IP Scanner and Fing are the two names that come up most when you want to see every device on your network, but they're built on opposite philosophies. IP Scanner is the original, native, private network scanner for the Apple ecosystem. Fing is a cross-platform, cloud-connected app. Here's an honest, side-by-side comparison.
| IP Scanner Ultra | Fing | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Native Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch | iOS, Android, Windows, web |
| Account required | No | Yes |
| Where scanning happens | On your device (local, private) | Cloud-connected |
| Pricing | One-time purchase · no ads | Free with ads · Premium subscription · Fingbox hardware |
| Port Scan / Wake-on-LAN / IPv6 | Yes | Limited / Premium |
| Track record | The original, 15+ years on the Mac | Newer, VC-backed |
| Monitor a network remotely | Yes, Remote Scans through your own private iCloud | Cloud monitoring + push alerts |
| Continuous scanning | Yes, free IP Broadcaster companion runs headless on a Mac | Cloud monitoring + Fingbox |
IP Scanner is designed for the Apple ecosystem from the ground up. It runs beautifully on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Apple Watch, and feels like an Apple app because it is one. Fing is a single cross-platform product, so its iOS and Mac apps are a compromise across Android, Windows and the web.
With IP Scanner, the scan happens locally on your device, there's no account to create and nothing that has to be uploaded to a cloud service for the app to work. For anyone scanning a home, office or client network, that local-first, no-sign-up approach is a meaningful privacy advantage over a cloud-connected tool.
The one exception is deliberate and opt-in: if you turn on Remote Scans, your results sync through your own private iCloud container so you can read them from another device. That's your Apple account, not ours. We never see the data, and there's no 10base-t server in the path.
Some roundups lump IP Scanner in with lightweight "device list" utilities. That undersells it. IP Scanner Ultra includes Port Scan, Wake-on-LAN, Ping, Bonjour/service discovery, IPv6, vendor identification, and custom device names and icons, the toolkit IT professionals actually use, in a native interface. It's the scanner consultants have trusted for over a decade.
IP Scanner Ultra is a one-time purchase with no ads and no subscription. Fing leans on a free, ad-supported tier with upsells to a Premium subscription and Fingbox hardware. If you'd rather buy a tool once and own it, that's a real difference.
Checking on a network you aren't standing next to is the main reason people accept a cloud account. IP Scanner Ultra does it without one.
See what another copy of IP Scanner is finding on its own network, right from your iPhone. If IP Scanner is running on your Mac at home and you are out, the Mac publishes its results to your private iCloud and your iPhone reads them instantly. Monitor your home or office network from anywhere.
The distinction that matters: the data goes to your own private iCloud container, the one tied to the Apple account you already have. Nothing reaches a 10base-t server, and nothing reaches any third party. There is still no product account to create, and no company sitting in the middle holding an inventory of your network.
Works across Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple TV, plus a glanceable Apple Watch app that shows the most recent snapshot. Exclusive to IP Scanner Ultra.
MAC addresses are the most reliable way to identify a device, since unlike an IP number they're unique to it. But on iOS, iPadOS, visionOS and watchOS, Apple's privacy restrictions stop any app from reading them natively. That's a platform limit every scanner on the App Store runs into.
IP Broadcaster, our free macOS menu bar app, closes the gap. It gathers your Mac's MAC address tables and shares them directly with your IP Scanner and IP Scanner Ultra clients, so every platform gets complete device identification with manufacturer lookup instead of a partial list.
It also runs headless as the data provider behind Remote Scans: leave it going on any Mac and it keeps supplying fresh network data, with no need to keep IP Scanner itself open. It lives in the menu bar, launches at login, and is a free direct download.
To be fair: if you live across Android and Windows as well as Apple, Fing covers ground IP Scanner doesn't, and it isn't close. Fing also pushes alerts to you unprompted when a new device joins, where Remote Scans shows you the latest snapshot when you open the app. If you want to be interrupted the moment something appears on a network, that's a real difference worth weighing.
What has changed is the trade-off around remote access. Checking a network from somewhere else used to mean accepting a cloud account and a third-party service holding your device inventory. It no longer does. Pick the one that matches your setup.
For Apple users who want a native, private app with a one-time purchase, IP Scanner is the better choice. Fing is better if you need Android/Windows support or unprompted push alerts when a device joins.
No. IP Scanner needs no account and no cloud sign-up; scanning happens locally on your device. Ultra is a one-time purchase with no ads or subscription.
Yes, with Remote Scans in IP Scanner Ultra. A copy running on your Mac at home publishes its results to your own private iCloud container, and your iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch reads them from anywhere. Nothing passes through a 10base-t server or any third party.
Yes, with the free IP Broadcaster companion. Apple's privacy restrictions block any iOS or iPadOS app from reading MAC addresses natively, so IP Broadcaster gathers them on your Mac and shares them with your IP Scanner clients, giving you full device identification with manufacturer lookup on every platform.
IP Scanner. It scans locally and doesn't require an account or cloud connection to work. Remote Scans is opt-in and syncs only through your own private iCloud container.
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IP Scanner is rated 4.6★ on the App Store. The original professional network scanner for Apple, native, private, and built for power users. ← Back to IP Scanner