ScreenBrush Remote vs OpenDisplay
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ScreenBrush Remote
Control your Mac presentations from your iPhone. Use it as a laser pointer, slide changer, or drawing tool to highlight key points. It also features a flashlight and remote typing.
- Remote drawing
- Slide changing
- Laser pointer
- Flashlight tool
- Remote typing
- Undo/redo functionality
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ScreenBrush Remote as a laser pointer for presentations to concentrate attention on significant points. Use your iPhone to connect to ScreenBrush on your Mac. Use ScreenBrush Remote as a "clicker" for Keynote or Microsoft PowerPoint presentations to change slides. Features: • Remote Drawing • Change slides of presentations • As a laser pointer • Clear Screen with drawing by swiping left • Flashlight Tool by swiping right • Color hue change • Tool change • Repeat last drawing • Remote typing for Text Tool • Undo and redo Requirements: • iPhone with iOS 12 or later • Wi-Fi connection to ScreenBrush on your Mac
OpenDisplay
Transform your iPhone or iPad into a genuine second display for your Mac. This open-source solution allows you to extend your screen space, keeping essential apps visible. Connect via USB for minimal latency or Wi-Fi for easy setup.
- Use iPhone/iPad as a second Mac display
- Connect via USB or Wi-Fi
- Retina-sharp rendering
- Touch and scroll support
- Portrait or landscape orientation
- Private by design, no tracking
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OpenDisplay turns your iPhone or iPad into a second display for your Mac. It's the open-source way to put your spare Apple device to work as a real extended monitor — drag windows onto it, keep chat, notes, or logs in view, and gain screen space anywhere you go. It's not a mirror: it's a genuine additional display your Mac treats like any other monitor. • Real extended display — arrange it in your Mac's Display settings and drag windows across • Connect over USB for the lowest latency, or over Wi-Fi with zero setup • Retina-sharp, pixel-for-pixel rendering • Touch and scroll — tap, drag, and two-finger scroll to control your Mac • Works in portrait or landscape • Private by design — a direct connection between your own devices, with no accounts, no servers, and no tracking IMPORTANT: OpenDisplay requires the companion OpenDisplay app for Mac, running on your computer on the same cable or Wi-Fi network. Get it at https://peetzweg.github.io/opendisplay — without it, this app has nothing to connect to. OpenDisplay is open source under the GPL-3.0 license. Read the code, report issues, or contribute at https://github.com/peetzweg/opendisplay
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: OpenDisplay at 100% against ScreenBrush Remote's 54%. OpenDisplay also leads on rating (4.9 vs 2.4) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 5 months). ScreenBrush Remote's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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.
OpenDisplay holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 2.4. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 11 and 14 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of ScreenBrush Remote's written reviews are positive against 100% of OpenDisplay's.
ScreenBrush Remote ships an update every 5 months, OpenDisplay every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | ScreenBrush Remote | OpenDisplay |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.4 (11 ratings) | 4.9 (14 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 53.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 11 | 14 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Elena Drozhzhina | Philip Poloczek |
Customer experience
ScreenBrush Remote
OpenDisplay
In-app purchases
ScreenBrush Remote
No in-app purchases
OpenDisplay
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is ScreenBrush Remote free?
Is OpenDisplay free?
Which has better reviews, ScreenBrush Remote or OpenDisplay?
Do ScreenBrush Remote or OpenDisplay have ads?
Which is updated more often, ScreenBrush Remote or OpenDisplay?
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