Model Usage vs ROS Topic Viewer
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ with what reviewers say about each.
Model Usage
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Model Usage is a real time dashboard for your AI coding tool usage. See how much of your five hour window and weekly quota you have used, watch your session tick up live, and get notified before you hit a limit. HOW IT WORKS A small client runs on your computer and reads the usage files that your AI coding tools already write locally. It forwards that usage to a server address you control. The apps pair with that server over a QR code or short pair code. No account, no email, no login. LIVE WHERE YOU ALREADY LOOK - Live Activity: a glanceable card with your current session and weekly usage, visible on the lock screen and Dynamic Island. - Home Screen widgets: compact and expanded sizes that show your session, weekly totals, and rate multipliers at a glance. - Lock Screen widgets: a tiny usage indicator right next to the clock. PAIRS WITH THE REST OF YOUR DEVICES Once you are paired on one device, the same setup flows to every companion app automatically. Send a snapshot to anyone in a conversation with the Model Usage messaging app. PRIVACY BY DESIGN No analytics. No tracking. No accounts. No advertising SDKs. Your usage data goes from your computer to a server you choose, and then to your own devices. Model Usage never sees it. FEATURES - AI coding tool usage tracking, side by side - Five hour session window and weekly window - Live Activity with Dynamic Island integration - Companion apps across every size of screen - Messaging app for sharing usage snapshots - Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets in all sizes - Live rate multiplier awareness. Rate changes are reflected in real time. - Open pair code or QR flow. No account required. - Dark mode throughout SETUP IN UNDER A MINUTE 1. Install the desktop client. 2. Copy the pair code. 3. Enter it in the app. That is it. The setup guide lives at modelusage.app/setup. Model Usage is built by a solo developer and does not collect, store, or share any personal data. See modelusage.app/privacy for details.
ROS Topic Viewer
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ROS Topic Viewer is an iPad-only field debugging tool for robotics engineers. Connect directly to your ROS robot over Wi-Fi using rosbridge_suite WebSocket - no laptop required. Browse all available topics, inspect live raw JSON data in a scrollable tree, and monitor message rate in real time. EVERYTHING IS FREE Every feature works without paying. Connect to any real ROS 1 or ROS 2 robot, browse its complete topic list, and read live data from as many topics as you like. There is no trial, no account, no cap and no locked feature. The app is supported by advertising. If you would rather not see it, a single one-time in-app purchase removes all advertising permanently. It unlocks nothing, because nothing is locked. ADVERTISING This app displays ads from Google AdMob: banners on the sidebar, connection log and settings screens, full-screen ads at natural breaks such as connecting or leaving a topic, and optional ads you can choose to watch. Ads are non-personalised - the app does not track you across other apps and does not use the advertising identifier. No ads are ever shown over live robot data. TRY IT WITH NO ROBOT Demo Mode runs a fully simulated robot inside the app - live odometry, laser scan, IMU, battery and tf topics - with no robot and no network required. FEATURES - Connect to any ROS 1 or ROS 2 robot via rosbridge WebSocket (ws://) - Live connection log - see every step transparently: handshake, topic fetch, reconnect attempts, and failures - Browse and search all published topics with message type annotations - Inspect raw JSON data as a live expandable key-value tree - Real-time Hz and message count per topic - Pause to freeze data at a moment in time - Export topic snapshot and share via AirDrop, Files, or email - Auto-reconnect with exponential backoff when connection drops DESIGNED FOR FIELD ENGINEERS Onsite robot debugging without a laptop. Connect your iPad to the same Wi-Fi network as your robot, enter the rosbridge WebSocket address, and start inspecting topics immediately. No configuration, no ROS installation required on the iPad. The app works fully offline - only the advertising needs an internet connection, and the app never waits for it. Your robot's data never leaves your iPad. The app talks to rosbridge on your local network and to nothing else. Compatible with iPad running iPadOS 17 or later. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://gist.github.com/hjatupon/a80d69f116db1ee82ca4d62dd3886728
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Model Usage at Free against ROS Topic Viewer's $4.99. Model Usage also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 days vs monthly). On in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS
Model Usage is free to download; ROS Topic Viewer costs $4.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Model Usage ships an update every 3 days, ROS Topic Viewer monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 16, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Model Usage | ROS Topic Viewer |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free โ better | $4.99 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 days โ better | Monthly |
| Ads | No โ better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro โ better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details โ not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rayan Khan | Jatupon Hongweing |
In-app purchases
Model Usage
No in-app purchases
ROS Topic Viewer
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Model Usage free?
Is ROS Topic Viewer free?
Do Model Usage or ROS Topic Viewer have ads?
Which is updated more often, Model Usage or ROS Topic Viewer?
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