# PortKnock vs Barrel Monkey

The clearest difference is price: Barrel Monkey at Free against PortKnock's $0.99. Barrel Monkey also leads on update cadence (every 3 months vs every 7 months) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 26.0). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Barrel Monkey is free to download; PortKnock costs $0.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

PortKnock ships an update every 7 months, Barrel Monkey every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | PortKnock | Barrel Monkey |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $0.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | **[5.0 (9 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/portknock/id358353536/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **9** | — |
| Positive reviews | 76.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | **Every 3 months** |
| Monetization | Paid | — |
| Size | 11 MB | 75 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Danny Sung](https://appshunter.io/developer/1555969244) | [Barrel Monkey LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1716272252) |

## What reviewers say

### PortKnock

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/portknock/id358353536)

This utility allows network administrators to send custom port knock sequences to servers. It requires a port knock daemon on the server and offers features like password protection, knock validation, and host management.

**Highlights:** Password Protection, Knock Validation, Import/Export Hosts, Auto App Launcher, Shows External IP Address, TCP/UDP Configuration

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### Barrel Monkey

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/barrel-monkey/id6472196624)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is PortKnock free?

PortKnock costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Barrel Monkey free?

Barrel Monkey is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Do PortKnock or Barrel Monkey have ads?

Neither PortKnock nor Barrel Monkey shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, PortKnock or Barrel Monkey?

PortKnock ships an update every 7 months, and Barrel Monkey every 3 months. Most recently, PortKnock was updated on November 1, 2026 and Barrel Monkey on October 30, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*