Comparison

Discovery vs HE.NET Network Tools

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

Head to head
About

Discovery

This utility displays Bonjour services on your local network or wide-area domains. It helps debug programs, detect connected computers, and monitor available services. Ideal for network administrators and developers.

Highlights
  • Browse local and remote Bonjour services
  • Automatic domain and service detection
  • Display service details (domain, IP, TXT record)
  • Network debugging tool
  • Monitor network devices
Features
Read full description

Discovery is a utility that displays all of the Bonjour services available on the local network or on Wide-Area Bonjour domains. Use it to debug your latest program, detect computers connected to your network, or just keep tabs on what services are available. Perfect for network admins or developers! Features: • Browses for services on local or remote domains using Bonjour • Automatically detects all available local domains and services • Displays information about each service, including domain name, IP address(es), and TXT record

About

HE.NET Network Tools

A comprehensive suite of network diagnostic tools for professionals. It offers features like ARP/NDP lookup, DNS queries, IP calculations, bandwidth testing, and port scanning. Securely manage two-factor authentication codes and view network routing tables.

Highlights
  • ARP/NDP lookup
  • DNS lookup
  • IP Calculator
  • iperf bandwidth test
  • Port Scan
  • SSL/TLS Information
  • Two-factor authentication code storage
Features
Read full description

This suite of networks tools implements most of the network diagnostics that you need as a Network Engineer or System Administrator. Please help us improve it by giving us feedback. + ARP / NDP: Lookup local devices found on your network using either ARP (IPv4) or NDP (IPv6). + Bonjour Browser: See what DNS-SD/Bonjour services are available on your network + DNS lookup: Search for a servers DNS zone records such as SOA, NS, A, AAAA, MX, PTR. + Interface Information: Get information regarding your device's current network state. + IP Calculator: Calculate the Netmask, Wildcard, Network, Host range, and Broadcast for a given subnet. + iperf: Check bandwidth against remote iperf services. + One Time Password: Securely store and view your TOTP and HOTP (two-factor authentication) codes. TOTP codes are available on the Apple Watch. + Ping: Send ICMP packets to a single IPv4/IPv6 address. + Ping Sweep: Send ICMP packets to an entire subnet range. + Traceroute: Find the route packets take to reach your destination. + Progressive Traceroute: Get detailed statistics for a given route. + Port Scan: Scan a list of TCP ports on any server. + Routing Table: See your local device's routing table. + SSL/TLS Information: Check available ciphers, protocols and what's being used when connecting to a remove service. + Whois: Get information regarding network resources. + NO ADS! Note: Recent iOS releases secure certain low-level network information, and as such will not be available in-app, such as MAC addresses for other network devices.

Screenshots

Discovery4 screens
HE.NET Network Tools4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Discovery at 4.8 against HE.NET Network Tools's 4.0. Discovery also leads on review sentiment (88% vs 78%) and iOS requirement (8.0 vs 13.0). HE.NET Network Tools's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 6 months) and device support (4 vs 2). On price, ratings volume, 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

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Discovery holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 67 and 70 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 88% of Discovery's written reviews are positive against 78% of HE.NET Network Tools's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Discovery ships an update every 6 months, HE.NET Network Tools every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and September 27, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Discovery versus HE.NET Network Tools: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDiscoveryHE.NET Network Tools
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (67 ratings) — better4.0 (70 ratings)
Positive reviews87.5% of reviews — better77.8% of reviews
Number of ratings6770 — better
Update frequencyEvery 6 monthsEvery 2 months — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS8.0 — better13.0
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB9 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLily BallardHurricane Electric, LLC

Customer experience

Discovery

All ratings67 ratings
Positive94.0%
Neutral1.5%
Negative4.5%
Written reviews56 reviews
Positive87.5%
Neutral1.8%
Negative10.7%

HE.NET Network Tools

All ratings70 ratings
Positive72.9%
Neutral5.7%
Negative21.4%
Written reviews99 reviews
Positive77.8%
Neutral10.1%
Negative12.1%

Bugs and requests

Discovery

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

HE.NET Network Tools

Reported bugs

12 issues
  • Interface Information crashes app immediately
  • iperf3 fails with 'operation not permitted' error
  • iperf2 crashes on iOS 8+
  • DNS lookups not responding after updates
  • iperf3 only runs for 1 second despite longer duration settings
Show 7 more
  • iperf3 fails to start intermittently
  • App crashes when selecting tools from menu
  • Crashes on iOS 11 and later versions
  • Neighbor Discovery crashes on iPhone 6
  • Dark mode text hard to read on iPhone
  • App crashes on iPad for multiple functions
  • Ping and basic tools crash on iOS 11+

Requested features

12 requests
  • Vision Pro compatibility and controls
  • SRV record lookup in DNS tool
  • IPv6 subnet calculator
  • WOL (Wake-on-LAN) magic packet support
  • MTR (My Traceroute) tool
Show 7 more
  • Telnet command for port testing
  • Stop/pause button for running tests
  • Multiple iperf test execution
  • Configurable iperf parameters and bandwidth limits
  • LAN device scanning capability
  • Dark mode text color options
  • Apple Watch app with full functionality

In-app purchases

None

Discovery

No in-app purchases

None

HE.NET Network Tools

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Discovery free?
Discovery is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HE.NET Network Tools free?
HE.NET Network Tools is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Discovery or HE.NET Network Tools?
Discovery is rated higher. Discovery averages 4.8 out of 5 from 67 ratings, while HE.NET Network Tools averages 4.0 from 70 ratings.
Do Discovery or HE.NET Network Tools have ads?
Neither Discovery nor HE.NET Network Tools shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Discovery or HE.NET Network Tools?
Discovery ships an update every 6 months, and HE.NET Network Tools every 2 months. Most recently, Discovery was updated on September 19, 2026 and HE.NET Network Tools on September 27, 2026.

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