# Citizen POS Printer Utility vs Virtual Thermal Printer

The clearest difference is price: Citizen POS Printer Utility at Free against Virtual Thermal Printer's $1.99. Citizen POS Printer Utility also leads on rating (5.0 vs 3.3). Virtual Thermal Printer's advantage is update cadence (every 5 weeks vs every 11 months) and ratings volume (4 vs 1). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Citizen POS Printer Utility is free to download; Virtual Thermal Printer costs $1.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Citizen POS Printer Utility holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 4 respectively.

Citizen POS Printer Utility ships an update every 11 months, Virtual Thermal Printer every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 10, 2026 and September 3, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Citizen POS Printer Utility | Virtual Thermal Printer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | **Free** | $1.99 |
| Rating | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/citizen-pos-printer-utility/id1160558983/reviews)** | [3.3 (4 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/virtual-thermal-printer/id1547812356/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **4** |
| Positive reviews | — | 50.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | **Every 5 weeks** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Paid |
| Size | 9 MB | 1 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [CITIZEN SYSTEMS JAPAN CO., LTD.](https://appshunter.io/developer/624468566) | [Pascal Kimmel](https://appshunter.io/developer/1660210636) |

## What reviewers say

### Citizen POS Printer Utility

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/citizen-pos-printer-utility/id1160558983)

Configure Citizen POS printers with ease. Adjust settings like MSW, logos, and network connections via Bluetooth, LAN, or USB. Supports a wide range of Citizen printer models.

**Highlights:** MSW Setting, Logo Setting, Bluetooth Setting, IP Address Setting, USB Setting, Wide printer model support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Virtual Thermal Printer

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/virtual-thermal-printer/id1547812356)

This utility app simulates a thermal receipt printer for POS systems. It supports various ESC/POS commands to print text, barcodes, and QR codes, and offers multiple code-page options for international character sets.

**Highlights:** Simulates POS thermal printer, Supports ESC/POS commands, Prints text, barcodes, and QR codes, Configurable IP address and port, Multiple code-page support, Raster image printing

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Citizen POS Printer Utility free?

Citizen POS Printer Utility is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Virtual Thermal Printer free?

Virtual Thermal Printer costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Citizen POS Printer Utility or Virtual Thermal Printer?

Citizen POS Printer Utility is rated higher. Citizen POS Printer Utility averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Virtual Thermal Printer averages 3.3 from 4 ratings.

### Do Citizen POS Printer Utility or Virtual Thermal Printer have ads?

Neither Citizen POS Printer Utility nor Virtual Thermal Printer shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Citizen POS Printer Utility or Virtual Thermal Printer?

Citizen POS Printer Utility ships an update every 11 months, and Virtual Thermal Printer every 5 weeks. Most recently, Citizen POS Printer Utility was updated on September 10, 2026 and Virtual Thermal Printer on September 3, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*