LANScanner vs Pixel Mapper xModel
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
LANScanner
Instantly discover all devices on your local network with a single tap. Identify phones, laptops, TVs, printers, and IoT devices, displaying their IP, hostname, MAC address, and manufacturer. It uses modern discovery protocols to provide friendly names for easy identification.
- One-tap network scanning
- Smart device naming
- MAC address vendor lookup
- Real-time scan results
- Cross-platform compatibility (iOS/macOS)
- Private, on-device scanning
Read full descriptionHide full description
LAN Scanner helps you instantly discover every device on your local network. With a single tap, it identifies phones, laptops, TVs, printers, NAS, and IoT devices—showing IP, hostname, MAC address, and manufacturer. It uses modern discovery (Bonjour/mDNS, SSDP/UPnP) to surface friendly names so you know exactly what’s online. - One‑Tap Scan: Discovers devices on your current Wi‑Fi or Ethernet network fast. - Smart Names: Uses Bonjour/mDNS and SSDP/UPnP to show human‑readable device names. - Vendor Lookup: Infers manufacturer from MAC addresses for quick identification. - Live Results: See devices appear in real time as the scan progresses. - Cross‑Platform: Built for iPhone, iPad, and Mac with native SwiftUI. - Lightweight: No accounts, no ads, no clutter—just the info you need. - Live Results: See devices appear in real time as the scan progresses. - Cross‑Platform: Built for iPhone, iPad, and Mac with native SwiftUI. - Lightweight: No accounts, no ads, no clutter—just the info you need. - Private by Design: All scanning and identification happens entirely on‑device. LAN Scanner never collects, uploads, or shares your network data. - Great For: - Troubleshooting “what’s on my network?” - Finding printers, TVs, and smart home devices - Auditing small office/home networks - Verifying new devices and guests - Notes: Some networks (guest/VLAN/campus) may restrict discovery. Ensure Local Network access is granted for best results. Requirements: Local Network permission. Multicast networking improves Bonjour/SSDP discovery on supported devices.
Pixel Mapper xModel
Read full descriptionHide full description
Pixel Mapper turns your iPhone or iPad into an automatic layout tool for xLights. Point your camera at your light display, and the app lights each WS2811 / WS2812 pixel, finds it in the camera image with computer vision, and builds a ready-to-import xLights Custom model — no manual clicking pixel by pixel. Perfect for Christmas light displays, props, matrices, megatrees, and any irregular pixel layout that's painful to map by hand. HOW IT WORKS 1. Target — enter your controller's IP and pixel count. Output goes over DDP or sACN / E1.31, the same protocols xLights and FPP already speak. 2. Scan — choose a mode: • Fast (base-3): every pixel lights in every frame, colored by one base-3 digit of its index, so all pixels are identified in only ~log3(N)+2 frames (about 500 pixels in 8 frames). Two checksum digits reject misreads. • Sequential: light one pixel at a time and find the single bright blob. Slower, but dead simple and rock solid. Both modes subtract a black reference frame to ignore ambient hotspots. 3. Review — see the detected layout over your photo, drop bad points, tap to place or move a node, and re-scan individual pixels. Zoom and pan to fine-tune. 4. Export — save a standard xLights .xmodel file that imports into both old and new versions of xLights. WHY PIXEL MAPPER • No more mapping hundreds of pixels by hand. • Works with the gear you already own — any DDP or sACN/E1.31 pixel controller. • Fast base-3 scan maps large models in seconds of capture. • Checksum-protected so misread pixels get rejected, not placed wrong. • Best results in a dim room; the app locks camera exposure and focus where the device supports it. REQUIREMENTS • A WS2811 / WS2812 (or compatible) pixel controller reachable on your network. • The controller set to receive DDP or sACN / E1.31. • An iPhone or iPad on the same Wi-Fi network as the controller. Pixel Mapper is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the xLights project. xLights is a trademark of its respective owners.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Pixel Mapper xModel at 13.0 against LANScanner's 26.5. 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
| Parameter | LANScanner | Pixel Mapper xModel |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | — |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 26.5 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 4 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Alexander Deutsch | S&B Designs |
In-app purchases
LANScanner
No in-app purchases
Pixel Mapper xModel
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is LANScanner free?
Is Pixel Mapper xModel free?
Do LANScanner or Pixel Mapper xModel have ads?
Other comparisons















