Mocha VNC vs iRdesktop
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Mocha VNC
Connect to your Mac or Windows PC from your iPhone or iPad to access files and programs remotely. Experience your desktop on a smaller screen with features like encrypted passwords, color modes, and mouse support.
- Standard VNC protocol
- macOS sign on
- Encrypted password signon
- Local mouse support
- Wake on LAN (WOL)
- Camera as barcode scanner
- Zoom and scroll functionality
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Using your iPhone or iPad, you can connect to a Mac or Windows PC, and see the files, programs, and resources exactly as you would if you were sitting at your desk, just on a smaller screen. Before buying, please try Mocha VNC Lite FEATURES: - Standard VNC protocol. - macOS sign on with user id and password - Encrypted password signon. - 8 and 32 bit color modes. - Local Mouse support. - Support for Swiftpoint GT hardware mouse. - Support for Mouse Easy. Use an iPhone as a bluetooth trackpad. Mouse Easy is a free App. - WOL (Wake on LAN). - Printing. - Camera as barcode scanner. - NETBIOS and Bonjour name support. - Zoom and scroll as the Safari browser. - Landscape mode. - Banners with extra keys. - Extra keys as ALT,CTRL, Option and Apple key - Has been tested with RealVNC, TightVNC, UltrVNC on Windows, and Screen Sharing, which is included with the macOS.
iRdesktop
Access and control your Windows desktop remotely from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. This client uses the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to connect to compatible Windows versions, offering features like mouse emulation and a familiar keyboard.
- Remote desktop control via RDP
- Mouse emulation (click, drag, drop)
- Familiar iPhone keyboard support
- Zoom and pan desktop view
- Portrait and landscape rotation
- Multiple connection entries
- Wi-Fi and cellular data connection
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iRdesktop is a free Remote Desktop Client for Windows Terminal Services (Remote Desktop Services), capable of natively using the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) in order to view and control your Windows Desktop using your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. iRdesktop supports all Windows Versions that have support for Terminal Services respectively Remote Desktop Services out of the box. You must know that Microsoft has removed Terminal Services (Remote Desktop Services) from the Windows Home and Starter editions. In order to access those Windows systems with any RDP client you can install our alternative Terminal Services (Remote Desktop Services) solution called "Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server" (http://www.thinstuff.com/products/xpvs-server/). The good news is that iRdesktop users will get a big discount for a single-user XP/VS Terminal Server version which allows you to have 1 Remote Desktop connection in addition to your PC's console session even on Windows Home and Starter editions! To get your discount code just follow the "Discount ..." link on the iRdesktop start screen. SUPPORTED REMOTE SYSTEMS - Windows XP Home (*) - Windows XP Professional - Windows XP Media Center 2005 - Windows Vista Home Basic and Home Premium (*) - Windows Vista Business, Ultimate and Enterprise - Windows 7 Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium (*) - Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, Enterprise - Windows Server 2000 - Windows Small Business Server 2003 - Windows Server 2003 - Windows Server 2008 - Windows Server 2008R2 *) only with Thinstuff XP/VS Terminal Server IRDESKTOP FEATURES - Mouse emulation: left-, right- and double-click, and drag & drop - Supports the standard, familiar iPhone keyboard for text entry - Zoom and pan the remote desktop screen as in the Safari browser - Rotate the device to switch between portrait and landscape views - Create an unlimited number of predefined connection entries - Connect through WIFI or your cellular data network (GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, HSDPA etc.) - Safari-like page view for switching between multiple concurrent sessions - Compatible with the iPhone's built-in VPN (L2TP, PPTP, IPSec) for secure access to corporate and home networks - Includes a promotion discount code for Thinstuff's XP/VS Terminal Server LIMITATIONS - No support for TS Gateway (a special RDP VPN solution for Windows Server 2008) - No sound and clipboard redirection LANGUAGES: English, French and German
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: iRdesktop at Free against Mocha VNC's $5.99. iRdesktop also leads on review sentiment (80% vs 64%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). Mocha VNC's advantage is rating (4.2 vs 3.3) and chart position (#42 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, monetization model 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
iRdesktop is free to download; Mocha VNC costs $5.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Mocha VNC holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 15 and 45 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 64% of Mocha VNC's written reviews are positive against 80% of iRdesktop's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Mocha VNC ships an update every 4 months, iRdesktop every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and July 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Mocha VNC | iRdesktop |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 4.2 (15 ratings) — better | 3.3 (45 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 64.4% of reviews | 80.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 15 | 45 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | #42 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 3.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 2 MB | 2 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | MochaSoft | Thinstuff s.r.o. |
Customer experience
Mocha VNC
iRdesktop
User reviews
Mocha VNC
From 15 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Works great
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 🔒 Reliable connection
- 👍 Easy to set up
- 👍 Useful for remote administration
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and stability issues
- 🐛 Compatibility problems with newer OS versions
- 🐛 Slow refresh rate and screen updates
- 👎 Confusing or unintuitive interface
- 👎 Limited functionality compared to desktop VNC
iRdesktop
From 45 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ⭐ Excellent free RDP client
- 🚀 Fast and responsive
- 👍 Intuitive touch-based controls
- 🔒 Secure remote access
- 💡 Supports multiple simultaneous connections
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes or freezing
- 📱 Limited screen real estate for desktop apps
- 🔑 Lack of keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl, Alt, etc.)
- 🔍 Difficulty with small on-screen elements
- 📢 Intrusive ads on setup screens
Bugs and requests
Mocha VNC
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inability to enter uppercase passwords
- Lack of Ctrl+Alt+Delete functionality
- Inconsistent behavior when minimizing/switching apps
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to rename/group connections
- Support for multiple monitors
- Improved mouse/cursor control and gestures
- Inclusion of modifier keys (Ctrl, Alt, etc.)
- Option to disable low memory warnings
iRdesktop
Reported bugs
2 issues- Crashes on startup with iOS 3.1.x
- Incompatibility with some Windows versions (Home editions)
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to hide top status bar for more screen space
- Support for international keyboard layouts
- Scrolling/panning improvements
- Option to pay for ad-free version
In-app purchases
Mocha VNC
No in-app purchases
iRdesktop
No in-app purchases
