Sona Mobile vs Pharos Secure Release
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Sona Mobile
This mobile application grants users access to the Sona Systems platform. It is designed for participants, researchers, and principal investigators, requiring the specific URL of a Sona site for functionality.
- Access Sona Systems
- For participants
- For researchers
- For principal investigators
- Requires Sona site URL
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This app provides access to Sona Systems for users of the system. It works for participant users, researchers and principal investigators. You will need to know the URL of your Sona site in order to use this app.
Pharos Secure Release
Securely print documents from your mobile device to any network-connected Pharos-secured printer. Manage your print jobs remotely and release them by scanning a QR code at the printer, ensuring document confidentiality and reducing waste.
- Secure printing across networks
- Remote print job submission
- Modify job list within the app
- QR code printer release
- Ensures document confidentiality
- Reduces printing waste
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The Secure Release app makes it easy for employees of organizations with Pharos Secure Release to print securely across networks to any Pharos-secured device on the network, improve the printing experience, ensure document confidentiality, and reduce waste. You can submit print jobs on your mobile device from any location or network, modify your job list within the app at anytime, and when it’s convenient, you can walk up to any secured printer and use the app to scan the QR code affixed to the printer to release your print job(s). This secure and intuitive workflow prevents sensitive information from being left unattended on printer output trays. It also improves convenience by allowing you to securely release your documents at any secured printer in your organization’s network. Note: This app requires a Pharos Cloud Secure Release account. iOS versions 15, 16, and 17 are fully tested and supported.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Pharos Secure Release at 3.7 against Sona Mobile's 2.7. Pharos Secure Release also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). Sona Mobile's advantage is review sentiment (20% vs 0%) and ratings volume (10 vs 3). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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.
Pharos Secure Release holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 3 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 20% of Sona Mobile's written reviews are positive against 0% of Pharos Secure Release's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on July 25, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Sona Mobile | Pharos Secure Release |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.7 (10 ratings) | 3.7 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 20.0% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 10 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 38 MB | 87 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Sona Systems | Pharos Systems International |
Customer experience
Sona Mobile
Pharos Secure Release
In-app purchases
Sona Mobile
No in-app purchases
Pharos Secure Release
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Sona Mobile free?
Is Pharos Secure Release free?
Which has better reviews, Sona Mobile or Pharos Secure Release?
Do Sona Mobile or Pharos Secure Release have ads?
Which is updated more often, Sona Mobile or Pharos Secure Release?
Other comparisons
