Nanoleaf vs Controller for HomeKit
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
Controller for HomeKit
Enhance your smart home experience with advanced control and automation. Visualize your home with floor plans, track device performance with charts, and create complex automations tailored to your needs. Organize devices, store setup codes, and monitor your entire smart home ecosystem.
- Floor plan visualization with LiDAR
- Device performance charts
- Complex automations and workflows
- Custom notifications
- Smart folders and filters
- Setup code storage
- Device maintenance and logs
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Experience and control your Apple Home in a whole new way with Controller for HomeKit. Our app combines all the familiar HomeKit features with numerous additional enhancements, offering you a user-friendly interface, unparalleled control, and flexibility. * CONTROLLER AI: Describe a scene, automation, or workflow in everyday language – Controller builds it for you. * FLOOR PLAN: Create a detailed floor plan of your home using the LiDAR sensor on your iPhone or iPad and control your HomeKit accessories directly through the floor plan. * CHARTS: See how your Apple Home evolves over time. Charts in Controller for HomeKit show how values like temperature, humidity or battery usage change – across all your devices and brands. * COMPLEX AUTOMATIONS: Utilize advanced triggers and conditions for custom automations that are perfectly tailored to your needs. * WORKFLOWS: Optimize your daily routines with workflows that go beyond the capabilities of Apple Home. * NOTIFICATIONS: Create custom notifications to stay informed about important events in your home. * BACKUPS: Secure your setup and restore it easily when needed. * SMART FOLDERS: Organize your devices and automations effortlessly with smart folders and custom filters. * SETUP CODES: Securely store your HomeKit and Matter codes in the app, so they are always at hand and never lost. * MAINTENANCE: Keep track of your setup, quickly identifying which batteries need to be replaced, which devices are unreachable, or which automations are broken. * LOGS: Monitor all activities and changes in your smart home. * WIDGETS: Control your devices faster and easier with convenient widgets or quickly jump into your floor plan. Unlock the full potential of your smart home with Controller for HomeKit. Download the app now and experience how simple and intuitive home automation can be. For more information, visit our website: https://www.controllerforhomekit.com Privacy Policy: https://controllerforhomekit.com/privacy-en/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Nanoleaf at none against Controller for HomeKit's 10. Nanoleaf also leads on ratings volume (45K vs 2.7K) and iOS requirement (15.4 vs 17.0). Controller for HomeKit's advantage is review sentiment (26% vs 17%) and device support (5 vs 3). On price, rating, 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
Both are free to download. Controller for HomeKit sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Nanoleaf asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.2 for Nanoleaf against 4.1 for Controller for HomeKit. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nanoleaf has 45K ratings behind it against 2.7K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 17% of Nanoleaf's written reviews are positive against 26% of Controller for HomeKit's.
Nanoleaf ships an update every 2 weeks, Controller for HomeKit every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Nanoleaf | Controller for HomeKit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (45K ratings) — better | 4.1 (2.7K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 17.3% of reviews | 26.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 45K — better | 2.7K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 188 MB | 212 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nanoleaf | acasa Software GmbH |
Customer experience
Nanoleaf
Controller for HomeKit
User reviews
Nanoleaf
From 45K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Controller for HomeKit
From 2.7K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Powerful automation features
- 📚 Helpful backup and restore functionality
- 🔍 Detailed logging and troubleshooting
- 🧠 Advanced HomeKit control and customization
Room to improve
- 🐛 Buggy and crash-prone
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🤖 Poor customer support
- 🤔 Confusing and unintuitive UI
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
Controller for HomeKit
Reported bugs
4 issues- Backup and restore issues
- Disappearing automations and accessories
- Compatibility problems with iOS 16.2
- Slow performance and unresponsiveness
Requested features
4 requests- Improved documentation and tutorials
- Better integration with Apple Home app
- Support for more HomeKit device types
- Ability to customize automation triggers
In-app purchases
Nanoleaf
No in-app purchases
Controller for HomeKit
- Controller Essentials2 variants$4.991 Month
- Essentials Lifetime - Plus Addon$4.991 Month
- Controller Plus$8.991 Month
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- Controller Essentials7 Days trial2 variants$39.991 Year
- Essentials Lifetime - Plus Addon7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Controller Plus7 Days trial$79.991 Year
- Controller Essentials Lifetime2 variants$99.99
Questions
Is Nanoleaf free?
Is Controller for HomeKit free?
Which has better reviews, Nanoleaf or Controller for HomeKit?
Do Nanoleaf or Controller for HomeKit have ads?
Which is updated more often, Nanoleaf or Controller for HomeKit?
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