Comparison

ReadLogs vs ROS Topic Viewer

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

Head to head
About

ReadLogs

Features
Read full description

ReadLogs turns cryptic system logs into plain English. Paste, upload, or scan a log โ€” nginx 503s, Cisco BGP flaps, Python tracebacks, Kubernetes CrashLoopBackOff, Windows Event IDs. In seconds you get: โ€ข A summary of what's happening โ€ข The most likely root cause โ€ข Severity rating with confidence score โ€ข Concrete suggested fixes you can act on โ€ข Critical/warning/info highlighting on every line Built for IT support, junior sysadmins, network engineers, and DevOps teams who'd rather solve a problem than spend an hour Googling its symptoms. Privacy-first: every log is scrubbed of API keys, JWTs, AWS keys, emails, and internal IPs before it ever leaves your device. Your logs are never stored on our servers. Pro unlocks unlimited daily analyses and integrations with CloudWatch, Datadog, and Splunk. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/Privacy Policy: https://readlogs-flame.vercel.app/privacy

About

ROS Topic Viewer

Features
Read full description

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

ReadLogs4 screens
ROS Topic Viewer4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: ReadLogs at Free against ROS Topic Viewer's $4.99. ReadLogs also leads on ads (none vs shown). ROS Topic Viewer's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On update cadence, device support 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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

ReadLogs is free to download; ROS Topic Viewer costs $4.99 up front. ReadLogs sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. ROS Topic Viewer asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ReadLogs ships an update every 3 weeks, ROS Topic Viewer monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
ReadLogs versus ROS Topic Viewer: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterReadLogsROS Topic Viewer
PriceFree โ€” better$4.99
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks โ€” betterMonthly
AdsNo โ€” betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo โ€” better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.017.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size2 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSaed ZakariJatupon Hongweing

In-app purchases

2 purchases

ReadLogs

Subscriptions2
  • ReadLogs Pro$9.991 Month
  • ReadLogs Pro$79.991 Year
None

ROS Topic Viewer

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ReadLogs free?
ReadLogs is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ROS Topic Viewer free?
ROS Topic Viewer costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do ReadLogs or ROS Topic Viewer have ads?
ROS Topic Viewer shows ads; ReadLogs does not.
Which is updated more often, ReadLogs or ROS Topic Viewer?
ReadLogs ships an update every 3 weeks, and ROS Topic Viewer monthly. Most recently, ReadLogs was updated on September 27, 2026 and ROS Topic Viewer on September 29, 2026.

Other comparisons