ESP vs Drone Scanner
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- Real-time flight status display
- Virtual joystick control
- Flight parameter adjustment
- Supports multiple flight modes
- Wi-Fi and UDP communication
- Open-source solution
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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.
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.
- Real-time drone tracking
- Detailed drone information
- Interactive flight map
- Support for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi broadcasts
- Flying zone highlighting
- Data export functionality
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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
Verdict
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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
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.
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.
| Parameter | ESP | Drone Scanner |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | 1.8 (145 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 15.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 145 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 9 days — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 10.0 — better | 14.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 41 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ESPRESSIF SYSTEMS (SHANGHAI) CO., LTD. | Dronetag |
Customer experience
ESP
Drone Scanner
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
ESP
No in-app purchases
Drone Scanner
No in-app purchases









