Comparison

Monitoring vs Spy Tower

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — 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

Spy Tower

Features
Read full description

Spy Tower puts your professionally installed security cameras in your pocket. LIVE VIEW • Watch any of your cameras live, with fast peer-to-peer streaming • Pinch to zoom up to 8Ɨ, pan around the frame • Take snapshots and record clips straight to your Photos library PLAYBACK • Scrub a full day of recordings on a zoomable timeline • Motion events badged by type - person, vehicle, animal, motion • Jump straight to an event from the clip list, or search by date and time • Playback speeds up to 4Ɨ, HD/SD quality switch • Save any moment to your Photos library with one tap BUILT FOR SIMPLICITY • Sign in once - Spy Tower keeps you signed in securely • Only the cameras you're authorised to see, nothing to configure • Calendar day picker for quick access to any recorded day Spy Tower is a companion app for camera systems supplied and managed by Revo Tech. An account provisioned by Revo Tech or your installer is required.

Screenshots

Monitoring4 screens
Spy Tower3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Spy Tower at every 4 weeks against Monitoring's every 3 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

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

CostPrice Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Ads Ā· 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, Spy Tower every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference Ā· 7 level
Monitoring versus Spy Tower: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMonitoringSpy Tower
PriceFreeFree
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews—
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 4 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.6
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNew Zealand Computing SolutionsRevo Tech

In-app purchases

None

Monitoring

No in-app purchases

None

Spy Tower

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Monitoring free?
Monitoring is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Spy Tower free?
Spy Tower is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Monitoring or Spy Tower have ads?
Neither Monitoring nor Spy Tower shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Monitoring or Spy Tower?
Monitoring ships an update every 3 months, and Spy Tower every 4 weeks. Most recently, Monitoring was updated on October 23, 2026 and Spy Tower on October 24, 2026.

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