Comparison

Serial Control 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

Serial Control

Create custom interfaces for serial devices from your smartphone or tablet. Design control pages with buttons and sliders, build command libraries, and automate actions based on device responses. Seamlessly integrate with StarTech.com serial products.

Highlights
  • Customizable control interfaces
  • Command library builder
  • Event-based action automation
  • Automatic device detection
  • Integrated account control
  • HEX and ASCII command editor
Features
Read full description

Serial Device Application Software for iOS Build and customize your own serial control interface from your smartphone, tablet, or web browser Features • Use with your existing StarTech.com serial products (for example, NETRS232, NETRS2321P, NETRS232485, NETRS232485W) • Issue console commands, build a command library, or design a control page that’s tailored to your application, complete with buttons, sliders, and switches. • Easily set up events based on response types, and map actions to run when an event occurs. • The app automatically detects the StarTech.com serial devices that are connected to your network. • Integrated account control lets you create an account, save settings, and share it across multiple devices. • Includes a HEX and ACSII command editor. • Conveniently test commands as you edit them.

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

Serial Control4 screens
NetSpot WiFi Analyzer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Serial Control at none against NetSpot WiFi Analyzer's 3. Serial Control also leads on iOS requirement (11.0 vs 15.5). NetSpot WiFi Analyzer's advantage is review sentiment (18% vs 0%) and update cadence (every 2 weeks 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. NetSpot WiFi Analyzer sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $8.99 per month. Serial Control asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Serial Control ships an update every 5 weeks, NetSpot WiFi Analyzer every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Serial Control versus NetSpot WiFi Analyzer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSerial ControlNetSpot WiFi Analyzer
PriceFreeFree
Rating—3.7 (346 ratings) — better
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews18.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings—346 — better
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.5
Further details — not scored
Size6 MB51 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStarTech.comEtwok Inc

Customer experience

Serial Control

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

NetSpot WiFi Analyzer

All ratings346 ratings
Positive67.1%
Neutral3.2%
Negative29.8%
Written reviews365 reviews
Positive18.1%
Neutral1.6%
Negative80.3%

Bugs and requests

Serial Control

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

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

Serial Control

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 Serial Control free?
Serial Control 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.
Do Serial Control or NetSpot WiFi Analyzer have ads?
Neither Serial Control nor NetSpot WiFi Analyzer shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Serial Control or NetSpot WiFi Analyzer?
Serial Control ships an update every 5 weeks, and NetSpot WiFi Analyzer every 2 weeks. Most recently, Serial Control was updated on October 3, 2026 and NetSpot WiFi Analyzer on October 15, 2026.

Other comparisons