Comparison

mDNS Utility vs mDNSShark

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

Head to head
About

mDNS Utility

Discover and browse mDNS and Bonjour services on your network. Find devices like printers, servers, and storage, and access their IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. Easily copy network addresses and TXT records.

Highlights
  • Discover mDNS and Bonjour services
  • Find network devices (printers, servers)
  • View IPv4 and IPv6 addresses
  • Browse network shares
  • Copy addresses to clipboard
Features
Read full description

The mDNS Utility allows you to find all mDNS and Bonjour services and devices on your network. It is useful for discovering and browsing services, finding addresses such as IPv4 and IPv6. Use it to locate printers, servers, networks storage, shares and more. Copy and paste addresses and TXT records to the clipboard to use in other apps.

About

mDNSShark

Discover and analyze devices on your local network. This tool reveals what services devices are broadcasting, maps network topology, and assesses security risks. It offers packet capture and optional TLS inspection for deeper insights into network traffic.

Highlights
  • Device discovery (mDNS, SSDP/UPnP)
  • Network topology mapping
  • Security risk assessment
  • Packet capture and export
  • Home and Lock Screen widgets
  • Optional TLS inspection
Features
Read full description

mDNSShark is an open-source network scanner for iPhone, built for privacy-minded engineers and anyone curious about what is on their Wi-Fi. It listens to Multicast DNS (mDNS), DNS-SD (Bonjour) and SSDP/UPnP to find printers, cameras, media servers, smart home gear and other services on your local network, with no setup and no account. FOR CURIOUS MINDS Ever wondered what your TV, thermostat or camera is saying on your network? mDNSShark shows you: what a device announces about itself, which ports answer, and what your phone talks to. Built by engineers for the curious minded and explorers, with literal values and nothing hidden. WHAT YOU GET - Device discovery: Bonjour/mDNS, SSDP/UPnP, an ARP table read and a light sweep of your own subnet, with MAC vendor lookup. A long list of Bonjour service types is browsed, including cameras, Matter, Thread, appliances and 3D printers. - See what a device says about itself: TXT records are listed exactly as received, and vendors come from the device's own claim or its MAC. - Topology: a map of how devices connect, centered on your gateway, with devices on other networks shown apart. A Networks sheet lists this phone's networks, gateways and off-network devices. - Security assessment: flags risky exposed services such as Telnet, FTP, SMB and RTSP, and checks device manufacturers against CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and the NVD. Only ports confirmed by a real connection are listed as open. - Probe this device: on request, and behind a confirmation, send the standard probes to a single address on another network. Devices that were never probed say Not probed. - Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets: Devices Online, Scan Now and Security at a Glance. On iOS 26 and later, Scan Now starts a scan right from the widget. - Packet capture: see which servers your phone talks to (DNS lookups, IP addresses, ports), capture mDNS traffic, and export to pcap for Wireshark. - TLS Inspection (optional subscription): decrypt and read your own device's HTTPS traffic using a certificate you install and trust, with a bypass list for apps you want left alone. PRIVACY Scans and analysis run on your phone. Your device list and scan results are never uploaded; only vendor names are sent to the NVD when you tap Refresh CISA Data. Widgets read a snapshot stored on your device. There is no telemetry, no analytics, and no trackers. Two things leave your device, and both are visible to you: while Packet Capture is on, DNS lookups go to the resolver you choose (Google Public DNS by default), and the Refresh CISA Data button you tap yourself downloads CISA's public catalog and asks the NVD about device vendors seen on your network. Discovery needs only local network access; Packet Capture also asks you to allow a VPN configuration. SUPPORT ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT The optional TLS Inspection subscription helps fund active development of mDNSShark: new features, fixes and upkeep. SUBSCRIPTION TLS Inspection Monthly is an auto-renewing monthly subscription. The price and any free trial are shown in the app before you subscribe. Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase, or when a free trial ends. The subscription renews automatically unless you cancel at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Manage or cancel any time in Settings > Apple Account > Subscriptions. Discovery, scans, and the Security tab are free. OPEN SOURCE AND YOUR VOICE mDNSShark is built in the open and your ideas shape it. Found a bug or want a feature? Open an issue and tell us. Contributions are welcome too. Bugs and feature requests: https://github.com/Shapehaven-Innovations/mDNSShark/issues Source code: https://github.com/Shapehaven-Innovations/mDNSShark Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://shapehaveninnovations.com/privacy.html

Screenshots

mDNS Utility3 screens
mDNSShark4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: mDNSShark at 100% against mDNS Utility's 17%. mDNSShark also leads on price (Free vs $0.99) and rating (5.0 vs 1.6). mDNS Utility's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and iOS requirement (7.0 vs 18.2). On ratings volume, update cadence, ads 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

mDNSShark is free to download; mDNS Utility costs $0.99 up front. mDNSShark sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. mDNS Utility asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

mDNSShark holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 1.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 2 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of mDNS Utility's written reviews are positive against 100% of mDNSShark's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

mDNS Utility ships an update fortnightly, mDNSShark every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
mDNS Utility versus mDNSShark: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParametermDNS UtilitymDNSShark
Price$0.99Free — better
Rating1.6 (5 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews16.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better2
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFreemium — better
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS7.0 — better18.2
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperKenny MillarShapeHaven Innovations LLC

Customer experience

mDNS Utility

All ratings5 ratings
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%
Written reviews6 reviews
Positive16.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative83.3%

mDNSShark

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

mDNS Utility

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

mDNSShark

Subscriptions1
  • TLS Inspection Monthly3 Days trial$1.991 Month

Questions

Is mDNS Utility free?
mDNS Utility costs $0.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is mDNSShark free?
mDNSShark is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, mDNS Utility or mDNSShark?
mDNSShark is rated higher. mDNS Utility averages 1.6 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while mDNSShark averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do mDNS Utility or mDNSShark have ads?
Neither mDNS Utility nor mDNSShark shows ads.
Which is updated more often, mDNS Utility or mDNSShark?
mDNS Utility ships an update fortnightly, and mDNSShark every 2 weeks. Most recently, mDNS Utility was updated on November 1, 2026 and mDNSShark on November 4, 2026.

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