Comparison

Monitoring vs SolarZero

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

Head to head
About

Monitoring

Control and monitor your home or business alarm system remotely from your iPhone. View real-time events, manage user access, and receive instant notifications for alarm activations. Includes a mobile panic alarm feature with GPS location sharing.

Highlights
  • Remote alarm system status view
  • Real-time event logging
  • User access history
  • Set/Unset alarm functionality
  • Multiple system management
  • Direct communication with monitoring station
  • Mobile panic alarm with GPS
Read full description

Alarm Watch - Take control of your alarm system wherever you are in the world! View the status of your home and business alarms from your iPhone View recent events in real time. Find out who has been using the alarm, and when Set or Unset the alarm Multiple alarm systems are viewable and controllable from one account Interact with the monitoring station during any alarm activations Change closing time of your business when working late to prevent the monitoring station from disturbing you when working late Notify the monitoring station when you are going to work outside of normal business hours The application now includes a mobile panic alarm which sends the monitoring station your GPS coordinates during an emergency Notifications of alarm activations directly to your phone where you can respond by choosing to send the guard or type in a note for the monitoring team to read Functionality of the application requires that the alarm system is monitored by an affiliate of AlarmWatch. To set or Unset your alarm through the application, a special control module must be installed. Available for New Zealand alarm systems only (Ask your alarm installer, or visit www.alarmwatch.co.nz to learn more about these services).

About

SolarZero

Monitor and optimize your home's solar energy system with real-time data on energy generation and usage. Track carbon savings, access energy-saving modes, and refer friends to the service.

Highlights
  • Real-time energy generation and usage data
  • Energy import/export status updates
  • Carbon savings and footprint tracking
  • Hot water energy saving mode
  • Refer-a-Friend program
Read full description

Get visibility of your solar energy system If you’re a SolarZero customer, our new SolarZero App gives you access to a personalised dashboard where you can monitor and optimise your solar energy system, including: β€’ See up-to-date data on how much energy your home is using and generating β€’ Get energy status updates showing how much energy you’re importing and exporting from and to the grid β€’ Track your carbon savings and footprint β€’ Access to your hot water energy saving mode that allows you to save money on your power bill β€’ Refer-a-Friend: Share your unique referral code with your friends and family Note - The SolarZero App is available for solar energy systems installed after November, 2018. If your system was installed prior to this date, it won’t be compatible unless you’ve been upgraded since, and you’ll need to continue using your MySolarZero dashboard for all your monitoring needs. Unsure? No worries. Contact us on 0800 11 66 55 and one of our friendly energy experts will be happy to help.

Screenshots

Monitoring4 screens
SolarZero4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Monitoring at 67% against SolarZero's 36%. Monitoring also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). SolarZero's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 3 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Monitoring ships an update every 3 months, SolarZero monthly. The most recent releases landed on June 11, 2026 and September 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences Β· 5 level
Monitoring versus SolarZero: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMonitoringSolarZero
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews β€” better35.7% of reviews
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly β€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod β€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 β€” better17.0
Further details β€” not scored
Size9 MB22 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNew Zealand Computing SolutionssolarZero Limited

Customer experience

Monitoring

Written reviews6 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%

SolarZero

Written reviews14 reviews
Positive35.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative64.3%

In-app purchases

None

Monitoring

No in-app purchases

None

SolarZero

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Monitoring free?
Monitoring is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SolarZero free?
SolarZero is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Monitoring or SolarZero have ads?
Neither Monitoring nor SolarZero shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Monitoring or SolarZero?
Monitoring ships an update every 3 months, and SolarZero monthly. Most recently, Monitoring was updated on June 11, 2026 and SolarZero on September 8, 2026.

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