RPiControl vs SimplePi for Raspberry Pi
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
RPiControl
Control your Raspberry Pi 3 from your phone or tablet via Bluetooth. Create custom control layouts, run commands, and interface with your own programs without writing code. Ideal for educators and hobbyists.
- Bluetooth control for Raspberry Pi 3
- Customizable control layouts
- GPIO pin state control
- Run Pi commands and macros
- Interface with custom programs
- Share layouts online
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Do you want to: - control your Pi without having to write any code? - or, do you have a program you wrote for your Pi and you want to interface to it with a phone app? - or, you're an educator looking for a fun way to teach students the basics of programming? If any of the above apply to you then you definitely need to give RPiControl a spin. Take control of your Raspberry Pi 3 A+/B+ from your phone or tablet via Bluetooth! - Create multiple projects in the app - In each project create a custom control layout using a drag/drop, fill in the blank, graphical interface. Add buttons, switches, lights, etc. - Controls allow you to set GPIO pin state; run Pi commands; play sounds; run macros; display the state of pins plus more. - Create macros to run multiple commands at a single button tap. Macros are written using the built-in, easy to use, scripting language. Want to run a macro without having to connect to your phone? No problem, just upload the macro to your Pi. You'll be able to launch it from the phone and then disconnect. Or, have the macro run on the Pi automatically at startup. Run multiple macros at the same time from the phone or on the Pi! - One of the most powerful features of the app is the ability to pass alphanumeric data from the app to your own programs and to receive data from your programs. Display data from your program in the app easily and just as easily send data back to your program and act on it. Or, trigger actions of your program by just setting GPIO pins high or low. No need to spend valuable time writing your own phone app! - Educators, use RPiControl and a Raspberry Pi to teach your students basic programming principles. Give different types of feedback by connecting hardware to the Pi and control the hardware from the app via its controls and scripts. - Share your layouts with others by uploading them to our online layout library! More controls and features coming soon! Download and try it out for free! Want a custom version for your product? Contact us. Raspberry Pi is a trademark of the Raspberry Pi Foundation
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.
- 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
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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
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: RPiControl at 5.0 against SimplePi for Raspberry Pi's 3.9. RPiControl also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and iOS requirement (11.0 vs 17.0). SimplePi for Raspberry Pi's advantage is ratings volume (124 vs 2) and update cadence (every 8 days vs every 3 weeks). 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. RPiControl sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and SimplePi for Raspberry Pi sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per year. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
RPiControl holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SimplePi for Raspberry Pi has 124 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.
RPiControl ships an update every 3 weeks, SimplePi for Raspberry Pi every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on June 1, 2026 and August 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | RPiControl | SimplePi for Raspberry Pi |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 3.9 (124 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 25.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 124 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 11.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 18 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | OutWest Systems, Inc. | Benedikt Hirmer |
Customer experience
RPiControl
SimplePi for Raspberry Pi
In-app purchases
RPiControl
- Unlimited Version$15.99
SimplePi for Raspberry Pi
- Full Access (12 months)7 Days trial$4.991 Year
Questions
Is RPiControl free?
Is SimplePi for Raspberry Pi free?
Which has better reviews, RPiControl or SimplePi for Raspberry Pi?
Do RPiControl or SimplePi for Raspberry Pi have ads?
Which is updated more often, RPiControl or SimplePi for Raspberry Pi?
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