Comparison

CheckWatch vs Anvil

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

Head to head
About

CheckWatch

Features
Read full description

CheckWatch is the iOS companion for CheckMK that helps you stay on top of incidents without exposing your monitoring server to the public internet. Receive push notifications for host and service problems, scan a QR code to pair with your CheckMK setup, and review your monitoring state directly from your device. CheckWatch is built for admins, operators, and on-call engineers who need fast signal without unnecessary complexity. What you can do with CheckWatch: - Get real-time push notifications for CheckMK alerts - Keep your CheckMK server behind your firewall by using a secure relay - Pair a device quickly with QR-code setup - View hosts, services, and recent notification history in the app - Acknowledge problems and manage downtime from mobile - Configure quiet hours so alerts stay silent when you are off-call - Use it with CheckMK Raw, Enterprise, Cloud, and MSP editions How it works: 1. Install the CheckWatch plugin on your CheckMK server. 2. Purchase a subscription in the app to activate alert delivery. 3. Scan the pairing QR code from CheckMK. 4. Start receiving alerts on your device. Privacy comes first. CheckWatch does not use analytics or advertising SDKs, and it does not collect your CheckMK credentials. Only the minimum data needed for push delivery and subscription validation is processed. CheckWatch requires a CheckMK server that you manage and the CheckWatch plugin installed on that server. Terms of Use: https://checkwatch.nl/terms Privacy Policy: https://checkwatch.nl/privacy

About

Anvil

A native toolkit for developers on macOS, iPhone, and iPad that streamlines everyday formatting, encoding, conversion, and inspection tasks. It supports a wide range of data types and formats, offering a focused and fast interface for common development workflows.

Highlights
  • JSON formatting and validation
  • Base64, URL, and HTML entity encoding/decoding
  • Timestamp and number base conversion
  • JWT decoding and payload inspection
  • UUID, ULID, and QR code generation
  • String analysis and data cleaning
Features
Read full description

Anvil is a native developer toolkit for macOS, iPhone, and iPad, built to make everyday formatting, encoding, conversion, and inspection tasks faster. Work with JSON, Base64, URLs, timestamps, JWTs, UUIDs, hashes, regular expressions, strings, SQL, CSV, YAML, QR codes, and more from one focused app. Instead of jumping between web utilities, Anvil keeps common developer workflows close at hand in a fast, native interface. Use Anvil to: Format, validate, repair, and inspect JSON. Encode and decode Base64, URLs, HTML entities, and escaped strings. Convert timestamps, number bases, CSV, YAML, and other structured data. Decode JWTs and inspect token payloads. Generate UUIDs, ULIDs, QR codes, hashes, sample text, and formatted code. Analyze strings, compare text, and clean up data while building or debugging. Anvil is designed for developers who want practical tools without clutter. Whether you are debugging an API response, preparing test data, checking a token, formatting a query, or converting values during development, Anvil gives you a polished native workspace for the small tasks that happen all day. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms and Conditions: https://anvilmac.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://anvilmac.com/privacy

Screenshots

CheckWatch4 screens
Anvil4 screens

Verdict

The call

CheckWatch and Anvil are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

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. CheckWatch sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.49 per month and Anvil sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
CheckWatch versus Anvil: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCheckWatchAnvil
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequency—Every 5 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac — better
Requires iOS26.426.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB96 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperJaap-Jan GroenendijkAlex Javier Rivas Martinez

In-app purchases

2 purchases

CheckWatch

Subscriptions2
  • Push Notifications Monthly$2.491 Month
  • Push Notifications Yearly$29.991 Year
3 purchases

Anvil

Subscriptions2
  • Anvil Pro Monthly7 Days trial$3.991 Month
  • Anvil Pro Yearly$37.991 Year
One-time1
  • Anvil Pro Lifetime$79.99

Questions

Is CheckWatch free?
CheckWatch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Anvil free?
Anvil is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do CheckWatch or Anvil have ads?
Neither CheckWatch nor Anvil shows ads.

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