please note, this app is compatible with Paxton10 V3.3 and newer only. When used in conjunction with a Paxton10 system from Paxton, this app allows you to use your iPhone as a means of accessing a building. By presenting your iPhone to a wall mounted reader you will be able to control the Paxton10 system to; - Gain access to a building or car park - Carry out predefined actions within the system such as setting an intruder alarm This app allows users to have ‘virtual keys’ sent to them prior to visiting a building, dispensing with the need to obtain and carry a separate access card. About Paxton10 Paxton10 is an access control and video management system from Paxton. Built on a foundation of secure access control, Paxton10 knows where people are and allows the building to respond as required. Paxton10 combines security and convenience, and is suitable for all types of buildings. Paxton aims for engineering excellence, creating intelligent, innovative products that are fit to meet the challenges and trends of the quickly evolving security industry. This app directly supersedes the Paxton Key v1 app (discontinued 30th November 2022).
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Rain Bird at 31% against Paxton Key's 4%. Rain Bird also leads on update cadence (every 2 months vs every 9 months) and ratings volume (70K vs 735). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Rain Bird holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rain Bird has 70K ratings behind it against 735, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of Rain Bird's written reviews are positive against 4% of Paxton Key's.
Rain Bird ships an update every 2 months, Paxton Key every 9 months. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Rain Bird | Paxton Key |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (70K ratings) — better | 4.4 (735 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 31.3% of reviews — better | 3.6% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 70K — better | 735 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 9 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rain Bird Corporation | Paxton Access Ltd |
Customer experience
Rain Bird
Paxton Key
Bugs and requests
Rain Bird
Reported bugs
5 issues- Constant connection errors
- App crashes frequently
- Date/time not syncing correctly
- Seasonal adjustment not working as expected
- Manual controls not functioning properly
Requested features
6 requests- Add water usage history and analytics
- Allow pausing of individual zones
- Improve manual control options
- Add weather integration and smart scheduling
- Improve notification system
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- Add ability to turn off entire system remotely
Paxton Key
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Rain Bird
No in-app purchases
Paxton Key
No in-app purchases
