Comparison

BlueVNC vs Sill

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

Head to head
About

BlueVNC

Features
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BlueVNC brings your remote computers into one clear list on iPhone and iPad. Find an online computer, choose a saved connection, or connect directly using an IP address, hostname or connection URL. FIND YOUR COMPUTERS • Start with online computers and filter by source. • Discover nearby VNC servers with Bonjour. • Optionally discover computers on your Tailscale tailnet using an API token or OAuth credentials. CONNECT AND CONTROL • Use remote keyboard and pointer controls. • Work with clipboard, image-quality and scaling options during a session. • Save computer details and keep saved passwords in the Apple Keychain. • Connect with a Mac username and password or a server’s VNC password. • Use vncs:// addresses for TLS-first servers and compatible Tailscale Funnel endpoints, with server-certificate verification. BlueVNC is a remote-desktop client. Your computer must have screen sharing or a compatible VNC server enabled and be reachable from your device. Tailscale discovery is optional; access to private tailnet devices requires the separate Tailscale app and configuration. Public Funnel connections do not require the Tailscale app on your device. Direct connections do not require a BlueVNC account. Third-party services may require their own account. Requires iOS or iPadOS 17.6 or later.

About

Sill

Stream your Mac's desktop or individual windows to your iPhone or iPad. Control your computer remotely using touch, keyboard, or Apple Pencil with encrypted connections. Offers flexible streaming quality and connection options.

Highlights
  • Stream Mac windows or desktop to iPhone/iPad
  • Remote control with touch, keyboard, Apple Pencil
  • Encrypted connections with TLS 1.3
  • Adjustable streaming quality and frame rate
  • Virtual display option for continuous updates
  • Multiple connection modes (Wired, Wi-Fi, Direct, Remote)
Features
Read full description

Sill puts your Mac on your iPhone and iPad. Pick any window, or the whole desktop, and use it with touch, a trackpad, a keyboard or Apple Pencil. Your apps keep running on your Mac. Sill shows them and sends back what you do. Sill needs the free Sill for Mac on the Mac you want to use. Get it at getsill.app. It runs on a Mac with macOS 14 or later. Get started • Open Sill for Mac and allow Screen Recording and Accessibility. • Open Sill on your iPhone or iPad. Your Mac shows up. Tap it. The first time, scan the code your Mac shows. • Pick a window from the Apps list, or tap Desktop to see the whole screen. • The first time, a short tour shows you the controls. Made for touch • Tap to click. Touch and hold to right-click. Drag to scroll. • Apple Pencil works as a mouse, with hover on iPad models that support it. • Hold your device upright for a laptop layout: the picture on top, a trackpad and a row of keys below. On iPhone, turn on Larger Picture to give a window’s picture more of the screen. • On iPhone Duo, open it flat and your Mac fills the inner display. Half open, it’s a laptop: the picture above the fold, a trackpad and keys below. Closed, Sill runs on the cover display. • Type with the on-screen keyboard, or on a hardware keyboard as soon as you connect, with shortcuts and Esc. A trackpad or a mouse scrolls the window under the pointer. • Copy text on your Mac and paste it on your iPhone or iPad. To paste on your Mac what you copied on your device, tap Paste in Sill: it goes where your Mac’s cursor is. • Swipe and pinch with three fingers for Mission Control, App Exposé, Spaces, Apps and Show Desktop. • Use the menus of the app you’re in: tap Menus in the bar, or on iPad with iPadOS 26 or later, use the menu bar at the top of the screen. • Switch windows from live thumbnails in the bar. Touch and hold one to close, minimize or go full screen. Drag it to reorder. • When the mouse moves on your Mac, its pointer shows on your iPhone or iPad too. • Aa makes text larger or smaller. Smooth and sharp • Up to 120 frames per second on displays that support it. • Set quality, resolution and frame rate from your iPhone or iPad. • Hear sound from your Mac in step with the picture, a beta feature that is on unless you turn off Send Audio in Sill’s settings, on your Mac or your iPhone or iPad. Mute it on any device in Sill’s settings. Your Mac, your network • Connect over Wi-Fi, or over a USB cable. • Mac nearby but on another network? Turn on Direct Wireless Connection on the Mac and connect straight to it. • Pair each device with your Mac once by scanning a code. Over a USB cable it pairs by itself. By default your Mac lets in only the devices you paired, and every connection is encrypted. • Away from home, reach your Mac through your own VPN. Sill starts at a quality a slower connection can carry, tells you when the connection can’t keep up, and moves back to your home network by itself when you get home. Private • No account, no ads, no tracking. • Sill has no servers and collects no data. The picture and what you type go between your devices and your Mac, and to no one else. • Sill is free and open source (Apache 2.0): https://github.com/Saffsanity/sill Good to know • Sill shows one window, or the whole desktop, at a time. • Sill for Mac comes from getsill.app, not the Mac App Store.

Screenshots

BlueVNC2 screens
Sill4 screens

Verdict

The call

BlueVNC and Sill are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
BlueVNC versus Sill: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBlueVNCSill
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.9 (59 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—59 — better
Update frequency—Every 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.617.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size68 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPicktek LLCNOAH WILLIAM SAFFER

In-app purchases

None

BlueVNC

No in-app purchases

None

Sill

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BlueVNC free?
BlueVNC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sill free?
Sill is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do BlueVNC or Sill have ads?
Neither BlueVNC nor Sill shows ads.

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