Comparison

SimplePi for Raspberry Pi vs PiFi

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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.

About

PiFi

Read full description

No need for terminal, SSH or even LuCI. PiFi has all of pro features you love from OpenWrt, reimagined to be more capable, more simple and even more fun. So things like blocking trackers and ads, connecting or switching VPN profiles and accessing your network-stored documents, photos or videos are now just a tap away on iPhone and iPad. NETWORK SETTINGS - Customize network settings, setup a travel router, and more with just a few taps WIREGUARD & OPENVPN CLIENT - Easily upload and manage multiple VPN profiles directly from your iPhone or iPad. Create a VPN network for ALL your devices in seconds ADGUARD HOME - Access AdGuard Home software for network-wide ad and tracking blocking NETWORK STORAGE - Easily expand your network storage capacity (USB storage, SSD, or SD Card) and access your files from anywhere on the network ** COMPATIBILITY NOTICE This app WILL ONLY work if your Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 has been flashed with PiFi firmware, either downloaded from the PiFi website or through a pre-configured SD Card. Standard OpenWrt builds that are not optimised for PiFi are not compatible with this app. For full compatibility details, see pifi.org TRADEMARK NOTICE Raspberry Pi is a trademark of Raspberry Pi Ltd, AdGuard and AdGuard Home are trademarks of Adguard Software Ltd, WireGuard is a registered trademark of Jason A. Donenfeld, OpenWrt is a trademark owned by Software Freedom Conservancy (SFC). All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. PiFi firmware, software, and accessories are developed by PiFi Ltd, an independent project.

Screenshots

SimplePi for Raspberry Pi4 screens
PiFi4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PiFi at none against SimplePi for Raspberry Pi's 1. PiFi also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.0). SimplePi for Raspberry Pi's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs every 6 weeks). On price, ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. SimplePi for Raspberry Pi sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $4.99 per year. PiFi asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SimplePi for Raspberry Pi ships an update every 8 days, PiFi every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on August 23, 2026 and September 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
SimplePi for Raspberry Pi versus PiFi: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSimplePi for Raspberry PiPiFi
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.9 (124 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews25.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings124 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 8 days — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.012.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB93 MB
Age rating+44+
DeveloperBenedikt HirmerPiFi Ltd

In-app purchases

1 purchases

SimplePi for Raspberry Pi

Subscriptions1
  • Full Access (12 months)7 Days trial$4.991 Year
None

PiFi

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SimplePi for Raspberry Pi free?
SimplePi for Raspberry Pi is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PiFi free?
PiFi is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do SimplePi for Raspberry Pi or PiFi have ads?
Neither SimplePi for Raspberry Pi nor PiFi shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SimplePi for Raspberry Pi or PiFi?
SimplePi for Raspberry Pi ships an update every 8 days, and PiFi every 6 weeks. Most recently, SimplePi for Raspberry Pi was updated on August 23, 2026 and PiFi on September 18, 2026.

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