mDNSShark vs NextDNS Remote
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
mDNSShark
Discover and analyze devices on your local network. This tool reveals what services devices are broadcasting, maps network topology, and assesses security risks. It offers packet capture and optional TLS inspection for deeper insights into network traffic.
- Device discovery (mDNS, SSDP/UPnP)
- Network topology mapping
- Security risk assessment
- Packet capture and export
- Home and Lock Screen widgets
- Optional TLS inspection
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mDNSShark is an open-source network scanner for iPhone, built for privacy-minded engineers and anyone curious about what is on their Wi-Fi. It listens to Multicast DNS (mDNS), DNS-SD (Bonjour) and SSDP/UPnP to find printers, cameras, media servers, smart home gear and other services on your local network, with no setup and no account. FOR CURIOUS MINDS Ever wondered what your TV, thermostat or camera is saying on your network? mDNSShark shows you: what a device announces about itself, which ports answer, and what your phone talks to. Built by engineers for the curious minded and explorers, with literal values and nothing hidden. WHAT YOU GET - Device discovery: Bonjour/mDNS, SSDP/UPnP, an ARP table read and a light sweep of your own subnet, with MAC vendor lookup. A long list of Bonjour service types is browsed, including cameras, Matter, Thread, appliances and 3D printers. - See what a device says about itself: TXT records are listed exactly as received, and vendors come from the device's own claim or its MAC. - Topology: a map of how devices connect, centered on your gateway, with devices on other networks shown apart. A Networks sheet lists this phone's networks, gateways and off-network devices. - Security assessment: flags risky exposed services such as Telnet, FTP, SMB and RTSP, and checks device manufacturers against CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and the NVD. Only ports confirmed by a real connection are listed as open. - Probe this device: on request, and behind a confirmation, send the standard probes to a single address on another network. Devices that were never probed say Not probed. - Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets: Devices Online, Scan Now and Security at a Glance. On iOS 26 and later, Scan Now starts a scan right from the widget. - Packet capture: see which servers your phone talks to (DNS lookups, IP addresses, ports), capture mDNS traffic, and export to pcap for Wireshark. - TLS Inspection (optional subscription): decrypt and read your own device's HTTPS traffic using a certificate you install and trust, with a bypass list for apps you want left alone. PRIVACY Scans and analysis run on your phone. Your device list and scan results are never uploaded; only vendor names are sent to the NVD when you tap Refresh CISA Data. Widgets read a snapshot stored on your device. There is no telemetry, no analytics, and no trackers. Two things leave your device, and both are visible to you: while Packet Capture is on, DNS lookups go to the resolver you choose (Google Public DNS by default), and the Refresh CISA Data button you tap yourself downloads CISA's public catalog and asks the NVD about device vendors seen on your network. Discovery needs only local network access; Packet Capture also asks you to allow a VPN configuration. SUPPORT ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT The optional TLS Inspection subscription helps fund active development of mDNSShark: new features, fixes and upkeep. SUBSCRIPTION TLS Inspection Monthly is an auto-renewing monthly subscription. The price and any free trial are shown in the app before you subscribe. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase, or when a free trial ends. The subscription renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel any time in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Discovery, scans, and the Security tab are free. OPEN SOURCE AND YOUR VOICE mDNSShark is built in the open and your ideas shape it. Found a bug or want a feature? Open an issue and tell us. Contributions are welcome too. Bugs and feature requests: https://github.com/Shapehaven-Innovations/mDNSShark/issues Source code: https://github.com/Shapehaven-Innovations/mDNSShark Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://shapehaveninnovations.com/privacy.html
NextDNS Remote
Manage your NextDNS configuration remotely. View detailed analytics, monitor query logs, and adjust blocking settings, security, privacy, and parental controls. Supports multiple accounts and profiles.
- View analytics and query logs
- Configure blocking lists and settings
- Adjust security, privacy, and parental controls
- Manage multiple NextDNS accounts
- Create new profiles within the app
- Live updating query log feature
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NextDNS Remote is a third party app for controlling your NextDNS setup. You can view statistics and logs, as well as change blocking settings and lists. *Analytics* See the number of (blocked) queries and a chart of your recent activity, grouped by profile. Furthermore, you can see different analytics about domains, devices, security, and more. The timespan of the charts & statistics is configurable. *Query Log* Explore what requests your devices make (including a 'live updating' feature), as well as see details about the query and device. For blocked queries you can find out why they're blocked. *Blocking* Edit your blocklist, deny & allowlist, native tracking protection, and more. Quickly toggle blocking for services and categories. *Settings* You have the ability to change all security, privacy, and parental control settings. *Multiple accounts* There's support for multiple NextDNS accounts and you can switch between them seamlessly. Multiple profiles are supported too: you can even create new profiles right from the app. A NextDNS+ purchase or subscription is required to use more than one account, the ability to do mutable actions (like changing settings or creating a profile), access the Live Log, remove limits, and more. You can get NextDNS+ with a one-time purchase or optional subscription. == Note: You need a NextDNS account for this app to function. NextDNS Remote is a third party app which uses the NextDNS API and is in no way affiliated with NextDNS. Find out more about NextDNS at https://nextdns.io/. This app offers a "NextDNS+" version with additional features, in the form of a lifetime purchase, a monthly subscription, or a yearly subscription. Subscriptions will automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period and will be charged to your iTunes account. You can turn off auto-renew/manage subscriptions in your iTunes Account Settings after purchase. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: mDNSShark at 5.0 against NextDNS Remote's 4.6. mDNSShark also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 82%). NextDNS Remote's advantage is ratings volume (43 vs 2). 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. mDNSShark sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month and NextDNS Remote sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
mDNSShark holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: NextDNS Remote has 43 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 100% of mDNSShark's written reviews are positive against 82% of NextDNS Remote's.
mDNSShark ships an update every 2 weeks, NextDNS Remote fortnightly. Both last shipped on November 4, 2026.
| Parameter | mDNSShark | NextDNS Remote |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) — better | 4.6 (43 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better | 81.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 | 43 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.2 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 24 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | ShapeHaven Innovations LLC | RocketScience IT |
Customer experience
mDNSShark
NextDNS Remote
In-app purchases
mDNSShark
- TLS Inspection Monthly3 Days trial$1.991 Month
NextDNS Remote
- NextDNS+ Monthly$0.991 Month
- NextDNS+ Yearly$3.991 Year
- NextDNS+ Lifetime$8.99
Questions
Is mDNSShark free?
Is NextDNS Remote free?
Which has better reviews, mDNSShark or NextDNS Remote?
Do mDNSShark or NextDNS Remote have ads?
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