Comparison

PhoneMouse vs MXa

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

Head to head
About

PhoneMouse

Features
Read full description

REQUIRES MAC APP β€” Download PhoneMouse on your Mac too. One purchase covers both! Never be stuck without a mouse again. PhoneMouse turns your iPhone into a wireless mouse for your Mac β€” perfect for presentations, travel, or when you forget your mouse at home. TWO CONTROL MODES β€’ Gyro Mode – Wave your phone like a magic wand to control the cursor β€’ Trackpad Mode – Use your screen as a wireless trackpad EASY SETUP 1. Download PhoneMouse on both your iPhone and Mac 2. Select your Mac from the app 3. Start controlling instantly PERFECT FOR β€’ Presentations and demos β€’ Couch computing β€’ Travel and remote work β€’ Emergency backup No subscriptions. No ads. One purchase for iPhone + Mac.

About

MXa

Features
Read full description

MXa turns your iPhone or iPad into a screen and a keyboard for a computer you own. You see the whole desktop, exactly as it is on the machine itself, and you drive all of it: move the pointer, click, scroll, type, send keyboard shortcuts, copy and paste between the two devices. Nothing is installed into the apps you work with over there. Getting in takes two numbers. The other machine shows a 9-digit ID and a 6-digit code; you type them here once. No account to create, no email to leave, no VPN to configure, no router port to open. On the same Wi-Fi the two devices talk directly and the picture never leaves your network. Over distance they meet at a relay that only moves bytes β€” the 6-digit code never crosses the wire, and the keys are derived at the two ends, so what passes through the middle cannot be read there. The picture is H.264 at 30 frames per second, encoded by the hardware at the far end. On a thin connection the bitrate drops instead of the picture freezing. Lose signal, switch Wi-Fi, lock the screen and come back: the session rebuilds itself. Made for a finger, not for a mouse pretending to be one. Tap where you want the pointer, drag to scroll, pinch to zoom into a corner of a large desktop. The shortcut row sits on the software keyboard, so Command-Tab and Command-Q are one tap away instead of a hunt. Also here: a clipboard shared both ways, several displays to switch between, and text in Vietnamese or any other Unicode script typed straight through. WHAT YOU NEED A computer you own, running macOS 14 Sonoma or later, with the free MXa desktop app on it β€” and this device. Both ends are the same connection: no server to rent, no ports to open. On your own network there is no time limit. Over the internet a session ends after a while unless the machine you are reaching has been activated.

Screenshots

PhoneMouse4 screens
MXa4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is iOS requirement: MXa at 17.0 against PhoneMouse's 26.0. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price Β· Rating Β· Positive reviews Β· Number of ratings Β· Update frequency Β· Ads Β· In-app purchases Β· Monetization Β· Best chart rank Β· Devices Β· Requires iOS

CostPrice Β· In-app purchases Β· Ads Β· Monetization

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

Scorecard1 real difference Β· 5 level
PhoneMouse versus MXa: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPhoneMouseMXa
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 daysβ€”
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac β€” betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.017.0 β€” better
Further details β€” not scored
Size2 MB3 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBenjamin NærøDuy Pham

In-app purchases

None

PhoneMouse

No in-app purchases

None

MXa

No in-app purchases

Questions

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

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