An XDA piece walked through building a $15 Raspberry Pi Zero 2W into a home server that replaces three commercial subscriptions. The board is small enough to hide behind a monitor and cheap enough to buy on a whim. The part that isn’t obvious: half the time you’ll want to check on it, restart a container, or fire off a script from the phone rather than the laptop. These are the eight best apps for Raspberry Pi projects on Android in 2026, ranked for real remote-admin use over the LAN and away from it.
What to look for in a Pi remote app
Five things that separate a keeper from a one-week install:
- Works over LAN and away. Some apps only connect on Wi-Fi; the best ones talk to your Pi through Tailscale, WireGuard, or a Cloudflare tunnel too.
- Handles auth without a hassle. If it can’t do a key-based SSH login, skip it.
- Does something you actually do every week. Nice UIs on rare tasks are a losing bet.
- Doesn’t require rooting the phone.
- Ships an offline mode when the Pi is down for maintenance.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Starting price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Termux | A real Linux shell on the phone | Yes | Free (F-Droid) | The Swiss Army knife |
| Home Assistant | Controlling Home Assistant OS on the Pi | Yes | Free | The official companion |
| Pi-hole Remote | Managing Pi-hole DNS blocking | Yes | Around $2 unlock | Native Pi-hole UI on mobile |
| OctoRemote | Monitoring 3D prints via OctoPrint | Yes | Around $5 pro | Grid view for the printer camera |
| RaspController | Direct hardware control | Yes | Around $2 pro | Reads GPIO, I2C, SPI without SSH |
| Jellyfin | Streaming Pi-hosted media | Yes | Free | Client for the Pi’s Jellyfin server |
| Tailscale | Reaching the Pi from anywhere | Yes | Free (Personal) | Zero-config WireGuard mesh |
| Termius | SSH client with keys and snippets | Yes | Around $10/mo (Pro) | Multi-tab SSH, ideal for phones |
The apps
1. Termux, a real Linux shell on the phone
Termux is a genuine Linux userland on Android: apt, ssh, python, git, tmux, htop. Pair it with a Bluetooth keyboard and it becomes a first-class admin surface for a Pi. Termux for Raspberry Pi projects covers the “quick, why is my Nginx dead” moments where a full SSH client would be overkill.
Where it falls short: Google Play’s build is stuck on an older version; the current one lives on F-Droid.
Pricing: free, open source.
Platforms: Android; the same package works on Pixel, Samsung, and older devices alike.
Bottom line: every Pi owner should install this first.
2. Home Assistant, controlling HA OS on the Pi
Home Assistant for Raspberry Pi projects is the official companion for the widely-installed Home Assistant OS. Dashboards, automations, notifications, and device controls all mirror the browser experience. Location-based automations use the phone’s GPS.
Where it falls short: first-time setup asks for HA’s external URL or a Nabu Casa subscription. Local-only setups need Tailscale or WireGuard to reach from outside the LAN.
Pricing:
- Free: full app.
- Paid: none for the app; Nabu Casa cloud is optional.
Platforms: Android; iOS build is separate.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play · F-Droid
Bottom line: the automatic install if a Pi runs Home Assistant.
3. Pi-hole Remote, managing Pi-hole DNS blocking
Pi-hole Remote is the polished mobile UI for the Pi-hole ad-blocking DNS server that runs beautifully on a Pi Zero 2W. Whitelist a domain, check the query log, disable blocking for five minutes, all without opening a browser. Pi-hole Remote for Raspberry Pi projects is a rare app that does one thing well.
Where it falls short: the pro unlock is required for multi-Pi setups and dark mode.
Pricing:
- Free: single Pi, basic controls.
- Paid: a small one-time unlock for pro features.
Platforms: Android; iOS build is separate.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: install this the same day you install Pi-hole.
4. OctoRemote, monitoring 3D prints via OctoPrint
OctoRemote connects to OctoPrint on the Pi and streams the printer camera, temperature graphs, and file library to the phone. OctoRemote for Raspberry Pi projects is what turns “did I remember to cancel that print” into a glance.
Where it falls short: the free tier has one camera; multi-printer setups need pro. Push notifications on some Android versions need battery-saver exemptions.
