Comparison

WLED vs Ruddarr

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

Head to head
About

WLED

Control your smart LED lights directly from your iPhone or iPad. This app automatically discovers your WLED devices on Wi-Fi, allowing you to manage power, brightness, colors, and effects. It also supports voice commands and one-tap software updates for your controllers.

Highlights
  • Automatic Wi-Fi Discovery
  • Live Status & Controls
  • Home Screen Widgets
  • Siri & Shortcuts Integration
  • One-Tap Device Updates
  • Customizable Device Organization
Features
Read full description

Take full control of your WLED light devices from your iPhone or iPad. This is the official companion app for devices running the free and open-source WLED firmware (such as ESP32 and ESP8266 controllers). The WLED app automatically finds your lights on your home Wi-Fi and brings them together in one simple, fast dashboard. Toggle power, adjust brightness, pick colors and effects, or keep your lights up to date in just a few taps. Key Features: • Automatic Wi-Fi Discovery: Finds your WLED lights on your local network automatically with no complicated setup required. • Live Status & Controls: See your lights' current colors, brightness, and online status update instantly right from the device list. • Home Screen Widgets: Turn lights on or off, see their current state at a glance, or jump straight to a device from your Home Screen. • Siri, Shortcuts & Action Button: Toggle your lights or set their brightness using Siri voice commands, the Shortcuts app, or your iPhone's Action button. • One-Tap Device Updates: Get notified when new WLED software is available and update your controllers directly from the app (supports official WLED, QuinLED, and MoonModules). • Made for iPhone & iPad: Adapts cleanly to any screen size with a split-screen layout on iPad, plus Light and Dark modes. • Easy Organization: Give your lights custom names and hide seasonal or offline controllers until you need them again. Completely free and open-source.

About

Ruddarr

This open-source companion app allows you to manage your movie and TV series collections remotely. Browse upcoming releases, receive notifications, and automate actions. It requires a separate Radarr or Sonarr instance to function.

Highlights
  • Manage movies and TV series
  • Browse upcoming releases calendar
  • Receive fine-grained notifications
  • View activity queue and history
  • Switch between multiple instances
  • Customize app appearance
  • Automate actions with Siri Shortcuts
Features
Read full description

Ruddarr is a beautifully designed, open source, privacy-first companion app for Radarr and Sonarr instances. Manage your movies, documentaries and TV series from anywhere, anytime. Features: • Manage movies and TV series • Browse upcoming releases in the calendar • Receive fine-grained notifications • View activity queue tasks and history events • Switch between multiple instances • Customize the app color scheme and appearance • Synchronize settings/instances between devices (iCloud) • Automate actions using Siri Shortcuts • Connect to reverse proxies using custom HTTP headers • Use Spotlight search to quickly jump to media • Fully localized, ready to be translated Notifications require a subscription to Ruddarr+, because sending push notifications to devices requires reliable server infrastructure, which incurs monthly operating expenses for this free, open-source project. Alternatively, *arrs come with many notification integrations that can be self-hosted. Requirements: • Ruddarr does not provide any media and requires a Radarr or Sonarr instance to interact with. - - - Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

WLED4 screens
Ruddarr4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Ruddarr at 4.9 against WLED's 3.5. Ruddarr also leads on review sentiment (90% vs 51%) and ratings volume (773 vs 12). WLED's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Ruddarr sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $5.99 per year. WLED asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Ruddarr holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ruddarr has 773 ratings behind it against 12, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 51% of WLED's written reviews are positive against 90% of Ruddarr's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

WLED ships an update every 4 months, Ruddarr monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
WLED versus Ruddarr: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWLEDRuddarr
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.5 (12 ratings)4.9 (773 ratings) — better
Positive reviews50.5% of reviews90.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings12773 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS18.0 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size24 MB68 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperChristophe GagnierRuddarr

Customer experience

WLED

All ratings12 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews95 reviews
Positive50.5%
Neutral7.4%
Negative42.1%

Ruddarr

All ratings771 ratings
Positive97.0%
Neutral0.8%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews223 reviews
Positive90.1%
Neutral2.7%
Negative7.2%

User reviews

WLED

From 12 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Works flawlessly for some
  • 👍 Free and does the job
  • 👍 Great for managing multiple devices
  • 👍 Responsive and stable (for some)
  • 👍 Cleaner and modern UI

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Connectivity issues
  • 🐛 Randomly turns on/off
  • 🐛 Not user friendly
  • 🐛 Glitchy and poorly built
  • 🐛 Flickering lights after update

Ruddarr

From 773 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Nice app
  • 👍 Good all
  • 👍 Love it
  • 👍 Looking good!
  • 👍 Great for managing your media library on the go!

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Import functionality
  • 🐛 Doesn't work on iOS 18.4
  • 🐛 If it didn't crash all the time it be awesome.
  • 🐛 Good app, but constantly freezes

Bugs and requests

WLED

Reported bugs

42 issues
  • Unable to connect to LEDs
  • Lights randomly turn on
  • Connectivity issues, needs re-pairing
  • App doesn't work, glitchy
  • Brightness control issues
Show 37 more
  • Lights flicker after update
  • Cannot find discover lights option
  • Not connected to iPhone, setup issues
  • App won't load, vanishes
  • None of my devices show up
  • Shows up blank, manual add only
  • No longer finds WLED devices
  • App doesn't work, no devices showing
  • Confusing app, turns off
  • App is unusable after update, errors
  • App stopped picking up signal
  • Only connects when at home
  • Doesn't pick up esp8266
  • Sound react option missing
  • Time and macros section not working
  • Update won't update
  • Goes offline from time to time
  • Update breaks app, beta works
  • Drops connection, cannot adjust lights
  • Latest release freezes, unstable wifi
  • Loading WLED UI stuck
  • Inconsistent connection after new update
  • Lost all config after update
  • Lost all presets after update
  • Devices missing and disappearing
  • Update ruined everything, random disconnects
  • App constantly crashes, won't load
  • Stopped working after update
  • New upgrade feature killed device
  • Inconsistent, can't find boards
  • Cannot connect lights, IP address doesn't work
  • Missing schedule function
  • App doesn't work at all
  • Doesn't work properly with WLED 0.14
  • App won't allow changing anything, freezes
  • Hidden devices reappear
  • App goes offline and never connects again

Requested features

6 requests
  • User-friendly interface
  • Simple interface with advanced option
  • Widget features for Home Screen
  • Sound react option
  • Remote control when away from WiFi
Show 1 more
  • Timer or schedule function

Ruddarr

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Fails with error when trying to add any service
  • Crashes and freezes all the time

Requested features

3 requests
  • Support one time purchase
  • List view not just posters
  • Latest releases or trending lists that could be pulled from trakt or IMDb

In-app purchases

None

WLED

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Ruddarr

Subscriptions1
  • Ruddarr+$5.991 Year

Questions

Is WLED free?
WLED is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ruddarr free?
Ruddarr is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, WLED or Ruddarr?
Ruddarr is rated higher. WLED averages 3.5 out of 5 from 12 ratings, while Ruddarr averages 4.9 from 773 ratings.
Do WLED or Ruddarr have ads?
Neither WLED nor Ruddarr shows ads.
Which is updated more often, WLED or Ruddarr?
WLED ships an update every 4 months, and Ruddarr monthly. Most recently, WLED was updated on November 11, 2026 and Ruddarr on November 8, 2026.

Other comparisons