nRF Mesh vs ST BLE Drone
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
nRF Mesh
Easily deploy and manage Bluetooth Mesh networks. Control individual nodes, configure network settings, and update device firmware remotely. Supports a wide range of BLE devices compatible with Bluetooth Mesh.
- Node provisioning and identification
- Remote provisioning capabilities
- Network and application key configuration
- Node control via various server models
- Device firmware updates
- Granular control over publication data and subscriptions
- Explore node capabilities and security settings
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nRF Mesh allows you to easily deploy nodes to any Bluetooth Mesh compatible Nodes, giving you flexibility to deploy many different Mesh network Setups. Features: • Identifying: Identify a node before provisioning it. • Provisioning: Deployment of a new Node is as simple as a press of a button. All Out-Of-Band (OOB) methods are supported. • Remote Provisioning: Allows provisioning Nodes that are too faw to reach them directly. • Configuration: Create Network and Application keys or use the randomly generated ones, subscribe to groups and setup your nodes for publishing. • Node Control: Control nodes with Generic OnOff Server, Generic Level Server, Generic OnPowerUp Server, Scene Server and many other models. • Device Firmware Update: Quickly send a new firmware to the Distributor and observe it slowly distributing it to all the nodes. Additionally, you may also run the following configuration commands on your network: • Fully control node publication data. All publication parameters are configurable. • Add/Remove one or more subscription addresses on a model. • Create own AppKeys, or generate them using the builtin crypto-safe generator. • Bind/unbind an Application Key to a specific model for full granular control of your networks' security. • Explore the nodes' capabilities to view all elements, models, provisioning time and date, Manufacturer and available vendor data. • Set the Default TTL on a per-node basis. • Manage global AppKey list on a node. • And much more... Hardware support: - This version of the app is capable of communicating with any BLE devices that speak Bluetooth Mesh! - We recommend nRF5 devices with our nRF SDK for Mesh or nRF Connect SDK.
ST BLE Drone
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The ST Drone is an STEVAL-FCU001V1 board, based on STM32 processor and ST sensors such as the 9-axis gyroscope, accelerometer, magnetometer, pressure, temperature and BLE. The GUI allows to pilot the ST Drone after the BLE connection has been established, then the drone is driven by touchable analog cursors. The GUI is composed by the following screens: • Pilot • BLE connector • Drone parameters settings and configurations • Help (in English or Italian) to explain the commands, the icons and their features Video about ST drone flight: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGFqIDVpMT4 For more information about ST Drone: https://community.st.com/community/drone-zone For more information about STEVAL-FCU001V1: http://www.st.com/en/evaluation-tools/steval-fcu001v1.html To download free source code: https://github.com/STMicroelectronics-CentralLabs/ST_Drone_FCU_F401
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: nRF Mesh at every 6 weeks against ST BLE Drone's every 8 months. ST BLE Drone's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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 Mesh ships an update every 6 weeks, ST BLE Drone every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | nRF Mesh | ST BLE Drone |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (3 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 30.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 11.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nordic Semiconductor ASA | STMicroelectronics |
In-app purchases
nRF Mesh
No in-app purchases
ST BLE Drone
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is nRF Mesh free?
Is ST BLE Drone free?
Do nRF Mesh or ST BLE Drone have ads?
Which is updated more often, nRF Mesh or ST BLE Drone?
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