Comparison

Beam vs PCForge

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

Head to head
About

Beam

Features
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Beam puts your Mac's screen and sound on your iPhone or iPad. Watch a render finish from the couch, keep a film going in bed, or play a Mac game with a controller from across the room. When something on the Mac needs you, tap the stream to click, drag, scroll and type. • Your whole Mac display, or just one window, with Mac audio • Up to 4K and your display's native resolution, up to 120 fps on ProMotion screens • Picture in Picture, crop and zoom • Click mode: tap to click, hold to right-click or drag, two fingers to scroll • Live keyboard with esc, tab, arrows, function keys and ⌘ ⌥ ⌃ ⇧ • A bar of up to eight buttons you design on the Mac: shortcuts, media keys, macros • Game controllers paired with your phone show up on the Mac as a real gamepad • Encrypted end to end with the secret from pairing. No account, no Beam servers in between • Open source (AGPL-3.0) Free: • Unlimited streaming for your first 3 days • Then 30 minutes in every 24 hours, with every feature, on your home Wi-Fi Beam Unlimited (one-time purchase): • Stream as long as you like • Stream from anywhere over your own Tailscale network Needs the free Beacon app on your Mac (macOS 14 or later): beamscreen.app

About

PCForge

Avoid costly errors when building a PC. This tool ensures hardware compatibility with mathematical verification and offers quick checkout options for parts.

Highlights
  • Hardware compatibility verification
  • Mathematically verified builds
  • Instant Amazon checkout
  • Avoid PC part mistakes
  • Precision PC building
Features
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Buying PC parts without a compatibility check is how builds fail — wrong socket, RAM that won’t run, a PSU that can’t keep up, or a cooler that doesn’t fit. PCForge turns your budget and use case into a compatible parts list. Engine Verified runs five checks before you buy: • Socket — CPU and motherboard match • Form factor — case and board fit • RAM generation — memory that actually works • Thermals — cooler clearance and cooling headroom • Power — PSU can handle the draw You get Overall Build Confidence from 0–100, live prices, and a clear path to checkout when you’re ready. Free on IOS, and web. Start at pcforge.app

Screenshots

Beam4 screens
PCForge4 screens

Verdict

The call

Beam and PCForge are too close to call on the numbers: across 6 compared parameters — price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Beam sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and PCForge sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $5.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Beam ships an update every 8 days, PCForge every 4 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Beam versus PCForge: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBeamPCForge
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.3 (6 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—80.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—6 — better
Update frequencyEvery 8 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB51 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperKEVIN ERIK IINCarly Abramowitz

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Beam

One-time1
  • Beam Unlimited2 variants$7.99
4 purchases

PCForge

Subscriptions1
  • PCForge Pro$5.991 Month
One-time3
  • PCForge Enhanced Build$1.99
  • PCForge Extra Scan$2.00
  • PCForge Extra Build$2.00

Questions

Is Beam free?
Beam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is PCForge free?
PCForge is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Beam or PCForge have ads?
Neither Beam nor PCForge shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Beam or PCForge?
Beam ships an update every 8 days, and PCForge every 4 days. Most recently, Beam was updated on October 24, 2026 and PCForge on October 24, 2026.

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