Comparison

SynScan Pro vs BroodMinder Bees

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SynScan Pro

Control motorized telescope mounts for celestial observation and astrophotography. Features include precise slewing, alignment, GOTO, and tracking of stars, planets, and deep-sky objects. Supports advanced functions like polar alignment and camera triggering.

Highlights
  • Control telescope mount (slew, align, GOTO, track)
  • Point and Track celestial objects
  • Gamepad navigation support
  • Catalog of celestial objects
  • Third-party app integration (ASCOM, SkySafari)
  • Polar alignment (with or without polar scope)
  • Camera shutter release control
Features
Read full description

Use the SynScan app to control Sky-Watcher telescope mounts via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth LE. Mounts without built-in Wi-Fi can be supported via a SynScan Wi-Fi adapter. This is the Pro version of the SynScan app and contains features suited for expert users using equatorial mounts. Features - Control telescope mount to slew, align, GOTO and track. - Point And Track: track celestial objects (including the Sun and planets) without aligning. - Support gamepad navigation. - Browse a catalog of stars, comets, and deep sky objects. Or, save your own objects. - Provide access to mount for use by third-party apps, including ASCOM clients, SkySafari, Luminos, Stellarium Mobile Plus, Stellarium Desktop or customer-developed apps. Also set up mount alignment for Luminos, Skysafari. - Support access to the mount and the SynScan app from any platform that supports TCP/UDP connections. - Provide emulator mount for testing and practicing. - Track fast-moving earth satellites by working with the PreviSat app on Windows PC or the Lumios app on iOS devices. - Perform polar alignment with or without a polar scope. - Control shutter release (SNAP) port to trigger an attached camera. (Requires mount with SNAP port and adapter cable that matches camera.) - Use ASCOM to perform autoguiding on mounts that do not have autoguider (ST-4) port. - Other mount controls: auto home, PPEC, park.

About

BroodMinder Bees

This app collects data from specialized monitoring devices for beekeepers. It allows users to view and configure hive information, supporting both online and offline data collection. It serves as a replacement for previous versions of the application.

Highlights
  • Collects data from BroodMinder devices
  • Uploads data to MyBroodMinder account
  • Online and offline data collection
  • View hive temperature, humidity, and weight
  • Configure device settings
Features
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BeesApp collects data from BroodMinder devices and uploads it to your account in MyBroodMinder. It allows for both online and offline data collection, viewing, and configuration. This app replaces both BroodMinder Lite and BroodMinder Apiary. The BroodMinder is a professional-grade monitor expressly designed for the apiarist. Drawing on our many years of consumer and scientific product design, we have created a devices that accurately log hive temperature, humidity, and weight once every hour.

Screenshots

SynScan Pro4 screens
BroodMinder Bees4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: BroodMinder Bees at 67% against SynScan Pro's 22%. BroodMinder Bees also leads on rating (4.4 vs 2.6) and monetization model (free vs paid). SynScan Pro's advantage is ratings volume (51 vs 9). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BroodMinder Bees holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SynScan Pro has 51 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 22% of SynScan Pro's written reviews are positive against 67% of BroodMinder Bees's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SynScan Pro ships an update every 2 months, BroodMinder Bees every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on July 4, 2026 and September 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
SynScan Pro versus BroodMinder Bees: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSynScan ProBroodMinder Bees
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.6 (51 ratings)4.4 (9 ratings) — better
Positive reviews21.5% of reviews66.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings51 — better9
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size46 MB295 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAstropower Technology Co. Ltd.IF, LLC

Customer experience

SynScan Pro

All ratings51 ratings
Positive33.3%
Neutral13.7%
Negative52.9%
Written reviews93 reviews
Positive21.5%
Neutral20.4%
Negative58.1%

BroodMinder Bees

All ratings9 ratings
Positive77.8%
Neutral11.1%
Negative11.1%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral33.3%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SynScan Pro

No in-app purchases

None

BroodMinder Bees

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SynScan Pro free?
SynScan Pro is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BroodMinder Bees free?
BroodMinder Bees is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SynScan Pro or BroodMinder Bees?
BroodMinder Bees is rated higher. SynScan Pro averages 2.6 out of 5 from 51 ratings, while BroodMinder Bees averages 4.4 from 9 ratings.
Do SynScan Pro or BroodMinder Bees have ads?
Neither SynScan Pro nor BroodMinder Bees shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SynScan Pro or BroodMinder Bees?
SynScan Pro ships an update every 2 months, and BroodMinder Bees every 6 weeks. Most recently, SynScan Pro was updated on July 4, 2026 and BroodMinder Bees on September 10, 2026.

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