Comparison

Glink 5250 vs Lightning Sync

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

Head to head
About

Glink 5250

This application provides robust IBM 5250 terminal emulation for iOS devices, enabling access to IBM iSeries systems. It supports secure communication, multiple host sessions, and customizable toolbars with macro recording. It also offers features like session persistence and remote configuration management.

Highlights
  • IBM 5250 terminal emulation
  • TN5250 communication protocol
  • Secure SSL/TLS communication
  • Multiple concurrent host sessions
  • Configurable toolbars and hot spots
  • Macro recording and playback
  • Session persistence with GlinkProxy
Features
Read full description

Glink 5250 for iOS is an iOS-version of Gallagher & Robertson's best-selling terminal emulation program, Glink Professional Edition for Microsoft Windows. Glink 5250 is used to access applications running on IBM iSeries systems. Glink 5250 emulates all IBM 5250 terminals and uses the TN5250 protocol for communication with the host systems. Glink brings you a high quality and proven emulator for your iPad, iPhone devices and Mac computers with M1/M2 chip. Glink supports GlinkProxy, a server application designed to provide persistent host connections for Glink clients where the connection from the client device is unreliable. This may be because the device enters sleep mode or goes out of Wi-Fi range. FEATURES - IBM 5250 terminal emulation, all models and screen sizes - TN5250 communication to host - IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) support - SSL/TLS support for secure communication - Multiple concurrent host sessions - Configurable multi line toolbar with function keys and macros - Configurable hot spots for function keys, numbers, characters and URLs - Macro recording for auto-login and for assignment to toolbar - Pop-up standard keyboard with support of international characters - Tab/shift-Tab and arrow-keys supported on external Bluetooth keyboard - All major function keys available as keyboard shortcuts - Press and hold Command-key on external keyboard to see list of built-in keyboard shortcuts - Colors can be customized - Supports GlinkProxy Session Persistence Server - Multiple host configurations supported - Export and import of configurations - Supports Managed App Configuration, which allows users to configure Glink remotely through Mobile Device Management (MDM) - Optional password to access configurations - Optional auto-connect and auto-login at startup - Optional use of double-tap as Enter/Transmit - Supports Double Byte Character Sets (DBCS) like Chinese, Japanese and Korean - Configurable scroll-back buffer contains history of your host session - Print or e-mail host print data - Print or e-mail terminal emulation content or scroll-back buffer content - Zoom and scroll as the Safari browser - Dynamic zoom to cursor position - Blinking attribute supported - Blinking cursor supported - Two finger swipe gesture to move cursor - Tap and hold to open Mail with e-mail address on screen - Supports external Bluetooth keyboards and barcode scanners

About

Lightning Sync

Access your iOS device's photos from your PC's web browser. Easily browse, convert images to JPG/PNG, and download them in batches. Unlock premium features with a subscription for enhanced functionality.

Highlights
  • Access photos from PC web browser
  • Convert images to PNG/JPG
  • Batch download photos/videos
  • Preview photos/videos
  • Setup web server on iOS device
Features
Read full description

Lightning Sync helps you access your photos from your PC web browser.It setup a web server on your iOS device, and you can easily browse and download photos via web page.Its core features includes: convert image to PNG/JPG format, batch download, preview photos/videos. we offer three subscriptions: yearly,3 months,6 months, each subscription unlock all premium functions, such as batch images/videos download, and many new features that coming soon. terms of use: https://gitee.com/vctr/support/raw/master/termsOfUse

Screenshots

Glink 52504 screens
Lightning Sync4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Lightning Sync at Free against Glink 5250's $29.99. Lightning Sync also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 months). Glink 5250's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 1.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 3). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Lightning Sync is free to download; Glink 5250 costs $29.99 up front. Lightning Sync sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 3 months. Glink 5250 asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Glink 5250 holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of Glink 5250's written reviews are positive against 33% of Lightning Sync's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Glink 5250 ships an update every 5 months, Lightning Sync every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
Glink 5250 versus Lightning Sync: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterGlink 5250Lightning Sync
Price$29.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better1.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews50.0% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size51 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGallagher & Robertson AS振强 劳

Customer experience

Glink 5250

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive50.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative50.0%

Lightning Sync

All ratings1 ratings
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

In-app purchases

None

Glink 5250

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Lightning Sync

Subscriptions3
  • 3 Months Premium Access$3.993 Months
  • 6 Months Premium Access$4.996 Months
  • Yearly Premium Access$9.991 Year

Questions

Is Glink 5250 free?
Glink 5250 costs $29.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Lightning Sync free?
Lightning Sync is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Glink 5250 or Lightning Sync?
Glink 5250 is rated higher. Glink 5250 averages 5.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while Lightning Sync averages 1.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Glink 5250 or Lightning Sync have ads?
Neither Glink 5250 nor Lightning Sync shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Glink 5250 or Lightning Sync?
Glink 5250 ships an update every 5 months, and Lightning Sync every 2 days. Most recently, Glink 5250 was updated on October 1, 2026 and Lightning Sync on September 24, 2026.

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