FullControl vs El Trackpad
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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)
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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/
El Trackpad
Turn your iPhone or iPad into a responsive Mac trackpad. Control your computer with familiar gestures like scrolling, zooming, and rotating, all with minimal lag. It's a convenient way to enhance your Mac experience.
- Transform iPhone/iPad into Mac trackpad
- Full gesture support
- Lag-free control
- Inertial scrolling
- Multi-touch support
- USB connection
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Transform your iPhone or iPad into a fully featured Mac trackpad with gestures support. This app was written by a single person and was featured by 9to5Mac, Redmond Pie, AppAdvice, MacMagazine and more. REVIEWS “I’ve tried many similar apps before, but none of them worked as well as El Trackpad. Besides not having any notable lag, the app lets the user perform the same gestures as you can do on Apple’s Magic Trackpad.” — 9to5Mac “What makes El Trackpad so impressive here is the fact that it appears to be lag-free and works identically to an actual Apple Magic Trackpad, which is super awesome.” — Redmond Pie “If you’ve ever used a Magic Trackpad or the built-in version on any MacBook model, you’ll be right at home with the app.” — AppAdvice “This app transforms the iPhone/iPad into a complete trackpad for Macs, with multi-touch support and everything.” — MacMagazine DESCRIPTION Move the mouse cursor with the slide of a finger and smoothly navigate through your content with inertial scrolling. Pinch to zoom, rotate with your fingers and much more. Control your Mac in real-time with no lag. El Trackpad works like magic and has the features and touch gestures that you expect from a touchpad for a Mac computer. GET STARTED - Download and Install El trackpad on your iOS/iPadOS device and on your Mac. - Enable accessibility features on the Mac app when prompted. This is required to control the mouse cursor. - Connect the devices via USB cable. SUPPORTED GESTURES - Tap to click: Tap with one finger to click - Secondary click: Tap with two fingers to right click - Smart zoom: Double-tap with two fingers to zoom in and out - Scroll: Slide two fingers to scroll - Zoom: Pinch with two fingers to zoom - Rotate: Move two fingers around each other to rotate - Three-finger drag: Use three fingers to drag items on the screen - Look up: Tap with three fingers to look up a word - Show desktop: Spread your thumb and four fingers to show the desktop - Launchpad: Pinch with your whole hand to show Launchpad - Mission Control: Swipe up with four fingers to open mission control - App Exposé: Swipe down with four fingers to open App Exposé - Swipe between desktops: Swipe left or right with four fingers to move between full-screen apps or desktops ADDITIONAL INFO El Trackpad can be downloaded for free and offers a 7-day free trial with full functionality. After that, gestures with 2 fingers or more will no longer be recognized. At any time, you may unlock the app forever with a one-time in-app purchase.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: FullControl at 4.5 against El Trackpad's 3.7. FullControl also leads on review sentiment (82% vs 55%) and ratings volume (219 vs 39). El Trackpad's advantage is update cadence (every 5 days vs every 4 weeks) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 12.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
Both are free to download. FullControl sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and El Trackpad sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
FullControl holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FullControl has 219 ratings behind it against 39, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 82% of FullControl's written reviews are positive against 55% of El Trackpad's.
FullControl ships an update every 4 weeks, El Trackpad every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | FullControl | El Trackpad |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.5 (219 ratings) — better | 3.7 (39 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 81.9% of reviews — better | 54.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 219 — better | 39 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 | 10.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 28 MB | 15 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Francesco Burelli | Hugo Lispector |
Customer experience
FullControl
El Trackpad
User reviews
FullControl
From 219 App Store ratingsWhat 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
El Trackpad
From 39 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 No lag with cabled connection
- 👍 Works well on older devices
- 💡 Great idea for trackpad functionality
- ✨ Smooth and fluid experience
- 💰 Good value compared to hardware trackpad
Room to improve
- 🔌 Requires wired connection
- 🐛 Gestures sometimes don't register
- 🐛 Two-finger tap for right-click fails in some apps
- 🐛 Scrolling suspends and needs mouse click to fix
- 🐛 Mouse movement can be reversed on multi-monitor setups
Bugs and requests
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
El Trackpad
Reported bugs
23 issues- App no longer opens on Mac (M1 MacBook Pro)
- App is non-functional on M3 MacBook Pro with Sequoia OS
- Swiping with two fingers activates 'desktop view' on Sequoia OS
- Tap with two fingers for right click refuses to register in certain applications
- Rarely some gestures will not register
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- Scrolling functionality suspends and requires mouse click to fix
- Mouse movement is suddenly reversed on a monitor
- Pinch to zoom out is only good/precise for zooming in
- Double two finger tap sometimes registers as a zoom and often responds with a right click
- Swipes pickup on iPad and swipe you out of the app
- 3 fingers gestures like switching desktops became 4 fingers
- Does not recognize long press or 3d press as click
- El Trackpad overrides USB and nothing else works after sleep period
- Transaction error when starting trial
- Device not supported error when plugging in via USB
- iPadOS 15 no longer allows disabling multitasking gestures
- System zoom is disabled, cannot switch desktops with 3-finger swipe
- Mission control gesture does not work for some laptops
- App is extremely glitchy and frequently crashes
- Mouse behavior in the app does not replicate Magic Trackpad functionality
- App only works with USB cable connection
- Inconsistent trial messaging and immediate charging
- Cannot drag click for artwork
Requested features
20 requests- Add Bluetooth connectivity
- Add Wi-Fi connectivity
- Allow landscape orientation
- Support 3-finger swiping for browser back/forward
- Support 4-finger gestures for screen switching
Show 15 moreShow fewer
- Add gesture for toggling between windows
- Implement drag-and-drop functionality
- Add pressure sensitivity for drawing/art
- Make the app usable without a cable
- Add option to rotate the virtual trackpad
- Add keyboard support
- Add option to run app upside down for cable management
- Support iPhone as trackpad for iPad
- Add more settings options
- Add 3D Touch support
- Add support for 4-finger gestures
- Add 2-finger gesture for Notification Center
- Add 2-finger parallel swipe for page navigation
- Add FaceID authentication integration
- Make it compatible with Windows
In-app purchases
FullControl
- Pro upgrade$1.99
El Trackpad
- 7-day TrialFree
- Unlock Full App$3.99
Questions
Is FullControl free?
Is El Trackpad free?
Which has better reviews, FullControl or El Trackpad?
Do FullControl or El Trackpad have ads?
Which is updated more often, FullControl or El Trackpad?
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