Pricing:
- Free: one printer, basic controls.
- Paid: a modest one-time pro upgrade for multi-printer support and history.
Platforms: Android; there are alternatives on iOS.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: pick this if your Pi is running a 3D printer.
5. RaspController, direct hardware control
RaspController for Raspberry Pi projects skips the shell layer and talks straight to the board’s GPIO, I2C, SPI, and camera through a small helper daemon. Toggle relays, read sensors, snap a still, all from the phone without writing a script.
Where it falls short: requires the paid helper daemon on the Pi for full features. Not everyone will love another daemon.
Pricing:
- Free: read-only sensor access.
- Paid: a small pro tier for GPIO writes and camera snap.
Platforms: Android.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: pick this when the Pi’s job is a physical circuit and you don’t want to SSH every time.
6. Jellyfin, streaming Pi-hosted media
Jellyfin on Android is the official client for the Jellyfin media server that a Pi Zero 2W can serve at 1080p direct-play. Jellyfin for Raspberry Pi projects covers the “family photos, downloaded TV, home movies” case without a monthly subscription.
Where it falls short: transcoding on a Zero 2W is slow. Keep the library in formats that direct-play on your target device.
Pricing: free, open source.
Platforms: Android, Android TV, iOS, web.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play · F-Droid
Bottom line: pick this when the Pi runs the household’s Jellyfin server.
7. Tailscale, reaching the Pi from anywhere
Tailscale for Raspberry Pi projects is the “reach my Pi from the office” answer without port forwarding, dynamic DNS, or a full VPN. Install Tailscale on both the Pi and the phone, and the Pi has a stable name from anywhere. Tailscale in 2026 remains the fastest way to remove “am I on the home Wi-Fi” from every other app.
Where it falls short: requires an account. The free personal tier caps devices, but not painfully.
Pricing:
- Free: personal use up to 100 devices.
- Paid: team plans for organisations.
Platforms: Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: install this and every other app on this list starts working from anywhere.
8. Termius, SSH client with keys and snippets
Termius is the best pure SSH client on Android in 2026: tabbed sessions, key-based auth, saved snippets, and a synced host list across your devices. Termius for Raspberry Pi projects handles the “restart the docker stack” errands cleanly.
Where it falls short: the free tier lacks sync between phone and desktop and caps snippet slots. Pro is a subscription, not a one-time purchase.
Pricing:
- Free: local SSH, basic features.
- Paid: Pro subscription for sync, snippets, and SFTP.
Platforms: Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows.
Download: Aptoide · Google Play
Bottom line: pick this when SSH is the daily driver and Termux’s raw shell feels like too much.
How to pick the right one
- If the Pi does one job, the app that ships with the software (Home Assistant, Pi-hole Remote, OctoRemote, Jellyfin) is the correct install.
- If the Pi does several jobs, Termux plus Tailscale covers the ground for admin work.
- If the Pi is a hardware project without a full stack behind it, RaspController is the shortest route.
- If SSH is what you actually reach for, Termius is friendlier on a phone than a raw terminal.
FAQ
What is the best free Raspberry Pi remote app for Android?
For SSH, Termux on F-Droid. For dashboards, whichever official companion the Pi-side software ships (Home Assistant, Jellyfin, Pi-hole Remote’s free tier).
Do I need to open ports on my router to reach my Pi from the phone?
No. Install Tailscale on both the Pi and the phone and skip the port forwarding entirely. Cloudflare Tunnels and WireGuard work too.
Can I control GPIO from an Android phone without SSH?
Yes. RaspController does it through a daemon that runs on the Pi and exposes the pins over a local API.
Which of these apps work offline?
Termux works standalone. Every other app on this list needs a running Pi to talk to; if the Pi is down, none of them do useful work.
Are any of these apps open source?
Termux, Home Assistant Companion, Jellyfin, and (mostly) Tailscale are open source. Pi-hole Remote, OctoRemote, RaspController, and Termius are commercial with free tiers.
Do these apps work on a Pi 5 as well as the Pi Zero 2W?
Yes; the Pi model doesn’t matter to the Android client. The heavier the workload on the Pi, the more useful the monitoring apps become.
