# Beacon vs Guardian

Beacon and Guardian are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Beacon ships an update monthly, Guardian every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 4, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Beacon | Guardian |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Monthly | **Every 2 weeks** |
| Size | 6 MB | 48 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | **15.1** |
| Devices | iPhone | **iPhone, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Marija Gvozdenovic](https://appshunter.io/developer/1244055478) | [Michael Rowe](https://appshunter.io/developer/1872635060) |

## What reviewers say

### Beacon

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/beacon-panic-button-and-sos/id1301300836)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Guardian

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/guardian-alert/id6787748204)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Beacon free?

Beacon is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Guardian free?

Guardian is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do Beacon or Guardian have ads?

Neither Beacon nor Guardian shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Beacon or Guardian?

Beacon ships an update monthly, and Guardian every 2 weeks. Most recently, Beacon was updated on November 4, 2026 and Guardian on November 2, 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.*