Comparison

LuCI Mobile vs Rowa

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

Head to head
About

LuCI Mobile

Manage your OpenWrt router remotely with a modern, intuitive interface. Monitor network status, connected devices, and system performance. Securely control your home network from anywhere.

Highlights
  • Real-time dashboard with performance metrics
  • Complete network and interface management
  • Detailed client device oversight
  • Remote router reboot
  • Secure HTTP/HTTPS connection
  • Modern Material Design 3 UI
Features
Read full description

Manage your OpenWrt router from your phone with LuCI Mobile. Check network status, manage connected devices, update settings, and run diagnostics through a clean, modern interface. Remote access is available when your router is configured for it. FEATURES • Manage multiple routers and switch between them easily. • View system status, uptime, and performance charts. • Monitor wired and wireless interfaces, bandwidth usage, and IP settings. • See connected devices, including their hostnames, IP and MAC addresses, and connection times. • Configure Wi-Fi networks, security, channels, channel width, and country code. • Manage port forwards, traffic rules, firewall zones, and static routes. • Reserve DHCP addresses, block devices, and send Wake-on-LAN requests. • Control services and configure SQM, adblock, UPnP, and DDNS. • Run ping, traceroute, and nslookup, and view system and kernel logs. • Review network activity and enable optional background notifications on Android. • Update system settings, change your router password, and reboot. • Apply configuration changes with OpenWrt’s rollback protection. • Connect over HTTP or HTTPS, including with self-signed certificates. Credentials are stored securely. • Choose a light or dark theme. REQUIREMENTS LuCI Mobile requires an OpenWrt router with the LuCI web interface enabled. Remote access requires appropriate router and firewall configuration. SUPPORT AND SOURCE CODE LuCI Mobile is open source. For support, issue reports, and source code, visit: https://github.com/cogwheel0/luci-mobile DISCLAIMER LuCI Mobile is an independent, third-party application licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3). It is not officially affiliated with the OpenWrt project.

About

Rowa

Features
Read full description

Rowa is an independent app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by OpenWrt, AdGuard Home, Tailscale, GL.iNet or Telegram. Rowa turns your own router into something you can actually see and steer, from your phone. WHAT YOU CAN DO • See every device on the network, grouped by how it connects and under the name it announces for itself — what it is, and how much it is pulling right now. • Cut the internet for one device with a tap, and give it back the same way. • Deny a device the router altogether when cutting the internet is not enough: nothing forwarded, no address handed out. • Schedule those cuts by day and hour. Useful for a child's tablet at bedtime. • Block websites for one device only, with rules pinned to its hardware address. • See how much data went out today, or over 7, 30, 90 or 365 days, counted on the router itself. • Measure the line itself: three seconds each way against the nearest speed test server. • Change Wi-Fi names and passwords, quickly or in full detail, and read every change before it is applied. • Watch the mobile link on a router with a SIM: signal graded on RSRP, SINR and RSRQ, band, carrier, data used — and read or send SIM messages. • Set up a new router’s connection in a few steps; see every uplink at once, including one ready but not in use; switch an Ethernet port between WAN and LAN. • Get told when the router drops off the network or loses mains power, when the battery runs low, when an unknown device joins, when a text arrives or when the public address changes — in a Telegram bot of your own that also answers questions and can reboot the router, and, if you unlock it, on your phone with Rowa closed, which also covers a router gone quiet. • Block ads for the whole house through AdGuard Home, if your router has it. • Combine several uplinks — balance traffic across fibre, mobile and Wi-Fi repeater, reorder their priority, or fail over between them. • Restart the router on a schedule. • See real CPU use on every core and which processes are eating it — named in plain language — and end one from the app. • Set the fan on a router that has one: quiet, medium, maximum, or left to the kernel. • Reach the router from anywhere over Tailscale, with no Tailscale app to install. FREE, AND STAYING FREE Router status, the device list, cutting and restoring internet by hand, data usage, the process list, fan control, Wi-Fi, alerts while the app is open, Telegram alerts, SIM messages and the diagnostics report cost nothing, now or later. Seven advanced features are free for 30 days, then a single purchase unlocks them for good — no subscription, nothing to renew: • Scheduled cuts by the hour • Ad blocking (needs AdGuard Home) • Per-device website blocking • Multi-WAN load balancing • Automatic cache trimming • Scheduled router reboots • Alerts with the app closed WHAT YOU NEED • A router running OpenWrt 22.03 or newer (or GL.iNet firmware 4.x) that you administer; 21.02 works once nftables is installed. It can route for the whole house, or just serve Wi-Fi as an access point. • The first pairing has to happen on the same Wi-Fi as the router: Rowa shows you the router's certificate fingerprint and trusts only that one afterwards. • Rowa installs a small helper on the router the first time, with your permission and your own SSH password. There is a button to remove it again. PRIVACY Your router password and SSH key never leave your phone — they live in the Keychain and go only to your own router. There are no ads, no analytics, and no account to create. The diagnostics report is never sent anywhere on its own: you see all of it first and choose who gets it. Rowa works with routers running OpenWrt (openwrt.org), and with the optional packages AdGuard Home (adguard.com) and Tailscale (tailscale.com) where they are installed. Telegram (telegram.org) is a service the router sends alerts to, not a package on it. Those are separate projects and services; Rowa is not one of them.

Screenshots

LuCI Mobile4 screens
Rowa4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: LuCI Mobile at none against Rowa's 1. Rowa's advantage is update cadence (every 2 days vs every 3 weeks). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Rowa sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. LuCI Mobile asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LuCI Mobile ships an update every 3 weeks, Rowa every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
LuCI Mobile versus Rowa: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLuCI MobileRowa
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (3 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings3 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size23 MB48 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTunap PaulLong Hoang Tuan

In-app purchases

None

LuCI Mobile

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

Rowa

One-time1
  • Rowa Full Unlock$9.99

Questions

Is LuCI Mobile free?
LuCI Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Rowa free?
Rowa is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do LuCI Mobile or Rowa have ads?
Neither LuCI Mobile nor Rowa shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LuCI Mobile or Rowa?
LuCI Mobile ships an update every 3 weeks, and Rowa every 2 days. Most recently, LuCI Mobile was updated on October 1, 2026 and Rowa on October 19, 2026.

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