Comparison

Nanoleaf vs Philips Hue

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

Head to head
About

Nanoleaf

Control and customize your smart lighting experience with this app. Design layouts, set schedules, and explore community-created scenes. Integrate with smart home assistants for hands-free control.

Highlights
  • Virtual Layout Assistant
  • One-touch RGB presets
  • Full customization
  • Remote on/off and brightness control
  • Group and room control
  • Scene creation and discovery
  • Voice command integration
Features
Read full description

Design, set up, manage, and control your Nanoleaf lights all in one place. From the virtual Layout Assistant, to one-touch RGB presets, to full in-depth customization like you’ve never seen before, prepare for a lighting experience that is Smarter by Design. Simple Control Use the App to scan your lights’ pairing code and get set up in seconds, then enjoy your smart light-switch. Remotely turn your lights on and off, adjust brightness (trust us they go BRIGHT), and select your color Scenes from anywhere within your home. Group your lights together for joint control with Group Scenes (because we love a team player), or segment by room to keep your lights as organized as you wish your life could be. Complete Customization Create custom dynamic Scenes by selecting palettes and colors with the intuitive color wheel, adjusting ratios, and choosing animated motions. Try vibrant RGB hues to set a total vibe, or put the “fun” in functional lighting with the whole range of white color temperatures. Advanced Automations Set Schedules to automate your daily lighting needs, from gentle morning light-alarms, to gradually dimming nightly reminders that Holy **** it’s 2AM again, you need to wake up in 4 hours, PLEASE go to sleep. Now You’re Talking Connect your lights with your smart home assistant (HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, or Samsung SmartThings) and use voice commands to control them hands-free. Just say “Hey Siri, turn on my TGIF” Scene” and instantly enter full relaxation-mode at the end of a long week. Join the Community Explore the App’s “Discover” tab for a huge collection of incredible Scenes created by users like you. Well, like you, just more creative. But if you too are the creative type, share your own Scenes and show the community what you’ve got! There are endless Scenes to discover for every mood and occasion, all the way from “Ho Ho Holidays” to “Netflix and Chill”. + More With a virtual AR Layout Assistant, curated Scenes and Playlists, Cloud Control (requires Apple home hub), and additional product information, the Nanoleaf App really is your smart lighting one-stop-shop. The Nanoleaf App supports all Nanoleaf manufactured products including by not limited to: Light Panels, Canvas, Shapes, Essentials, Elements, Lines, Blocks, Sense+ Smart Switch and Matter Wi-Fi products. Enjoy it today on the ever superior iOS operating system.

About

Philips Hue

Control and customize your smart lighting system from anywhere. Organize lights by room, create custom scenes, and automate your lighting to match your daily routine or enhance security. Sync lights with media for immersive experiences.

Highlights
  • Organize lights into rooms and zones
  • Remote control from anywhere
  • Explore and create custom lighting scenes
  • Home security features with sensors
  • Automate lighting schedules
  • Sync lights with TV, music, and games
  • Voice control integration
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The official Philips Hue app is the most comprehensive way to organize, control, and customize your Philips Hue smart lights and accessories. Organize your smart lights Group your lights into Rooms or Zones — your entire downstairs floor or all the lights in the living room, for example — that mirror the physical rooms in your home. Easily control your lights — from anywhere Use the app to control your lights anywhere you have an internet connection. Explore the Hue scene gallery Created by professional lighting designers, the scenes in the scene gallery can help you set the mood for any occasion. You can even create your own scenes based on a photo or your favorite colors. Set up bright home security  Make your home feel safer, no matter where you are. The Security Center lets you program your Secure cameras, Secure contact sensors, and indoor motion sensors to send you alerts when they detect activity. Trigger light and sound alarms, call the authorities or a trusted contact, and monitor your home in real-time. Get the best light for any moment of the day Let your lights change automatically throughout the day with the Natural light scene — so you feel more energized, focused, relaxed, or rested at the right times. Just set the scene to watch your lights change with the sun’s movement, transitioning from cool blue tones in the morning to warmer, relaxing hues for sunset. Automate your lights Make your smart lights work around your daily routine. Whether you want your lights to gently wake you up in the morning or greet you when you get home, setting up customizable automations in the Philips Hue app is effortless. Sync your lights to TV, music, and games Make your lights flash, dance, dim, brighten, and change color in sync with your screen or sound! With the Philips Hue Play HDMI sync box, the Philips Hue Sync for TV or desktop apps, or Spotify, you can create totally immersive experiences. Set up voice control Use Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, or Google Assistant to control your smart lights with voice commands. Turn lights on and off, dim and brighten, or even change colors — completely hands-free. Use Siri Shortcuts for quick control Use the Shortcuts app to create shortcuts that you can place into widgets on your Home Screen for even faster control of your lights. Turn lights on or off, adjust their brightness and temperature, or set scenes — all without even opening the app. Learn more about the official Philips Hue app: www.philips-hue.com/app. Read the Philips Hue Privacy Notice at www.philips-hue.com/privacy. Note: Some features in this app require a Philips Hue Bridge.

