Network Lab vs DR
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Network Lab
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Network Lab is a privacy-first LAN scanner and network toolbox for iPhone, iPad and Apple silicon Mac. Use it to discover devices on your Wi-Fi or wired network, inspect Bonjour and Zeroconf services, monitor favourite hosts and troubleshoot common connectivity problems without creating an account or uploading scan data to a cloud service. What Network Lab helps with: - Scan your local subnet and identify active hosts - Browse Bonjour / Zeroconf services and service records - Inspect IP addresses, MAC addresses, vendors, ports and host details where available - Save network snapshots, compare scans and export results as CSV - Monitor favourite hosts for reachability - Run ping, traceroute, DNS lookup, whois and bandwidth tests - Send Wake-on-LAN magic packets to sleeping devices - Open SSH sessions to known hosts Network Lab is built for home labs, small offices, developers, admins and curious users who want a clear view of their own network. The core LAN scanner stays available for free, while Pro unlocks the extended diagnostic tools.
DR
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DR-SoundMeter measures the noise around you in decibels with your device's microphone and tells you what it means for your hearing. MEASURE - Live level in dB with Min, Max and average - A, C and Z frequency weighting, Fast and Slow time weighting - LAeq, LAFmax, LCpeak, sound exposure level (LE) and L10, L50, L90 - A chart of the level over time - Calibration offset for your device PROTECT YOUR HEARING - How long it is safe to stay at the current level - Daily noise dose under NIOSH or OSHA - Hearing protection advice for loud places - 15 everyday sounds to compare with, from a whisper to a jet engine ANALYSE - Live third-octave and octave frequency bands - Record the sound and play it back as a waveform or spectrogram SAVE AND SHARE - Save sessions with their place and time - See your measurements on a noise map - Export levels, doses and location to CSV APPLE WATCH - Measures on the watch's own microphone, without the phone - LAeq, maximum and minimum at a glance - A haptic alert when the noise passes your threshold Every measuring feature is free. DR-SoundMeter Pro removes ads and lifts the limits on saved sessions and recordings. Readings depend on your device's microphone. For a reference measurement, use a calibrated sound level meter. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Network Lab at none against DR's shown. DR's advantage is update cadence (every 2 months vs every 9 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Network Lab sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and DR sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Network Lab ships an update every 9 months, DR every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 30, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Network Lab | DR |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 9 months | Every 2 months โ better |
| Ads | No โ better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 โ better | 18.2 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 40 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Michael Lauer | DR-Online Sp. z o.o. |
In-app purchases
Network Lab
- Unbegrenzte Benutzung$9.99
DR
- SoundMeter PRO$1.99









