Comparison

Rowmote vs FullControl

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

Head to head
About

Rowmote

Control audio, video, and presentation applications on your Mac from your iOS device wirelessly. Seamlessly switch between apps, manage playback, and even wake your Mac remotely. It offers a convenient and cost-effective alternative to physical remotes.

Highlights
  • Wireless Mac control
  • App switching and launching
  • Media playback control
  • Wake sleeping Macs
  • Secure authentication
  • Proximity sensor support
Features
Read full description

Rowmote lets you seamlessly control audio, video, and presentation applications on your Mac from your iOS device. You love the remote control which came with your Mac - so simple yet elegant, with easy control of Front Row, iTunes, Quicktime, DVD Player, Keynote, and more. Or, your Mac didn’t come with a remote control or doesn’t even have an infrared port. Buying a remote control, from Apple or a third party, would carry a significant cost! You carry your iPhone or iPod Touch wherever you go... so why should you carry a second device just to control your computer? Furthermore, why should you need line-of-sight to do so? Enter Rowmote! Rowmote is like your Mac’s remote control, but over the wireless network and even better! By tapping the Apps button, you get bonus abilities, switching between controlled programs, toggling the iTunes Visualizer, and more. Rowmote will even wake sleeping Macs. FEATURES - Control your Mac over a wireless network. No line of sight necessary. - Functions just like the hardware Apple Remote Control in: • Adobe Lightroom • Airfoil Video • Amarra • Aperture • BBC iPlayer • Beamer • Boxee • Decibel • DVD Player • Ecoute • eyeTV 3.x • Firefox • Front Row • Hulu Desktop • iPhoto • iTunes • Keynote ‘08 & later • kJams Pro • Kodi • Last.fm • Logic • Microsoft Powerpoint ‘04 & later • mPlayer • Movist • OpenOffice Impress • Preview • PandoraBoy • PandoraJam • PandoraOne Desktop • Photos • Plex, Plex Home Theater, & Plex Media Player • Quicktime • Rdio • Safari • Skim • Songbird • Spotify • Squire • The Tube • VLC • xbmc (Xbox Media Center) - SWITCH: Access your Mac’s Dock, launching & switch between all controllable applications on the Mac, toggle the iTunes visualizer, and more. Order & display customizable. - Click-and-hold works just like on the physical remote in applications; for example, holding the right button fast-forwards, while a single click is ‘next’. This is a feature no other iPhone remote control I know of does properly! - Sleep on demand; wake the Mac automatically - Pause the music or video automatically when you answer a call on your iPhone - Proximity sensor support to automatically turn the screen off if the device is face-down - Secure authentication - Optional dark interface - Connect via WiFi or Bluetooth (Bluetooth requires Personal Hotspot Bluetooth tethering) REQUIREMENTS • Mac OS X 10.4.0 or later. • Mac: The free Rowmote Helper program must be running on the Mac to be controlled. Download at www.rowmote.com. Some features require later versions of Mac OS X. Rowmote is a steal! Couple it with Apple’s free Remote app to turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into the ultimate controller for home stereo, mobile presentation, or casual video viewing. The artwork of Rowmote was designed by Rik Schennink.

About

FullControl

Transform your iPhone or iPad into a powerful remote control for your Mac. Effortlessly manage applications, control media playback, navigate files, and even use your device as a keyboard and trackpad. Offers extensive customization for a personalized computing experience.

Highlights
  • Custom commands for each Mac application
  • Launch applications and control media
  • Remote keyboard and trackpad functionality
  • File browser and launcher
  • Shutdown, restart, and sleep Mac
  • Live screenshots and volume control (in-app purchase)
Features
Read full description

