Comparison

PadLink Remote vs Palmote

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

Head to head
About

PadLink Remote

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PadLink Remote turns your phone into a wireless game controller for your computer. Play with an on-screen gamepad, a full racing cockpit, or a touchpad mouse โ€” over your local Wi-Fi, with no cables and no account. HOW IT WORKS 1. Install the free PadLink desktop app on your computer. 2. Open PadLink Remote and pair in seconds โ€” scan the QR code or type the pairing code. 3. Start playing. PadLink presents your phone as a standard gamepad your games already recognize (or as keyboard & mouse). CONTROL SURFACES โ€ข Gamepad โ€” dual thumbsticks, D-pad, face buttons, shoulder buttons, analog triggers, and menu buttons, laid out like a real controller. โ€ข Car Driving cockpit โ€” a steering wheel with tilt (gyro) steering, gas and brake pedals with cruise-lock, a sequential gear shifter, and a handbrake. Built for racing games. โ€ข Touchpad mouse โ€” use your phone as a trackpad whenever you need a pointer. FEATURES โ€ข Low-latency input over your local network โ€” no internet connection needed for gameplay. โ€ข Easy pairing by QR code, manual code, or one-tap reconnect to a known computer. โ€ข Customizable layout โ€” move, resize, and set the opacity of every control to fit your hands and your screen. Free for everyone. โ€ข Haptic feedback on button presses and triggers. โ€ข Automatic reconnect if your Wi-Fi drops mid-session. โ€ข Designed for landscape play. REQUIREMENTS โ€ข The free PadLink desktop app, available for Windows and macOS. โ€ข Your phone and computer on the same Wi-Fi / local network. โ€ข No sign-in and no account โ€” your controller input goes only to your own computer. FREE & PRO PadLink Remote is free to download and play. The Car Driving cockpit becomes available when the computer you connect to is running PadLink Pro or its free trial โ€” it is a capability of the desktop app. While connected to a computer on the free plan, a small banner ad appears during play. PRIVACY Your controller input is sent only to your own computer over your local network. The camera is used solely to scan the pairing QR code, on your device. Turn the phone in your pocket into the controller your games have been waiting for.

About

Palmote

Features
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Turn your iPhone or iPad into a trackpad, keyboard and customizable controller for your Mac. TRACKPAD Move the pointer, tap, scroll with two fingers and drag with a long press. Dedicated left, middle and right mouse buttons and common shortcuts stay within reach. KEYBOARD Send text and use modifier keys, arrow keys and shortcuts. Bluetooth typing uses a US keyboard layout: select the ABC input source on your Mac. Chinese, Japanese and other Unicode text are supported through the optional Mac receiver over your local network. GAME CONTROLS Use dual sticks, a directional pad, ABXY and shoulder buttons. Customize keyboard mappings, dead zone and sensitivity, and enable motion aiming on supported devices. Keyboard-and-mouse mapping works with games that accept those inputs. The controller interface sends keyboard and mouse input, including configurable mouse buttons. It does not register as a native gamepad or provide analog movement. Games continue to show keyboard and mouse prompts. TWO CONNECTION OPTIONS Bluetooth direct connection uses the Mac's built-in Bluetooth input support without a Mac receiver. Keep Palmote open in the foreground and your Mac awake. You can search for your Mac inside Palmote when the phone does not appear in macOS Bluetooth settings. Discovery and initial pairing depend on the devices and existing pairing state. Local network mode requires the Palmote Mac receiver and a six-digit pairing code. It uses an encrypted connection on your trusted local network. No account, advertising or cloud service is required. Available in English, Simplified Chinese and Japanese.

Screenshots

PadLink Remote4 screens
Palmote3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: Palmote at none against PadLink Remote's shown. Palmote also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks) and device support (3 vs 1). On price, 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

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

PadLink Remote ships an update every 2 weeks, Palmote every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
PadLink Remote versus Palmote: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPadLink RemotePalmote
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 3 days โ€” better
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod โ€” better
Requires iOS16.015.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size16 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSocheat Rathzehao li

In-app purchases

None

PadLink Remote

No in-app purchases

None

Palmote

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is PadLink Remote free?
PadLink Remote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Palmote free?
Palmote is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do PadLink Remote or Palmote have ads?
PadLink Remote shows ads; Palmote does not.
Which is updated more often, PadLink Remote or Palmote?
PadLink Remote ships an update every 2 weeks, and Palmote every 3 days. Most recently, PadLink Remote was updated on October 16, 2026 and Palmote on October 10, 2026.

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