# SD vs IBM Aspera

SD and IBM Aspera both sit at 3.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 33% of IBM Aspera's written reviews are positive against 22% of SD's. SD's advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). On price, rating, ratings volume and update cadence there is nothing between them.

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.7 for SD against 3.7 for IBM Aspera. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 22 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 22% of SD's written reviews are positive against 33% of IBM Aspera's.

SD ships an update every 2 months, IBM Aspera every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 1, 2026 and August 27, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | SD | IBM Aspera |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.7 (9 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sd-remote/id1487546591/reviews) | **[3.7 (22 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ibm-aspera/id1612281171/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 9 | **22** |
| Positive reviews | 22.2% of reviews | **33.3% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 6 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 55 MB | 53 MB |
| Requires iOS | **12.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Sound Devices, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/418450388) | [IBM](https://appshunter.io/developer/367353856) |

## What reviewers say

### SD

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sd-remote/id1487546591)

Control your Sound Devices 8-Series mixer-recorder remotely from your iPad or iPhone. Manage transport, edit metadata, take notes, monitor outputs, and adjust channel settings like faders, trims, and pan. View large-scale meters and timecode on all screens.

**Highlights:** Remote transport controls, Metadata editing, Take notes, Monitor outputs, Adjust faders, trims, and pan, Channel arming, disarming, solo, and mute, Large-scale channel meters, Timecode display

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### IBM Aspera

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ibm-aspera/id1612281171)

Facilitates rapid file transfers to and from your IBM Aspera server. Link your server account to upload, download, and share files seamlessly from your mobile device, mirroring web browser capabilities.

**Highlights:** Fast FASP file transfers, Link server account, Upload, download, and share files, Mobile and web browser parity, Supports multiple IBM Aspera server types

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is SD free?

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

### Is IBM Aspera free?

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

### Which has better reviews, SD or IBM Aspera?

IBM Aspera is rated higher. SD averages 3.7 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while IBM Aspera averages 3.7 from 22 ratings.

### Do SD or IBM Aspera have ads?

Neither SD nor IBM Aspera shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, SD or IBM Aspera?

SD ships an update every 2 months, and IBM Aspera every 6 weeks. Most recently, SD was updated on September 1, 2026 and IBM Aspera on August 27, 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.*