Comparison

ESP vs Drone Scanner

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

Head to head
About

ESP

This application provides real-time flight control for an open-source drone solution. Users can monitor flight status, adjust parameters, and pilot the drone using a virtual joystick. It's designed to work with drones based on the ESP32-S2/ESP32 Wi-Fi chip.

Highlights
  • Real-time flight status display
  • Virtual joystick control
  • Flight parameter adjustment
  • Supports multiple flight modes
  • Wi-Fi and UDP communication
  • Open-source solution
Features
Read full description

ESP-Drone APP is a flightcontrol tool developed by espressif to control ESP-Drone, which supports flight status display, real-time control, parameter adjustment and so on. ESP-Drone is an open source drone solution based on espressif ESP32-S2 / ESP32 Wi-Fi chip, which supports multiple flight modes, stabilize, height-hold, position-hold and more. ESP-Drone APP communicates with ESP-Drone through Wi-Fi network and UDP protocol, which supports transmit and handle flight protocol packets in realtime. The following functions have been supported: 1. control multi-dof flight using virtual joystick 2. adjust flight parameter using setting panel For more details, please see https://github.com/espressif/esp-drone The source code for the ESP-Drone APP can be found https://github.com/EspressifApps/ESP-Drone-iOS. It might be helpful in development of your own ESP-Drone applications.

About

Drone Scanner

Transform your device into a drone scanner to track nearby flights in real-time. View detailed flight information, including pilot data and location history, on an interactive map. The app is updated to comply with current EU and US regulations.

Highlights
  • Real-time drone tracking
  • Detailed drone information
  • Interactive flight map
  • Support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi broadcasts
  • Flying zone highlighting
  • Data export functionality
Features
Read full description

The world's first drone Remote ID scanner made by Dronetag. _____ READ BEFORE DOWNLOADING! Limited access to features on some phones is caused by manufacturers’ restrictions. All iOS phones, for example, prohibit app access to Wi-Fi, so only Bluetooth data transmission will work (if and only the drone has an active Remote ID over Bluetooth). It is not a flaw of our app; we cannot fix this, and we don’t deserve negative reviews for these issues. _____ Transform your phone or tablet into a drone scanner and track all the nearby flights over Direct / Broadcast Remote ID standards. Browse real-time data about drones on a detailed map highlighting specific flying space zones. Download Drone Scanner for free and discover what drones fly above your head. Favourite features: - Discover more about drones flying nearby in real-time - Examine detailed information broadcasted by drones via Bluetooth 4, Bluetooth 5, Wi-Fi Beacon, and Wi-Fi NAN - Browse a detailed map with your location and all nearby aircraft - Check available data about drones, including real-time height, direction, pilot identification, pilot position, operation description, and location history - Various flying zones marked and highlighted on the map - Easy export of collected data - Continuously updated to reflect the latest EU & US regulations All these features you find in Drone Scanner – a free app for tracking drones. The app is developed by Dronetag, manufacturing devices for remote drone identification. How it works: Anyone can quickly identify what drones are flying in the sky nearby. Direct Remote ID is a feature that transmits live flight data via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to the surrounding area. Drone manufacturers use various technologies to build an identification feature in new drones. Older drone pilots use add-on devices, enabling them to become digitally visible. With hardware on your smartphone, Drone Scanner can receive and read broadcasted data.

Screenshots

ESP3 screens
Drone Scanner2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ESP at 5.0 against Drone Scanner's 1.8. ESP also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs every 3 months) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 14.0). Drone Scanner's advantage is ratings volume (145 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ESP holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Drone Scanner has 145 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ESP ships an update every 9 days, Drone Scanner every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
ESP versus Drone Scanner: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterESPDrone Scanner
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better1.8 (145 ratings)
Positive reviews—15.9% of reviews
Number of ratings1145 — better
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS10.0 — better14.0
Further details — not scored
Size14 MB41 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperESPRESSIF SYSTEMS (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD.Dronetag

Customer experience

ESP

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Drone Scanner

All ratings145 ratings
Positive16.6%
Neutral6.2%
Negative77.2%
Written reviews107 reviews
Positive15.9%
Neutral5.6%
Negative78.5%

Bugs and requests

ESP

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Drone Scanner

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes on launch
  • Unable to locate drones in proximity
  • Inaccurate location tracking

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add support for WiFi-based Remote ID
  • Add support for more drone models
  • Allow changing units from metric to imperial

In-app purchases

None

ESP

No in-app purchases

None

Drone Scanner

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ESP free?
ESP is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Drone Scanner free?
Drone Scanner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ESP or Drone Scanner?
ESP is rated higher. ESP averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Drone Scanner averages 1.8 from 145 ratings.
Do ESP or Drone Scanner have ads?
Neither ESP nor Drone Scanner shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ESP or Drone Scanner?
ESP ships an update every 9 days, and Drone Scanner every 3 months. Most recently, ESP was updated on October 4, 2026 and Drone Scanner on October 7, 2026.

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