WLED vs Ruddarr
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
WLED
Control and manage all your WLED light devices from your iPhone or iPad. This companion app works with the open-source WLED software for microcontrollers, offering automatic device detection, customizable names, and software update assistance.
- Automatic device detection
- Centralized light list
- Software update assistant
- Customizable device names
- Hide or delete devices
- Light and dark mode
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With the WLED app, you can easily and efficiently manage and control all your WLED light devices from your iPhone or iPad. This is a companion app for the free and open source WLED software for ESP8266/32 microcontrollers. WLED automatically detects and updates the device list, and offers customizable names, a hide or delete feature, and a light and dark mode. It can also help you install new software updates to your devices. Plus, it supports both phones and tablets. Main Features: - Automatic device detection (mDNS) - All lights are accessible from one list - Software Update Assistant - Custom names - Hide or delete devices - Light and dark mode
Ruddarr
Control your movie, documentary, and TV series collections remotely. Browse upcoming releases, manage your media library, and receive notifications. Customize the app's appearance and sync settings across devices.
- 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
- Synchronize settings via iCloud
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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
Verdict
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 (750 vs 12). WLED's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (16.0 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
Both are free to download. Ruddarr sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $5.99 per year. WLED asks for nothing beyond the download.
Ruddarr holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 3.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Ruddarr has 750 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.
WLED ships an update every 2 months, Ruddarr monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | WLED | Ruddarr |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.5 (12 ratings) | 4.9 (750 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 50.5% of reviews | 90.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 12 | 750 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 42 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Christophe Gagnier | Ruddarr |
Customer experience
WLED
Ruddarr
User reviews
WLED
From 12 App Store ratingsWhat 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 750 App Store ratingsWhat 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 moreShow fewer
- 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 moreShow fewer
- 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
WLED
No in-app purchases
Ruddarr
- Ruddarr+$5.991 Year









