# publicroam vs Merle

The clearest difference is update cadence: Merle at weekly against publicroam's every 13 months. publicroam's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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

publicroam ships an update every 13 months, Merle weekly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | publicroam | Merle |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[1.3 (15 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/publicroam/id1576180928/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **15** | — |
| Positive reviews | 10.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 13 months | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 2 MB | 14 MB |
| Requires iOS | **14.0** | 17.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Publicroam](https://appshunter.io/developer/1576180930) | [Mosa Data Engineering](https://appshunter.io/developer/1847837363) |

## What reviewers say

### publicroam

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/publicroam/id1576180928)

Gain automatic and secure access to guest WiFi at various participating organizations. Manage your personal account and connect multiple devices to the network. Enjoy free and private internet access.

**Highlights:** Automatic WiFi connection, Secure guest network access, Connect multiple devices, Personal account management, Access at diverse venues

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Merle

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/merle/id6762002283)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is publicroam free?

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

### Is Merle free?

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

### Do publicroam or Merle have ads?

Neither publicroam nor Merle shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, publicroam or Merle?

publicroam ships an update every 13 months, and Merle weekly. Most recently, publicroam was updated on October 24, 2026 and Merle on October 8, 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.*