AirPort Utility vs HE.NET Network Tools
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AirPort Utility
Manage your Wi-Fi network and Apple AirPort base stations from your iOS device. View network status, connected devices, and configure advanced settings like security, channels, and IPv6. Easily update firmware, change passwords, and access network information.
- Graphical Wi-Fi network overview
- View connected Wi-Fi devices
- Change network and Wi-Fi settings
- Restart or restore base stations
- Update base station firmware
- View and update passwords
- Configure IPv6 settings
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Use AirPort Utility to manage your Wi-Fi network and AirPort base stations, including AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Time Capsule — right from your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. See a graphical overview of your Wi-Fi network and devices. Change base station and network settings, or manage advanced features such as security modes, wireless channels, IPv6 configuration, and more. AirPort Utility works with all Apple 802.11n and 802.11ac Wi-Fi base stations, including AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Time Capsule. Features • See a graphical overview of your Wi-Fi network • Get information about your connected Wi-Fi devices • View and change network and Wi-Fi settings • Restart or restore a base station, or update the firmware on a base station when available • View or update passwords for your network, base stations, or disks • Easily access network information such as IP address, DNS servers, and router address • Manage DHCP reservations and port mappings • Configure base stations for IPv6 • View status or error messages • Archive Time Machine backups
HE.NET Network Tools
A comprehensive suite of network diagnostic tools for professionals. It offers features like ARP/NDP lookup, DNS queries, IP calculations, bandwidth testing, and port scanning. Securely manage two-factor authentication codes and view network routing tables.
- ARP/NDP lookup
- DNS lookup
- IP Calculator
- iperf bandwidth test
- Port Scan
- SSL/TLS Information
- Two-factor authentication code storage
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This suite of networks tools implements most of the network diagnostics that you need as a Network Engineer or System Administrator. Please help us improve it by giving us feedback. + ARP / NDP: Lookup local devices found on your network using either ARP (IPv4) or NDP (IPv6). + Bonjour Browser: See what DNS-SD/Bonjour services are available on your network + DNS lookup: Search for a servers DNS zone records such as SOA, NS, A, AAAA, MX, PTR. + Interface Information: Get information regarding your device's current network state. + IP Calculator: Calculate the Netmask, Wildcard, Network, Host range, and Broadcast for a given subnet. + iperf: Check bandwidth against remote iperf services. + One Time Password: Securely store and view your TOTP and HOTP (two-factor authentication) codes. TOTP codes are available on the Apple Watch. + Ping: Send ICMP packets to a single IPv4/IPv6 address. + Ping Sweep: Send ICMP packets to an entire subnet range. + Traceroute: Find the route packets take to reach your destination. + Progressive Traceroute: Get detailed statistics for a given route. + Port Scan: Scan a list of TCP ports on any server. + Routing Table: See your local device's routing table. + SSL/TLS Information: Check available ciphers, protocols and what's being used when connecting to a remove service. + Whois: Get information regarding network resources. + NO ADS! Note: Recent iOS releases secure certain low-level network information, and as such will not be available in-app, such as MAC addresses for other network devices.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: HE.NET Network Tools at 4.0 against AirPort Utility's 3.1. HE.NET Network Tools also leads on review sentiment (76% vs 36%) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). AirPort Utility's advantage is ratings volume (2K vs 72) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.0). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
HE.NET Network Tools holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 3.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AirPort Utility has 2K ratings behind it against 72, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of AirPort Utility's written reviews are positive against 76% of HE.NET Network Tools's.
AirPort Utility ships an update every 4 months, HE.NET Network Tools every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AirPort Utility | HE.NET Network Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.1 (2K ratings) | 4.0 (72 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 36.2% of reviews | 75.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2K — better | 72 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 12 MB | 9 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Apple Inc. | Hurricane Electric, LLC |
Customer experience
AirPort Utility
HE.NET Network Tools
User reviews
AirPort Utility
From 2K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Simple and efficient
- 💡 Useful for managing Apple routers
- 👍 Provides important network information
- 👍 Convenient for configuring settings
Room to improve
- 🐛 Crashes and compatibility issues with iOS updates
- 🔒 Limited security and access control features
- 👎 Outdated and lacking new features
- 👎 Difficult to use for advanced configuration
HE.NET Network Tools
From 72 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🎯 Comprehensive network diagnostic tools in one app
- 💰 Completely free with no ads or paywalls
- 🔒 Privacy-friendly and no data collection
- ⚡ Lightweight and efficient performance
- 🛠️ Advanced features like SSL cert chain analysis
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent crashes on Interface Information tool
- 🐛 Dark mode text readability issues
- 🐛 iperf3 tool unreliable and buggy
- 🐛 DNS resolver doesn't show NXDOMAIN responses
- 🐛 App crashes when scrolling tool menu
Bugs and requests
AirPort Utility
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inability to detect or connect to routers
- Crashes when entering router password
- Inconsistent behavior across iOS versions
Requested features
4 requests- Improved user interface and navigation
- More advanced network management tools
- Remote configuration and monitoring capabilities
- Support for non-Apple routers and legacy devices
HE.NET Network Tools
Reported bugs
12 issues- Interface Information crashes app immediately
- iperf3 fails with 'operation not permitted' error
- iperf2 crashes on iOS 8+
- DNS lookups not responding after updates
- iperf3 only runs for 1 second despite longer duration settings
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- iperf3 fails to start intermittently
- App crashes when selecting tools from menu
- Crashes on iOS 11 and later versions
- Neighbor Discovery crashes on iPhone 6
- Dark mode text hard to read on iPhone
- App crashes on iPad for multiple functions
- Ping and basic tools crash on iOS 11+
Requested features
12 requests- Vision Pro compatibility and controls
- SRV record lookup in DNS tool
- IPv6 subnet calculator
- WOL (Wake-on-LAN) magic packet support
- MTR (My Traceroute) tool
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- Telnet command for port testing
- Stop/pause button for running tests
- Multiple iperf test execution
- Configurable iperf parameters and bandwidth limits
- LAN device scanning capability
- Dark mode text color options
- Apple Watch app with full functionality
In-app purchases
AirPort Utility
No in-app purchases
HE.NET Network Tools
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is AirPort Utility free?
Is HE.NET Network Tools free?
Which has better reviews, AirPort Utility or HE.NET Network Tools?
Do AirPort Utility or HE.NET Network Tools have ads?
Which is updated more often, AirPort Utility or HE.NET Network Tools?
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