Comparison

mDNSShark vs BeaconWave

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

Head to head
About

mDNSShark

Explore your local Wi-Fi network with ease. This app discovers printers, media servers, and IoT devices by tapping into network protocols. It offers a simple, private way to understand what's connected and how services communicate, with no external servers or data collection.

Highlights
  • Local network scanning
  • mDNS, DNS-SD, SSDP protocol support
  • Device and service discovery
  • Private and no data collection
  • Open-source development
  • User-friendly interface
Features
Read full description

mDNSShark is an open-source iPhone app that shows what is on your local network. It uses Multicast DNS (mDNS), DNS-SD, and SSDP to find printers, media servers, IoT gadgets, and other services on your Wi-Fi, with no setup. WHAT YOU GET - Device discovery: Bonjour/mDNS, SSDP, and optional subnet scans, with manufacturer lookups. - Security assessment: flags risky exposed services and checks device manufacturers against CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and the NVD. - Packet capture: see which hosts your phone talks to (DNS, SNI, ports) 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. PRIVACY Scans and analysis run on your phone. Your device list and scan results are never uploaded. There is no telemetry, no analytics, and no trackers. Two things leave your device, and both are visible to you: 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. The only permission the app needs is local network access. 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 mDNSShark is built by engineers who like transparent, lightweight tools, and it is open to anyone curious about local networks. Report bugs, suggest features, or contribute code in our public repository: 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

About

BeaconWave

Features
Read full description

The complete Bluetooth toolkit for developers and engineers. BeaconWave lets you manage, scan, and broadcast Bluetooth beacons — all from one app. Whether you're testing a beacon installation or building an indoor positioning system, everything you need is right here. MANAGE YOUR BEACONS Register beacons with UUID, Major, and Minor values. Your entire beacon inventory, organized and always at hand. SCAN FOR iBEACONS Add scan target UUIDs — preset or custom — and detect iBeacon signals in range. Know exactly which beacons are broadcasting nearby. DISCOVER BLE DEVICES Switch to BLE mode to scan for any Bluetooth device around you. Signal strength in dBm and proximity labels, updated in real time. BROADCAST YOUR OWN Turn your iPhone into an iBeacon. Configure UUID, Major, Minor, and TX Power to simulate any beacon — no extra hardware needed. Add a name and memo to track your test setups. Perfect for: • Retail beacon deployment and testing • Indoor navigation development • IoT and smart space prototyping • Bluetooth education and exploration

Screenshots

mDNSShark4 screens
BeaconWave4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: BeaconWave at 15.0 against mDNSShark's 18.2. On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
mDNSShark versus BeaconWave: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermDNSSharkBeaconWave
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 11 days—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPod — better
Requires iOS18.215.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperShapeHaven Innovations LLCHironori Tsumuraya

In-app purchases

None

mDNSShark

No in-app purchases

None

BeaconWave

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is mDNSShark free?
mDNSShark is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is BeaconWave free?
BeaconWave is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do mDNSShark or BeaconWave have ads?
Neither mDNSShark nor BeaconWave shows ads.

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