Screenshots

Nanoleaf4 screens
Philips Hue4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Philips Hue at 85% against Nanoleaf's 17%. Philips Hue also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.2) and chart position (#186 vs unranked). Nanoleaf's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (15.4 vs 17.0). On price, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

Both are free to download. Philips Hue sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Nanoleaf asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Philips Hue holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 45K and 115K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of Nanoleaf's written reviews are positive against 85% of Philips Hue's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Nanoleaf versus Philips Hue: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNanoleafPhilips Hue
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (45K ratings)4.7 (115K ratings) — better
Positive reviews17.3% of reviews84.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings45K115K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#186 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size188 MB248 MB
Age rating9+4+
DeveloperNanoleafSignify Netherlands B.V.

Customer experience

Nanoleaf

All ratings44,522 ratings
Positive80.2%
Neutral3.4%
Negative16.4%
Written reviews1,385 reviews
Positive17.3%
Neutral8.8%
Negative73.9%

Philips Hue

All ratings114,802 ratings
Positive93.2%
Neutral1.8%
Negative5.0%
Written reviews8,378 reviews
Positive84.8%
Neutral3.6%
Negative11.6%

User reviews

Nanoleaf

From 45K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Customizable lighting
  • 💡 Innovative features
  • 🎨 Beautiful product design
  • 🕰 Scheduling and automation

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Connectivity issues
  • 🔌 Unreliable firmware updates
  • 🤯 Confusing app UI/UX
  • 🕰 Slow response times
  • 🔍 Difficult to troubleshoot

Philips Hue

From 115K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Reliable and stable
  • 💡 Flexible lighting control
  • 👍 Intuitive and user-friendly
  • 🎨 Vibrant and customizable colors
  • 🔒 Secure remote access

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Connectivity issues after updates
  • 🔀 Confusing navigation and UI changes
  • ⏱️ Slow performance and lag
  • 🤯 Frustrating loss of key features
  • 🤖 Incompatible with older devices

Bugs and requests

Nanoleaf

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Lights randomly disconnecting
  • Firmware updates failing or bricking devices
  • Scenes not syncing properly across devices
  • App crashes on launch or during use
  • Delayed or unresponsive device controls

Requested features

5 requests
  • Improved app stability and reliability
  • More intuitive scene creation and management
  • Better integration with other smart home platforms
  • Customizable animation speed and effects
  • Ability to save and restore custom color presets

Philips Hue

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Lights not responding to app commands
  • Scenes and automations not working as expected
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes
  • Inability to log in or sync with account
  • Erratic behavior after software updates

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to control lights individually in a room
  • More dynamic and customizable lighting scenes
  • Seamless integration between multiple Hue bridges
  • Improved automation and scheduling options
  • Restore removed timer and widget functionality

In-app purchases

None

Nanoleaf

No in-app purchases

10 purchases

Philips Hue

Subscriptions9
  • Motion Aware Monthly Plan$0.991 Month
  • Sync TV-app for LG (1 Month)$2.991 Month
  • Secure Basic for 1 camera$3.991 Month
Show 6 more
  • Secure Basic for 2 cameras$7.991 Month
  • Secure Plus$9.991 Month
  • Motion Aware Yearly Plan$9.991 Year
  • Secure Basic for 1 camera$39.991 Year
  • Secure Basic for 2 cameras$79.991 Year
  • Secure Plus$99.991 Year
One-time1
  • Sync TV-app for LG (Lifetime)$129.99

Questions

Is Nanoleaf free?
Nanoleaf is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Philips Hue free?
Philips Hue is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nanoleaf or Philips Hue?
Philips Hue is rated higher. Nanoleaf averages 4.2 out of 5 from 45K ratings, while Philips Hue averages 4.7 from 115K ratings.
Do Nanoleaf or Philips Hue have ads?
Neither Nanoleaf nor Philips Hue shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nanoleaf or Philips Hue?
Nanoleaf ships an update every 2 weeks, and Philips Hue every 2 weeks. Most recently, Nanoleaf was updated on September 24, 2026 and Philips Hue on September 24, 2026.

Other comparisons