# monitorCat vs HL Beam Smoke Detector

The clearest difference is update cadence: monitorCat at fortnightly against HL Beam Smoke Detector's every 10 months. monitorCat also leads on iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

monitorCat ships an update fortnightly, HL Beam Smoke Detector every 10 months. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | monitorCat | HL Beam Smoke Detector |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Fortnightly** | Every 10 months |
| Size | 8 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | **8.0** | 15.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wei Zhao](https://appshunter.io/developer/981750643) | [一隅數位有限公司](https://appshunter.io/developer/1651792817) |

## What reviewers say

### monitorCat

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/monitorcat/id1385674787)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


### HL Beam Smoke Detector

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hl-beam-smoke-detector/id1426241698)

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is monitorCat free?

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

### Is HL Beam Smoke Detector free?

HL Beam Smoke Detector is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do monitorCat or HL Beam Smoke Detector have ads?

Neither monitorCat nor HL Beam Smoke Detector shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, monitorCat or HL Beam Smoke Detector?

monitorCat ships an update fortnightly, and HL Beam Smoke Detector every 10 months. Most recently, monitorCat was updated on November 6, 2026 and HL Beam Smoke Detector on October 29, 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.*