# Philips Hue vs Home Assistant

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Home Assistant at none against Philips Hue's 10. Home Assistant also leads on device support (4 vs 2). Philips Hue's advantage is review sentiment (85% vs 54%) and ratings volume (115K vs 3.9K). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Philips Hue against 4.7 for Home Assistant. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Philips Hue has 115K ratings behind it against 3.9K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 85% of Philips Hue's written reviews are positive against 54% of Home Assistant's.

Philips Hue ships an update every 2 weeks, Home Assistant every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Philips Hue | Home Assistant |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (115K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/philips-hue/id1055281310/reviews) | [4.7 (3.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/home-assistant/id1099568401/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **115K** | 3.9K |
| Positive reviews | **84.8% of reviews** | 53.8% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 10 days** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#186** | — |
| Size | 248 MB | 252 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **16.4** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Signify Netherlands B.V.](https://appshunter.io/developer/979064009) | [Nabu Casa, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1525301324) |

## What reviewers say

### Philips Hue

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/philips-hue/id1055281310)

**Currently charting:** #186 Top Free · Lifestyle (US App Store)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Motion Aware Monthly Plan | $0.99 | per month |
| Sync TV-app for LG (1 Month) | $2.99 | per month |
| Secure Basic for 1 camera | $3.99 | per month |
| Secure Basic for 2 cameras | $7.99 | per month |
| Secure Plus | $9.99 | per month |
| Motion Aware Yearly Plan | $9.99 | per year |
| Secure Basic for 1 camera | $39.99 | per year |
| Secure Basic for 2 cameras | $79.99 | per year |
| Secure Plus | $99.99 | per year |
| Sync TV-app for LG (Lifetime) | $129.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

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

**What reviewers complain about**

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

**Reported bugs**

- 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**

- 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


### Home Assistant

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/home-assistant/id1099568401)

Control your entire smart home from one app, locally and privately. Automate devices, receive notifications, and manage your home's data securely. Integrates with thousands of smart devices and open standards.

**Highlights:** Control entire home from one app, Discover and configure new devices, Automate device actions, Local data privacy, Connect to open standards (Z-Wave, Zigbee, Matter), Remote access via Home Assistant Cloud, Location-based automation

**Features:** Siri integration, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Philips Hue free?

Philips Hue is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Home Assistant free?

Home Assistant is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Philips Hue or Home Assistant?

Philips Hue and Home Assistant are both rated 4.7 out of 5 on the App Store, from 115K and 3.9K ratings respectively.

### Do Philips Hue or Home Assistant have ads?

Neither Philips Hue nor Home Assistant shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Philips Hue or Home Assistant?

Philips Hue ships an update every 2 weeks, and Home Assistant every 10 days. Most recently, Philips Hue was updated on September 24, 2026 and Home Assistant on September 23, 2026.

---

*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*