Magic Packet vs Pi
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Magic Packet
Remotely power on, off, or restart your computer from your local network or the internet. Ideal for accessing your PC for remote control, managing servers, or ensuring devices are ready when needed.
- Wake, turn off, and restart computers
- Remote control over internet
- Siri commands support
- Interactive widgets
- Host availability check
- Apple Watch support
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Magic Packet is an app for remote computer management over local network and the Internet. Wake, shut down, restart, and monitor your computers from iPhone, Apple Watch, widgets, and Siri. USE CASES: - Wake your home NAS before watching movies - Connect to your home PC via RDP, VNC, or TeamViewer - Prevent your computer from sleeping during downloads, streaming, or rendering - Remotely reboot frozen PCs - Shut down and restart computers over the Internet WAKE ON LAN: - Instant magic packet sending - Works over local network and the Internet - Custom UDP port for each host - SecureON support - Support for broadcast, IP addresses, and domain names REMOTE MANAGEMENT: - Shutdown, restart, sleep, hibernate, and lock - Works through Magic Packet Server for Windows, macOS, and Linux - Automatic server discovery in local network STATUS AND MONITORING: - Availability checks via ping or HTTP - Online / offline status with auto refresh - Laptop battery level monitoring - Quick host status checks SIRI, SHORTCUTS, AND WIDGETS: - Siri voice commands - Automations through Shortcuts - Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets - Control Center controls (iOS 18) APPLE WATCH: - Control hosts directly from Apple Watch - Media and volume controls - Complications for quick access - iCloud sync MEDIA: - Play and pause - Next and previous track - Volume and mute controls - “Keep Awake” mode with timer HOST CUSTOMIZATION: - Unlimited hosts - Icons, SF Symbols, emoji, and letters - Custom colors - Custom action order - iCloud sync CONVENIENCE: - Dark mode support - Step-by-step Wake-on-LAN setup guides - Optimized for iPhone and iPad
Pi
Effortlessly manage multiple Pi-hole instances for DNS ad control. This app allows you to enable/disable blocking, view query logs, and manage domains and lists directly from your iOS device.
- Control Center Widget
- Manage up to 10 Pi-holes
- Live DNS Query Logs
- Domain and Gravity List Management
- Time-Based Blocking Control
- Real-Time Status Updates
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Pi-hole Switch - Effortless DNS Ad Control for Your Pi-hole Networks Version 2.0 is now here with live query logs and domain management! Compatible with the newest version 6.0 of Pi-hole and up only. Your feedback is wanted! Kudos and compliments? Need a feature added? Contact us! - refer to About Page in app. Take full control of your Pi-hole instances with Pi-hole Switch, the most convenient way to manage DNS blocking on your network! Whether you’re an advanced user or just want a simple way to manage your privacy settings, Pi-hole Switch makes it easier than ever to enable/disable DNS blocking across multiple Pi-hole instances right from your iOS device. Key Features: • NEW - Control Center Widget. Fully customizable with Pi-hole selection and disable time. Full syncronization of blocking status with main app using server push notifications. • Manage up 10 Pi-holes - no additional fees or subscriptions. Life time updates. • Live Activities with server based push updates. • DNS Query Logs - Retrieve 100, 200 or 500 of the most recent queries. Or switch to Live logging - fully integrated for a seamless viewing experience. • Domain Management - Add/Delete, Enable/Disable, View and edit Groups. • View, enable/disable, delete and add Gravity Block/Allow lists. One click update/refresh of all Pi-hole Gravity lists directly in the navigation bar. • Combined view lists for all Pi-holes in both blocked/allowed domain lists and Gravity Ad Lists. Easily find and manage common items between Pi-holes. • Manage Groups across Pi-holes. Unique combined view allows you to easily add, find and edit across your Pi-holes. • Enabled/Disabled Indicators for individual Domains and Gravity Ad Lists. Easily find and enabled/disable. • Bottom Summary Bar for Queries, Domain and Gravity List views. Quickly see total number of blocked, allowed, disabled items and other metrics. • Create your own custom disable times. • Widgets to quickly disable Pi-hole blocking. • Activate/Deactivate Pi-holes without having to delete them from the app. • Seamless Pi-hole Management: Instantly connect and manage multiple Pi-hole instances with just a few taps. • Time-Based Blocking Control: Schedule and enable DNS blocking or temporarily disable it for a set amount of time, directly from the app. • View important metrics such as top permitted and blocked domains. • User-Friendly Interface: Enjoy a sleek, simple design that’s easy to navigate, even for new users. • Real-Time Status Updates: Get live feedback and updates on the status of each Pi-hole instance, with clear indicators of whether your instance has blocking enabled, disabled or is offline. • Powerful Integration: Effortlessly retrieve and manage API sessions for all your Pi-hole instances. • Sleek, Minimalist Design: Clean and modern UI with intuitive controls. Note: To use this app, one to ten instances of Pi-hole Version 6.0 or up are needed. Pi-hole Switch is a third party application which uses the Pi-hole API and is in no way affiliated with Pi-hole. Find out more about Pi-hole at https://pi-hole.net/. Please refer to support page for FAQs for detailed directions on adding a Pi-hole to the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Magic Packet at 4.5 against Pi's 3.0. Magic Packet also leads on review sentiment (73% vs 50%) and ratings volume (104 vs 2). Pi's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 6 days). On 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
Magic Packet costs $2.29 and Pi $5.99 up front. Magic Packet sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Pi asks for nothing beyond the download.
Magic Packet holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Magic Packet has 104 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 73% of Magic Packet's written reviews are positive against 50% of Pi's.
Magic Packet ships an update every 6 days, Pi every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Magic Packet | Pi |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2.29 — better | $5.99 |
| Rating | 4.5 (104 ratings) — better | 3.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 72.6% of reviews — better | 50.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 104 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #179 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 38 MB | 28 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nikita Somenkov | Soomaa Strategies Ltd. |
Customer experience
Magic Packet
Pi
In-app purchases
Magic Packet
- Buy me a coffee$2.99
- Buy me a dinner$19.99
Pi
No in-app purchases









