Blue Iris vs Amcrest View Pro 2
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Blue Iris
Access and manage your home camera network remotely through a secure client for the Blue Iris PC software. View live streams, review recordings, and receive alerts from your cameras. Offers advanced controls and two-way audio for compatible devices.
- Manage multiple Blue Iris installations
- Receive push notification alerts
- Fast H.264 streaming
- Control PTZ and two-way audio
- Review and download recordings
- Broadcast live video from device
- Geofencing alerts
Read full descriptionHide full description
This app is a CLIENT for the Blue Iris Windows PC software. In order to make use of this app, you must have Blue Iris version 6 installed and running on a Windows PC or VM. Instructions for connecting this app to the PC software are found in the Remote Access chapter of its Help file. This app provides a single point of contact to your home camera network. There is no need to insecurely open individual cameras to the Internet. This app connects using a secure and session-based protocol--no passwords are transmitted in plain text. Remote access does require router configuration or NGROK, which you can test without the app by using Safari. You should see your Blue Iris login page. Key features include: - Manage multiple Blue Iris installations - Geofencing: set status, send alerts, and more in response to device location * - Control the shield icon, schedule and profile selection - Receive iOS push notification alerts when a Blue Iris camera is triggered or there is a critical status message - Fast H.264 streaming - Control PTZ, IR and more for any camera that’s also controllable at the Blue Iris PC - Listen to and talk to any camera that’s also supported at the Blue Iris PC - Navigate cameras by tapping and swiping - Review recordings as stored on the Blue Iris PC, up to 64x speed - Download recorded video from the Blue Iris PC to the iOS device - Selectively delete recordings from the Blue Iris PC - Broadcast live video from the iOS device directly into a Blue Iris PC camera window - Remote control DIO output signals on compatible devices - Baby monitor functionality: continue to listen to audio with app closed or device in standby ** * Note that continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life. ** Note that continued use of audio streaming running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.
Amcrest View Pro 2
Monitor your Amcrest IP cameras, DVRs, and NVRs remotely. This application allows you to view live feeds from your security devices directly on your iOS device, providing peace of mind and enhanced home security.
- Live camera viewing
- Remote access
- Monitor IP cameras
- Monitor DVRs
- Monitor NVRs
- Home security
Read full descriptionHide full description
The Amcrest View Pro 2 app was specifically designed for our Amcrest IP Cameras, HDCVI DVRs, and NVRs. Watch your cameras live using your iOS device! As a leader in the home security space, Amcrest offers products to help you and your loved ones feel safe, no matter where you are. With the Amcrest View Pro 2 app, it's simple to check in on what you care about, from anywhere.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Amcrest View Pro 2 at Free against Blue Iris's $9.99. Amcrest View Pro 2 also leads on iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.6). Blue Iris's advantage is rating (3.7 vs 2.1) and review sentiment (56% vs 15%). On ads, in-app purchases 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
Amcrest View Pro 2 is free to download; Blue Iris costs $9.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Blue Iris holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 2.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 418 and 93 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 56% of Blue Iris's written reviews are positive against 15% of Amcrest View Pro 2's.
Blue Iris ships an update every 4 days, Amcrest View Pro 2 every 8 months. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.
| Parameter | Blue Iris | Amcrest View Pro 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 3.7 (418 ratings) — better | 2.1 (93 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 55.8% of reviews — better | 14.9% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 418 — better | 93 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Best chart rank | #25 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 31 MB | 231 MB |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | Ken Pletzer | Amcrest |
Customer experience
Blue Iris
Amcrest View Pro 2
User reviews
Blue Iris
From 418 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Reliable and stable
- 🔒 Secure remote access
- 👍 Comprehensive features
- 🚀 Smooth video playback
- 💡 Useful push notifications
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and bugs
- 🔋 Drains battery on mobile devices
- 👎 Outdated and dated UI design
- 🔍 Difficult to navigate and configure
- 🚫 Requires Blue Iris desktop software
Amcrest View Pro 2
From 93 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easier to use interface
- 🚀 Improved camera adding process
- 👍 Better than previous version
- 👍 New look is appreciated
- 👍 Works well with GPU option enabled
Room to improve
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 App is unreliable and buggy
- 🐛 Playback is terrible (stalling, skipping)
- 🐛 Live view and playback are separate
- 🐛 iPad app doesn't fill screen
Bugs and requests
Blue Iris
Reported bugs
5 issues- Inability to save video clips
- Inconsistent behavior when switching between live view and playback
- Push notifications not working reliably
- Cameras sometimes shown as offline when they are not
- Crashes when rotating device or accessing certain features
Requested features
5 requests- Add support for VPN connections
- Improve video scrubbing and playback controls
- Implement a more modern and responsive UI
- Allow for more granular user permissions and access levels
- Provide better integration with home automation systems
Amcrest View Pro 2
Reported bugs
50 issues- Push notifications stopped working
- Playback stalling, skipping, jumping to beginning
- App closes current camera or exits full screen
- Event notifications not provided
- Motion sensor enabled but push notifications not working
Show 45 moreShow fewer
- App will not let user view cameras
- App keeps timing out when viewing live feed or recordings
- App won't add camera, says Device SN doesn't exist
- Cameras seldom connect
- Continually time-out
- NVR fails to log cameras in quick view
- Recording scheduling portion is unintuitive
- General interface is outdated
- Audio is unintelligible
- Intercom mode crashes camera firmware
- Message in Chinese
- Cannot find IP address of camera
- QR code scan failure
- App doesn't allow remote access
- Event recording doesn't work
- Login timeout when not on local Wi-Fi
- Home screen shows incorrect camera image
- Maximum connections exceeded error
- Dual 4K resolution cropped on iPhone 16
- App doesn't work on M1 Mac
- App doesn't work with iPhone
- App doesn't recognize all Amcrest cameras
- App doesn't accept P2P Amcrest camera with serial starting with Z
- No P2P Gateway import feature
- Motion detector playback does not work
- Smart motion detection (human/vehicle) not working
- Events don't show up on iPhone event list unless push notification is clicked
- Unable to add NVR via P2P on iOS version
- App doesn't load cameras after closing and reopening
- App constantly crashes
- App doesn't fill iPad screen
- Turning device sideways resizes image weirdly
- Notifications not working
- App crashes with 4K cameras without GPU option
- App doesn't connect to streams
- App is unstable and has numerous bugs/errors
- App is worse than the first version
- App requires too many taps for simple tasks
- App doesn't support self-search for Amcrest cameras
- App fails to connect to camera
- App renders camera system unusable
- No live view or playback after update
- App is primitive
- App is a mess
- Old app is better
Requested features
12 requests- Add screen lock feature
- Add PTZ set point feature
- Add cloud storage access
- Add ability to show events and jump to them
- Add GPU option for iOS app
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Add P2P Gateway import feature
- Allow user choice for password change
- Improve Mac OSX support
- Fix dual 4K resolution cropping on iPhone 16
- Improve iPad app scaling
- Add timeline under live view for easier playback
- Fix messages appearing in Chinese
In-app purchases
Blue Iris
No in-app purchases
Amcrest View Pro 2
No in-app purchases
