Comparison

RealVNC Viewer vs CentralLoop

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
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

CentralLoop

This app centralizes household management, offering a shared calendar, gift wish lists, chore tracking with rewards, and private photo albums. It also features recipe saving and a wall display mode for shared devices.

Highlights
  • Shared family calendar
  • Gift and birthday wish lists
  • Chore assignment and rewards
  • Kitchen wall display mode
  • Recipe saving and grocery list
  • Private family photo albums
  • Member profiles and notifications
Read full description

CentralLoop keeps your household on the same page — one place for the calendar, the chores, the grocery list, tonight's dinner, this weekend's photos, and the birthday wish lists. SHARED CALENDAR Everyone's schedule in one view. Import from school portals, sports schedules, and other calendars — even a photo of a paper schedule — and let the app sort it out. Birthdays and anniversaries stay on the calendar year after year. GIFT AND BIRTHDAY LISTS Every family member keeps a wish list. Add items from any store with a link, share the list with grandparents and relatives, and let them claim gifts so nothing gets bought twice — without spoiling the surprise. CHORES AND REWARDS Assign chores, set token values, and let kids earn toward rewards they actually want. Parents approve, kids redeem, and the family sees progress on the board. WALL DISPLAY Turn any tablet or old device into a kitchen display that rotates the day's calendar, chores, lists, and photos — with day and night themes that switch on their own. RECIPES AND GROCERIES Save a recipe from a link, a photo, or a PDF and it becomes a real recipe card. Tap the ingredients you need and they land on the grocery list. ALBUMS Share family photos privately. Create guest albums for events so relatives can drop in their photos, then relive the day as a story. BUILT FOR FAMILIES Profiles for every member, including little ones who don't have their own phone. Notification settings per person, so each parent gets what matters to them. Weekly catch-up digests so nobody misses what changed. PRIVATE BY DESIGN Your family's data belongs to your family. Photos are stripped of location data on upload, and you choose how your encryption keys are held. CentralLoop is for households with a family account. Sign in and everyone's in the loop.

Screenshots

RealVNC Viewer4 screens
CentralLoop4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: CentralLoop at every 4 days against RealVNC Viewer's every 2 months. CentralLoop also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). RealVNC Viewer's advantage is ratings volume (15K vs 1). 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

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

CentralLoop 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 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

RealVNC Viewer ships an update every 2 months, CentralLoop every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
RealVNC Viewer versus CentralLoop: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRealVNC ViewerCentralLoop
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (15K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews72.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings15K — better1
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperRealVNC LimitedAxiom Visions, LLC

Customer experience

RealVNC Viewer

All ratings14,634 ratings
Positive95.1%
Neutral2.0%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews1,523 reviews
Positive72.4%
Neutral7.0%
Negative20.6%

CentralLoop

All ratings1 ratings
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

CentralLoop

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

RealVNC Viewer

No in-app purchases

None

CentralLoop

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is RealVNC Viewer free?
RealVNC Viewer is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is CentralLoop free?
CentralLoop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, RealVNC Viewer or CentralLoop?
CentralLoop is rated higher. RealVNC Viewer averages 4.8 out of 5 from 15K ratings, while CentralLoop averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do RealVNC Viewer or CentralLoop have ads?
Neither RealVNC Viewer nor CentralLoop shows ads.
Which is updated more often, RealVNC Viewer or CentralLoop?
RealVNC Viewer ships an update every 2 months, and CentralLoop every 4 days. Most recently, RealVNC Viewer was updated on October 17, 2026 and CentralLoop on October 10, 2026.

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