Comparison

piDisplay vs SimplePi for Raspberry Pi

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

Head to head
About

piDisplay

Features
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Control your official Raspberry Pi Foundation 7" touchscreen display backlight and brightness from any iOS device. Toggle power and activity LEDs if you want. Shell command utility to run commands on your pi from iOS. Optional SwiftServer (Swift on Linux) for blazing fast response - you can still use SSH if you want though. The server-side software (on the raspberry pi) has only been tested on Raspbian Stretch and pi 3B+ The installer for the pi server software will install Swift on your pi then build and install the server for you but you can modify and/or run it manually. The Apple Watch app will still work when the iPhone app is not in the foreground but only ssh communication works in background mode.

About

SimplePi for Raspberry Pi

Manage your Raspberry Pi from your iPhone or iPad. Monitor system activity with graphs, run custom commands, and access a terminal shell. Includes widgets, file browsing, and support for multiple Pis.

Highlights
  • Monitor CPU, Memory, Temperature, Disk Usage
  • Run custom commands with one tap
  • Full terminal shell access
  • Home screen widgets for monitoring and control
  • File browser with export options
  • Manage multiple Raspberry Pi devices
  • Public key authentication
Features
Read full description

SimplePi is the Swiss army knife utility app for monitoring, controlling, and managing your Raspberry Pi using your iPhone and iPad. MONITOR ACTIVITY See what is going on with your Raspberry Pi. CPU, Memory, Temperature, Disk Usage, and Clock activity are shown in beautiful and easily understandable graphs. CONTROL Run commands on your Pi with a single tap. Want to have your own commands? No problem. SimplePi lets you add as many commands as you wish. Additionally, you can manage your commands in groups. TERMINAL SHELL Access your Pi from a shell terminal with colored output and hardware keyboard support. The on-screen keyboard comes with fast access to commonly used special keys like ctrl and arrow keys. WIDGETS Monitor your Pi and run commands right from the Home Screen with various widgets. VIEW COMMAND RESULTS View and export command results and logs automatically. The results history allows you to view the results of previous commands. DETAILED STATS Detailed Stats for CPU and Memory give you an insight on which processes are running, how much memory is active, and much more. FILE BROWSER Browse Files and Folders in a file browser-like experience. View and export files of various formats. MANAGE MULTIPLE PI SimplePi can manage multiple Raspberry Pi. Configure each Raspberry Pi and connect to them simultaneously. KEY AUTHENTICATION Public Key authentication gives you the flexibility to authenticate in your preferred way. Key files can be imported via iTunes or from other apps. ICLOUD SYNC Sync Commands, Hosts, Keys over iCloud APP LOCK Lock the app using FaceID, TouchID, or a custom passcode HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Run commands directly from your Home Screen on iOS 14 Siri Shortcuts Integrate commands into automated worflows using the Shortcuts app (requires iOS14 or later) NOTE: SSH needs to be enabled on your Raspberry Pi for SimplePi to work correctly. SimplePi has been tested with the latest releases of * Raspberry Pi OS (formerly Raspbian) * Raspbmc * OpenElec * Xbian * Pidora * Arch Linux SimplePi works on all Raspberry Pi models. NOTE (only for Xbian users): Automatic start of xbian-config needs to be disabled. You can do this when connecting via SSH and selecting Config > Settings > Xbian Config > NO. There are many different configurations out there. If you encounter problems with one of the distributions above or want to have your distribution support, please contact us.

Screenshots

piDisplay2 screens
SimplePi for Raspberry Pi4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: piDisplay at none against SimplePi for Raspberry Pi's 1. piDisplay also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (12.1 vs 17.0). SimplePi for Raspberry Pi's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 months). On price and ads 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. SimplePi for Raspberry Pi sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per year. piDisplay asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

piDisplay ships an update every 3 months, SimplePi for Raspberry Pi every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on September 28, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
piDisplay versus SimplePi for Raspberry Pi: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterpiDisplaySimplePi for Raspberry Pi
PriceFreeFree
Rating—3.9 (125 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—25.7% of reviews
Number of ratings—125 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.1 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB23 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperIan JonesBenedikt Hirmer

Bugs and requests

piDisplay

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

SimplePi for Raspberry Pi

Reported bugs

13 issues
  • App refuses to connect after closing
  • Opening app redirects to paywall
  • Temporary fix for connection issues: remove host, force close, re-add
  • App crashes several times
  • Fails 50% of the time to display GPU, CPU, and temp settings
Show 8 more
  • Screen disappears when trying to navigate raspi-config
  • Cannot view output of continuously running commands
  • Continuously running commands abort when phone screen locks
  • App rejects credentials that other apps accept
  • Monitoring features do not work
  • App shows one-week free trial but requires subscription immediately
  • App doesn't stay connected, screens close and pop around
  • App rejects identical credentials that other PI apps accept

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow commands to keep running when phone screen locks
  • Ability to view results log for commands
  • Option to remove added commands
  • Improve navigation for raspi-config
  • Store SSH private keys securely using iOS Keychain

In-app purchases

None

piDisplay

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

SimplePi for Raspberry Pi

Subscriptions1
  • Full Access (12 months)7 Days trial$4.991 Year

Questions

Is piDisplay free?
piDisplay is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SimplePi for Raspberry Pi free?
SimplePi for Raspberry Pi is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do piDisplay or SimplePi for Raspberry Pi have ads?
Neither piDisplay nor SimplePi for Raspberry Pi shows ads.
Which is updated more often, piDisplay or SimplePi for Raspberry Pi?
piDisplay ships an update every 3 months, and SimplePi for Raspberry Pi every 8 days. Most recently, piDisplay was updated on September 28, 2026 and SimplePi for Raspberry Pi on October 16, 2026.

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