# When should I use IOTA Watch or an official dashboard?

Choose between IOTA Watch and official dashboards for saved-device monitoring, installation, runtime logs, account actions and reward claims.

- Canonical: https://iotahome.site/en/learn/mining-dashboard-vs-official-dashboards
- Publisher: IOTA Watch
- Published: 2026-10-09
- Updated: 2026-10-09

## At a glance

Use IOTA Watch to check saved identifiers together, organize cross-project device cards and inspect reward records. Use the relevant official app or dashboard to install miners, start or stop jobs, inspect local logs, claim rewards or change platform account settings.

## Compare projects

| Task | IOTA Watch | Official tools |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Keep multiple identifiers | Organize by device name and project | Features and storage vary by project |
| Check source and timing | Source and last successful fetch time | Original project records and rules |
| Install or control jobs | Monitoring lookups | Official app or node tools |
| Claim or transfer rewards | Available accounted records | Original project's payment rules |

## Start with the action you need

Try IOTA Watch when you want to save several identifiers and check activity and rewards together. Open the official app and guide when you need installation, job startup, miner configuration or claiming rewards.

## When is a combined monitor useful?

If you regularly switch among Macs, projects or public identifiers, named device cards and project bindings can reduce repeated lookups. Check coverage first and confirm whether a record represents a machine or a wallet.

## When should I use the original source?

Use the project itself for official rules, runtime logs, authorization, withdrawals and reward claims. IOTA Watch names its API sources and fetch times, but a web record does not prove that a job is running correctly on your machine, and the site does not control platform accounts.

## How can I evaluate whether it fits?

Look up one public identifier to check the metrics you need before adding more records. Free supports 5 devices per project; Pro raises each project's limit to 50. For a self-hosted environment, see the [source repository and deployment guide](https://github.com/molimao/iota).

## Common questions

### Do I need an account, a wallet connection or a subscription?

Public lookups and a local device list can be used without private keys or seed phrases. Google sign-in syncs your list. Free supports 5 devices per project; Pro supports 50, with new subscriptions at US$2.99/month or US$16.99/year. Private io.net and Vast.ai data requires sign-in and platform read credentials; real-account integration still needs further verification.

### Which projects are supported, and can I request another?

Project pages cover IOTA Train at Home, XID / MMM, Quantus, fly.ai, Nosana, Gonka, Akash, io.net, Vast.ai and Golem, with only the metrics provided by each source. io.net and Vast.ai require account authorization and real-account integration remains under verification. Sign in to request an unlisted project using the page footer, once per account per day.

## Sources and implementation

- [IOTA Watch source and deployment](https://github.com/molimao/iota)
- [IOTA Train at Home official guide](https://docs.macrocosmos.ai/product-and-services/tah/tah-user-guide)