Comparison

Beam vs Cogent Analytics

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

Head to head
About

Beam

Features
Read full description

See your Mac on your iPhone or iPad, and control it from there. Beam streams your Mac's screen and sound to your phone. Tap to click, type with real Mac keys, run your own shortcuts and macros, and play Mac games with a controller. Answer a prompt on the Mac from the couch. Keep a film going in bed. Watch a render finish from the kitchen, then tap in when it needs you. CONTROL YOUR MAC FROM YOUR PHONE • Click mode: tap to click, double or triple tap, touch and hold then lift to right-click, touch and hold then move to drag, slide two fingers to scroll • Live keyboard with a row of Mac keys above it: esc, tab, arrows, home, end, page up and down, F1 to F12, plus command, option, control and shift (tap for one use, hold to lock) • A bar of up to eight buttons you design in Beacon on the Mac: keys and shortcuts, media keys, recorded macros, a text box, the live keyboard and click mode • Pair a game controller with your iPhone or iPad and your Mac sees a real gamepad. No driver to install. STREAM YOUR MAC • Your whole Mac display, or one window you pick from the phone • Mac audio on your phone, or turn it off • About 25 ms typical delay on good home Wi-Fi • Up to 4K or your Mac display's native resolution • Up to 120 fps on ProMotion iPhones and iPads when your Mac's display runs that fast • Picture in Picture, pinch to zoom, and crop to one area of the screen • Flip the picture for teleprompter glass SET UP IN ABOUT 2 MINUTES 1. Install the free Beacon app on your Mac from beamscreen.app. It needs macOS 14 or later. 2. Open Beam on the same Wi-Fi and tap Pair Your Mac. 3. Type the 6-digit code Beacon shows. You only pair once. PRIVATE BY DESIGN • The stream goes straight from your Mac to your phone. It never passes through a Beam server. • The picture, the sound, your clicks and everything you type are encrypted end to end with keys from your pairing. • No account, no sign-up, no email. • Beam and Beacon are open source under AGPL-3.0. FREE, THEN BEAM UNLIMITED • Your first stream starts a 3-day trial with no limits. • After that, 30 minutes of streaming in every 24 hours on your home Wi-Fi, with every feature and every quality setting. • Beam Unlimited is a one-time purchase, not a subscription. It removes the time limit and lets you stream and control your Mac from anywhere over your own Tailscale network (free for personal use). GOOD TO KNOW • Clicking and typing from the phone need Accessibility permission for Beacon on the Mac. • Beam shows and controls your Mac's screen. It doesn't add a second display, move files or sync the clipboard. • Beacon runs on Macs only, not Windows or Linux. • Beam needs iOS 16 or later. Questions go to support@beamscreen.app. A person reads every message, usually within a day.

About

Cogent Analytics

This strategy companion app helps players of a popular mobile game analyze their war performance, roster strength, and hero leveling decisions. It provides insights into defense rankings, event scores, and allows for AI-powered queries about game data. Alliance leaders can track member contributions and overall alliance performance.

Highlights
  • Roster analytics and power creep tracking
  • Hero leveling decision support
  • War performance and defense rankings
  • Event score analysis
  • AI-powered game data search
  • Spend tracking and budget management
Features
Read full description

Your war data shouldn't die in screenshots and chat threads. Cogent Analytics is the strategy companion for Empires & Puzzles, built by a player, for players. It remembers what the game forgets: every war, every score, every hero decision, turned into answers you can act on. WHAT IT DOES FOR YOU • Roster Analytics: Roster strength, power creep, and exactly where your roster sits against the current meta. • What to Level Next: Decision support for the hero that will bring the most value to your current roster, based on your play style and war results. Don't waste resources leveling a hero you will likely not use. • War Performance KPIs: Player scores, team composition, playing styles, and streaks across your personal and Alliance war history. • Defense Rankings: See which defenses performed best by each war type and use that information to strengthen your defensive strategy. • One-Shot Teams: Use results driven One Shot teams against any tank with guidance drawn from real matchups. • Event Score Analytics: Track your event scores over time, and find out what it takes to top the leaderboard. • Ask COG: AI-powered search over your roster, your wars, and your alliance. Ask a question, get an answer. • Advanced hero search: Filter by Hero type (Healers, Damage Dealers, Specialists), special skills, aether powers, and more. • Spend tracking: Set a budget and align your spending with your goals. Keep your purchases under control and track it month over month. FOR ALLIANCE LEADERS Stop guessing who's underperforming. War logs, member contributions, and alliance analytics live in one place, visible to your alliance and remembered forever. Getting started is free: create an account at no cost and upload your roster with screenshots. No manual data entry. FREE FEATURES Your war log and history, My Roster, Event Scores, Power Creep, War KPIs, and One Shot Teams for your own account are free. REQUIRES A PAID COGENT PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION What to Level Next, Ask COG, Advanced Hero Search, Emblem & Reset Planner, Performance Analysis, My Debrief, Post War Debrief, Best Defenses, Advanced War Rankings, Members All Time Performance, Teammate Teams, alliance One Shot Teams, Defense Planner, and logging purchases in the Spend Tracker. Cogent Premium is an auto-renewing subscription available as an in-app purchase, offered monthly or yearly. Prices are shown in the app before you buy, alongside a full free-versus-premium comparison. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase, and the subscription renews automatically unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel it in your Apple Account settings. Cogent Analytics is an independent companion app. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Zynga or Small Giant Games. Empires & Puzzles is a trademark of its respective owner. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://allios.ai/privacy

Screenshots

Beam4 screens
Cogent Analytics4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Cogent Analytics at every 2 days against Beam's every 10 days. 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Beam sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and Cogent Analytics sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Beam ships an update every 10 days, Cogent Analytics every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 8 level
Beam versus Cogent Analytics: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBeamCogent Analytics
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB26 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKEVIN ERIK IINCleiton Goncalves

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Beam

One-time1
  • Beam Unlimited2 variants$7.99
2 purchases

Cogent Analytics

Subscriptions2
  • Cogent Premium (Monthly)$9.991 Month
  • Cogent Premium (Annual)$79.991 Year

Questions

Is Beam free?
Beam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Cogent Analytics free?
Cogent Analytics is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Beam or Cogent Analytics have ads?
Neither Beam nor Cogent Analytics shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Beam or Cogent Analytics?
Beam ships an update every 10 days, and Cogent Analytics every 2 days. Most recently, Beam was updated on October 28, 2026 and Cogent Analytics on October 11, 2026.

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