nRF Blinky vs ST BLE Toolbox
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
nRF Blinky
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nRF Blinky is an application targeted towards developers who are new to Bluetooth Low Energy. nRF Blinky has the following features: - Scan and connect to any nRF5 DK containing the Nordic Semiconductor’s proprietary LED/Button Service. - Toggle the LED on the development kit On and Off from within the application. - Receive Button press and release events from the development kit and display it within the application. This application is open sourced and the is written in Swift 5 and available on GitHub: https://github.com/NordicSemiconductor/IOS-CoreBluetooth-Mock
ST BLE Toolbox
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The ST BLE Toolbox is a user-friendly application to interact and debug ST Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) devices. Upon launch, the app scans for BLE devices. For each device found it is possible to display advertisements and connect to it. The key features are: - Discovery peripherals - Show output of standard profiles - Show peripheral services and characteristics - Perform Read, write and notification interactions with peripherals
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is device support: nRF Blinky at 4 against ST BLE Toolbox's 2. nRF Blinky also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.0). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
nRF Blinky ships an update every 9 months, ST BLE Toolbox every 6 months. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | nRF Blinky | ST BLE Toolbox |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 6 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nordic Semiconductor ASA | STMicroelectronics |
In-app purchases
nRF Blinky
No in-app purchases
ST BLE Toolbox
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is nRF Blinky free?
Is ST BLE Toolbox free?
Do nRF Blinky or ST BLE Toolbox have ads?
Which is updated more often, nRF Blinky or ST BLE Toolbox?
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