Comparison

RealVNC Viewer vs Afero

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

Head to head
About

RealVNC Viewer

Access and control your Mac, Windows, or Linux computers remotely from any device. View your desktop, use your keyboard and mouse, and manage files securely with end-to-end encryption. Sync connections across all your devices for seamless access.

Highlights
  • Instant remote access to computers
  • Control mouse and keyboard remotely
  • End-to-end session encryption
  • Cloud service for easy connection
  • Backup and sync connections
  • Virtual keyboard with advanced keys
  • Bluetooth keyboard support
Features
Read full description

RealVNC® Viewer from RealVNC® gives you instant remote access to your Mac, Windows and Linux computers from anywhere in the world. You can view your computer's desktop, and control its mouse and keyboard as though you were sitting down in front of it. Download RealVNC Connect to each computer you want to control. Then sign in to RealVNC Viewer on your device using your RealVNC account credentials. You'll see your computers automatically appear; simply tap to connect. RealVNC Connect password-protects each computer out-of-the-box. You may need to enter the same user name and password you use to log in to your computer. All sessions are then encrypted end-to-end. During a session, your device's touch screen serves as a trackpad to give you precise control. Drag your finger to move the remote mouse cursor and tap anywhere to left-click (other gestures such as right-click and scroll are explained in-app). As the original inventors of VNC remote access technology, we're confident you'll love what RealVNC Viewer has to offer. If you're still not convinced, check out our reviews! ===Key features=== - Connect with ease via our cloud service to computers running RealVNC Connect. - Backup and sync your connections between all your devices by signing in to RealVNC Viewer on each one. - A scrolling bar above the virtual keyboard includes advanced keys such as Command/Windows. - Support for Bluetooth keyboards. ===Contact=== We’d love to hear from you: iphone-support@realvnc.com twitter.com/RealVNC facebook.com/realvnc Better still, leave us a review!   ===Terms of Use=== https://static.realvnc.com/media/documents/RealVNCServicesTCs.pdf ===Trademarks=== RealVNC and VNC are trademarks of RealVNC Limited and are protected by trademark registrations and/or pending trademark applications in the European Union, United States of America and other jurisdictions. Protected by UK patents 2481870, 2479756; US patent 8760366; EU patent 2652951.

About

Afero

This toolset assists in accelerating Internet of Things projects for organizations and enthusiasts. It enables communication with and control of connected devices, automating embedded, mobile, and cloud tasks for secure device management and data insights.

Highlights
  • Accelerate IoT projects
  • Communicate with connected devices
  • Control Afero-equipped devices
  • Automate embedded, mobile, and cloud tasks
  • Secure device provisioning and management
  • Gain insights from device data
Features
Read full description

This app is part of an Afero toolset that helps you accelerate your Internet of Things (IoT) projects. It's designed for organizations and enthusiasts who want to prototype or experiment with connected devices of any kind. What You Need • Afero mobile app (this app) - Use it to communicate with and control your Afero equipped device. • Afero Profile Editor - Use this desktop application to quickly define your smart device and the data it will be sending out. The app is provided as a free developer tool, available on Windows or macOS. Please visit the Afero Developer Portal (https://developer.afero.io/). The Dev Portal is a resource for documentation, a place to ask questions and stay informed of the latest technical milestones. How It Works Afero automates the development of embedded, mobile, and cloud tasks for IoT projects. It provides back-end cloud services to securely provision, control, and manage your device and gain insight from the data. We think Afero is the easiest to use and most secure IoT solution available. Please let us know how it worked for you and any suggestions for improvement.

Screenshots

RealVNC Viewer4 screens
Afero4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Afero at 100% against RealVNC Viewer's 72%. Afero also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and iOS requirement (10.0 vs 15.0). RealVNC Viewer's advantage is ratings volume (15K vs 5). On price, 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

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

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Afero holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: RealVNC Viewer has 15K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 72% of RealVNC Viewer's written reviews are positive against 100% of Afero's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
RealVNC Viewer versus Afero: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRealVNC ViewerAfero
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (15K ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings15K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.010.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB116 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRealVNCAfero, Inc.

Customer experience

RealVNC Viewer

All ratings15,340 ratings
Positive94.8%
Neutral2.0%
Negative3.1%
Written reviews1,525 reviews
Positive72.3%
Neutral7.1%
Negative20.7%

Afero

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

RealVNC Viewer

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Cursor and screen synchronization issues
  • Incompatibility with certain macOS and iOS versions
  • Frequent disconnections and login problems
  • Keyboard input not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for audio streaming
  • Improve clipboard and file transfer functionality
  • Provide better multi-monitor support
  • Allow customization of keyboard and mouse controls
  • Implement a true touch-based interface

Afero

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

RealVNC Viewer

No in-app purchases

None

Afero

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RealVNC Viewer free?
RealVNC Viewer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Afero free?
Afero is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, RealVNC Viewer or Afero?
Afero is rated higher. RealVNC Viewer averages 4.8 out of 5 from 15K ratings, while Afero averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do RealVNC Viewer or Afero have ads?
Neither RealVNC Viewer nor Afero shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RealVNC Viewer or Afero?
RealVNC Viewer ships an update every 2 months, and Afero every 2 months. Most recently, RealVNC Viewer was updated on October 31, 2026 and Afero on October 29, 2026.

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