Z vs HSBuddy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Z
This tool simplifies the setup of Z-Wave devices for your smart home. It allows you to easily add, remove, and name devices directly from your phone or tablet. Once configured, you can manage advanced settings through your HomeSeer web interface.
- Include Z-Wave devices
- Exclude Z-Wave devices
- Name Z-Wave devices
- Use with phone or tablet
- Integrates with HomeSeer
Read full descriptionHide full description
Z-Tool+ is a Z-Wave network installation tool for use with HomeSeer home automation software and controllers. Use Z-Tool+ with your phone or tablet to "include", "exclude" and name Z-Wave devices in your home. After devices are added to your system, you can close Z-Tool+ and switch to your HomeSeer web interface to access more advanced settings and features.
HSBuddy
Control your HomeSeer home automation system from your mobile device and Apple Watch. Manage devices, run events, view camera feeds, and create custom dashboards. Automate tasks with Siri shortcuts and widgets.
- Control and edit devices
- Run and edit events
- View camera feeds
- Customizable dashboards
- Siri shortcuts
- Home Screen widgets
- Push notifications
Read full descriptionHide full description
HSBuddy is a free application for iOS® that turns your mobile device into the ultimate companion for your HomeSeer® home automation system. With the included Apple Watch companion app you can take control of your home from your wrist! Certain features require an additional HomeSeer controller plug-in which you can install from the plug-in manager in your HomeSeer configuration pages. Look for HSBuddy under the User Interfaces section. Complement your home automation experience and use HSBuddy to: • Control and edit devices • Run and edit events • View history of device state changes * • View images from your home cameras ** • Create your own customized dashboards • Speed up your daily automation tasks » Create Siri shortcuts » Place Widgets for your Home Screen • Send push-notifications to your devices as part of your server events • Browse your HomeSeer server logs * • Enable geo-location on the app and location-based events * • Automatically switch between local-WiFi and remote connectivity to your server based on your location. • Connect to multiple HomeSeer servers and switch quickly between them • Use Smart Tags to quickly control a device or run an event by tapping a tag with your phone *Requires installing the free HSBuddy HomeSeer controller plug-in **Compatible with some existing HomeSeer controller camera plug-ins To use this app you need a running instance of HomeSeer. To find out more, visit http://www.homeseer.com For more information and troubleshooting help, go to http://hsbuddy.avglabs.net
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: HSBuddy at 76% against Z's 19%. HSBuddy also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.3) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 4 months). Z's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 13.0). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
HSBuddy holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 17 and 29 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 19% of Z's written reviews are positive against 76% of HSBuddy's.
Z ships an update every 4 months, HSBuddy every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 7, 2026.
| Parameter | Z | HSBuddy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.3 (17 ratings) | 4.6 (29 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 18.8% of reviews | 76.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 17 | 29 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 8.0 — better | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 60 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | HomeSeer | Antonio Vargas Garcia |
Customer experience
Z
HSBuddy
In-app purchases
Z
No in-app purchases
HSBuddy
No in-app purchases
