Arduino Manager vs ESP32 Kit
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Arduino Manager
Control and monitor Arduino boards with a variety of specialized widgets. Send and receive data, visualize information in real-time, and manage multiple projects from your device.
- Control Arduino boards via Ethernet, Bluetooth, and WiFi
- Send and receive data with specialized widgets
- Visualize real-time data with graphs and displays
- Manage multiple projects and widget lists
- Debug Arduino code with a console widget
- Control rover robots and set alarms
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Supported Boards: UNO R4 WiFi, UNO R3, Nano, MEGA2560, ESP32, ESP8622, Zero, MKR1000, Nano 33 IoT, Teensy e nRF52 BLE, Raspberry Pico Pi W (also using SDK). ESP32, Raspberry Pico and Pico W with MicroPython. Arduino Manager is an app to control the Arduino board and receive information from it through: - Ethernet Shield (arduino.cc) - HM-10 / HM19 - Adafruit * WINC1500 WiFi * CC3000 WiFi * nRF52 BLE * nRF8001 Bluefruit LE * LE SPI Friend The app shows a grid and tapping on it you can insert specialized widgets to send and receive information from Arduino. For a better visualization or control, each widget can be zoomed by the means of a double tap on it; tap on Configure for configuring the widget itself. Some widgets are: - Display Widget: shows values coming from your Arduino (i.e. Temperature). It can show numbers with 0,1,2,3 decimal digits or rolling text - LED Widget: shows a LED that can be turned on and off through digital values from Arduino - Switch Widget: sets a digital value to Arduino - Switch & LED Widget: a combination of the two previous widgets to save space when they are used together with the same variable - Push Button Widget: temporarily sets a digital value to Arduino - Knob Widget: sets a non-digital value to Arduino - SD Widget: shows the list of files in the root of SD Card and selecting a file it shows the content - Graph Widget: graphs values in (almost) real time coming from your Arduino (e.g. instantaneous temperature) - Logged Data Graph Widget: graphs up to 5 values logged onto the SD Card attached to Arduino. Libraries have helping functions to log data onto the SD Card - Alarm Widget: configures an alarm on the Arduino board which is then fired at the desired time. The alarm is fired even if the iOS device is not connected and retained across power off - power on cycles - Command Widget: allows to send a command (text message) to Arduino once the yellow button is tapped. You can add more Command Widgets to send different commands - Rover Controller Widget: allows driving a rover robot just rotating the device - Sound Alarm Widget: sounds an alarm each time the associated condition is verified - Threshold Widget: allows setting a threshold to the Arduino board (e.g. the room temperature under which the board has to start an heater) - Console Widget: helps the user to debug the Arduino code, receiving and displaying debugging messages Other widgets are available, please see support site. Each widget is associated with a name and a variable (i.e. name: Temperature, variable: T). The variable is either written or read by the sketch running on the board allowing the iOS app receiving information from Arduino or controlling it. The app can be easily connected to more boards, each page of widgets can connects to a different board at the same time. User can easily manage different lists of widgets and switch among them in order to control different projects. Any widget list can be shared between own devices via iCloud and/or other users via an email message. Many Arduino libraries are available to easily integrate your own projects with Arduino Manager. Libraries, related documentation, demo sketches and a video tutorial are available for free from my site. Available In-App purchases: - Code Generator: allows to generate the communication infrastructure between the Arduino board and iOS device and the code for each chosen widget in order to simplify the programming effort on Arduino board. - PIN Code Generator: allows the user to associate a pin to each Widget and generate the code to manage that pin. In most cases this avoid writing any code - Voice Commands: You can now control most of the AM features by mean of voice commands (in English only). It also unlocks Voice Commands Widget Continuous use of background location can decrease battery life.
ESP32 Kit
This app allows you to control ESP32 boards via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. You can read and write digital and analog pins, control servo motors, and monitor live charts of analog values. It's ideal for smart home, automation, and hobbyist projects.
- Bluetooth/Wi-Fi control
- Digital and PWM pin control
- Servo motor control
- Analog pin reading
- Live analog value charts
- Pin mode and label editing
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Best in class ESP8266 controller. Features: - Control the board by Bluetooth or WIFI. - Read & write digital pins. - Read & write PWM pins. - Control Servo Motors. - Read analog pins. - Remember last status of the pins. - Change the mode of the pin (Output, SERVO, PWM or INPUT). - Automatic connect. - Label of each pin can be edited. - Live Charts for tracing your analog value. Applications: - Smart Home. - Automation. - Hoppy projects. - Schools & university projects. - Remote & Robots control. Requirements: - ESP32 Board - ESP32 Arduino Sketch (URL provided inside the app). - Arduino IDE to upload the sketch. Tested on: - ESP32 Dev Kit Board, and will work any similar ESP32 boards.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: ESP32 Kit at 100% against Arduino Manager's 43%. ESP32 Kit also leads on rating (4.0 vs 2.3) and in-app purchases (none vs 10). Arduino Manager's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 20 months). On ratings volume, ads and device support 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
Arduino Manager costs $7.99 and ESP32 Kit $4.99 up front. Arduino Manager sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. ESP32 Kit asks for nothing beyond the download.
ESP32 Kit holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of Arduino Manager's written reviews are positive against 100% of ESP32 Kit's.
Arduino Manager ships an update every 2 months, ESP32 Kit every 20 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Arduino Manager | ESP32 Kit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $7.99 | $4.99 — better |
| Rating | 2.3 (4 ratings) | 4.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 43.2% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4 | 5 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 20 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 8.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 36 MB | 32 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | +4 |
| Developer | Fabrizio Boco | Rabi Alhetawi |
Customer experience
Arduino Manager
ESP32 Kit
In-app purchases
Arduino Manager
- Controlling an LEDFree
- IntroductionFree
- 00 IntroductionFree
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- Controlling a Relay$1.99
- Measuring temperature$1.99
- Thermistor Temperature Measurement$1.99
- Peltier Control via Thermostat$1.99
- Code Generator$6.99
- PIN Code Generator$6.99
- Voice Commands$6.99
ESP32 Kit
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Arduino Manager free?
Is ESP32 Kit free?
Which has better reviews, Arduino Manager or ESP32 Kit?
Do Arduino Manager or ESP32 Kit have ads?
Which is updated more often, Arduino Manager or ESP32 Kit?
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