FullControl is a fun, and easy-to-use app that turns your iPhone or iPad into a remote control. So you can control your computer with a tap or flick of a finger. Why is FullControl so different? • there are specific commands for each Mac application, for ALL Mac applications! • high commands customization; • launch applications; • volume control; • navigate through Mac filesystem and open files; • remote keyboard and mouse. Do you want to skip to the next track? There is a fast command for this! Do you need to stop the movie? There is a command for this! Want to start a video? Do not look for it with the mouse, FullControl allows you to access the contents of folders on your Mac and launch files with the program of your choice! ### ALL FEATURES ### • Custom command FOR EACH Mac application • Launch applications in the folder "Applications" and in the Dock • Remote keyboard • Remote trackpad • Shutdown, restart, and putting to sleep the Mac • File browser and file launcher • Automatic server detection # In-App Purchases FEATURES # • Numeric pad • Live screenshots of your Mac • Volume control • Brightness control • Music control (play, pause, next, previous) • Prevent device screen lock toggle FullControl just installed, you have already provided the commands to control your music on iTunes, Spotify, the videos play on VLC, QuickTime, manage live TV on EyeTV! Requirements • Mac Intel with Mac OS 10.14 (or higher) • FullControlHelper (3.1.9 or higher) installed on your Mac • Accessibility API enabled for FullControlHelper • Wifi/LAN FullControlHelper is available for free at http://fullcontrol.cescobaz.com/

Screenshots

Rowmote4 screens
FullControl4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: FullControl at Free against Rowmote's $0.99. FullControl also leads on rating (4.5 vs 3.0) and review sentiment (82% vs 66%). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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

FullControl is free to download; Rowmote costs $0.99 up front. Rowmote sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and FullControl sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

FullControl holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 87 and 219 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 66% of Rowmote's written reviews are positive against 82% of FullControl's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rowmote ships an update every 6 weeks, FullControl every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Rowmote versus FullControl: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRowmoteFullControl
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating3.0 (87 ratings)4.5 (219 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.1% of reviews81.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings87219 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.212.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size37 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperEvan SchoenbergFrancesco Burelli

Customer experience

Rowmote

All ratings87 ratings
Positive47.1%
Neutral3.4%
Negative49.4%
Written reviews897 reviews
Positive66.1%
Neutral4.3%
Negative29.5%

FullControl

All ratings219 ratings
Positive88.1%
Neutral1.8%
Negative10.0%
Written reviews426 reviews
Positive81.9%
Neutral5.2%
Negative12.9%

User reviews

Rowmote

From 87 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Convenient remote control
  • 🚀 Responsive
  • 👍 Great for media control
  • 👍 Useful for presentations

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Connectivity issues
  • 🐛 Crashes and bugs
  • 🐛 Compatibility problems
  • 🔒 Requires additional software
  • 🔒 Doesn't work with Apple TV

FullControl

From 219 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fully functional free app
  • 👍 Worth-it pro upgrade
  • 👍 Easy to use and very useful
  • 👍 Excellent remote app
  • 🚀 Comprehensive application

Room to improve

  • 🐛 No longer functions with newer OS versions
  • 🐛 Laggy trackpad and scrolling
  • 🔒 Concerns about security and privacy
  • 🐛 Unreliable connection and disconnects
  • 🐛 Certain features not working as expected

Bugs and requests

Rowmote

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Frequent disconnections
  • Crashes on startup
  • Unresponsive controls
  • Incompatibility with newer OS versions

Requested features

4 requests
  • Keyboard support
  • Improved mouse/trackpad functionality
  • Sleep/power controls
  • Support for more apps and devices

FullControl

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Cursor freezes or behaves unexpectedly
  • Compatibility issues with newer OS versions
  • Certain commands not working as intended

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add volume and brightness controls
  • Improve mouse/trackpad responsiveness
  • Integrate with voice assistants
  • Allow remote login and power on/off
  • Improve UI and customization options

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Rowmote

One-time1
  • Rowmote Pro Upgrade$3.99
1 purchases

FullControl

One-time1
  • Pro upgrade$1.99

Questions

Is Rowmote free?
Rowmote costs $0.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is FullControl free?
FullControl is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Rowmote or FullControl?
FullControl is rated higher. Rowmote averages 3.0 out of 5 from 87 ratings, while FullControl averages 4.5 from 219 ratings.
Do Rowmote or FullControl have ads?
Neither Rowmote nor FullControl shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Rowmote or FullControl?
Rowmote ships an update every 6 weeks, and FullControl every 4 weeks. Most recently, Rowmote was updated on October 17, 2026 and FullControl on October 14, 2026.

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