Philips Hue vs Meross
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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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.
Meross
Control and manage a wide range of smart home devices remotely. Set schedules, create custom scenes, and integrate with voice assistants for automated control. Access troubleshooting guides, firmware updates, and community forums for support.
- Remote device control
- Custom schedules and scenes
- Voice assistant integration
- Firmware updates
- In-app hardware guides
- Consumer forum
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Meross app can help you set up and manage smart WiFi bulb, plug, switch, garage door opener, thermostat, air purifier, sensor, humidifier and so on. Meross app offers you special value that other platform apps can not offer such as in-app hardware guide and troubleshooting, in-app setup guide and dedicated troubleshooting, firmware update, cloud service maintenance notice, digital user manual, consumer forum, and new product release information. With Meross app, you can 1. Turn on and off your devices remotely from anywhere with internet. 2. Set schedules and scenes for your devices so that they can run automatically as you wish. 3. Link your devices to your voice assistant platform. 4. Check and update your devices to the latest firmware. 5. Share great product experience with others and discuss about how to use products in Forum. 6. Find information about special offer and new product release. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ratings volume: Philips Hue at 118K against Meross's 7.9K. Philips Hue also leads on chart position (#200 vs unranked) and review sentiment (85% vs 77%). Meross's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 17.0). 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. Philips Hue sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Meross sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Philips Hue against 4.6 for Meross. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Philips Hue has 118K ratings behind it against 7.9K, 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 77% of Meross's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. Both last shipped on October 30, 2026.
| Parameter | Philips Hue | Meross |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (118K ratings) — better | 4.6 (7.9K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 85.3% of reviews — better | 77.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 118K — better | 7.9K |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #200 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 248 MB | 228 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Signify Netherlands B.V. | Chengdu Meross Technology Co.,Ltd. |
Customer experience
Philips Hue
Meross
User reviews
Philips Hue
From 118K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Meross
From 7.9K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to use app
- 🚀 Reliable and stable performance
- 💡 Useful features like power consumption monitoring
- 🔒 Secure and private
- 🔌 Seamless integration with smart home platforms
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional connectivity issues and device disconnections
- 🔧 Setup can be tricky at times
- 📱 Limited customization options in the app
- 🕰️ Routines and scheduling could be more flexible
Bugs and requests
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
Meross
Reported bugs
3 issues- Unreliable garage door status reporting
- Compatibility issues with iOS 16 updates
- Inconsistent device discovery and pairing
Requested features
4 requests- Add support for more smart home platforms
- Improve app interface and allow for more customization
- Enhance scheduling and automation features
- Provide more detailed energy consumption reporting
In-app purchases
Philips Hue
- 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
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- 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
- Sync TV-app for LG (Lifetime)$129.99
Meross
- 10 SMS for a month$0.991 Month
- 优惠测试-月$1.991 Month
- 优惠测试-年$1.991 Year
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- 优惠测试-周$1.997 Days
- 30 SMS for a month1 Month trial$2.491 Month
- 100 SMS for a month$6.991 Month
- 30 SMS$3.49
- 100 SMS$9.99







