Rain Bird vs Hayward Poolwatch
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Rain Bird
Control your sprinklers remotely from your mobile device. Automate watering schedules and adjust for weather conditions to conserve water and reduce costs. Compatible with various Rain Bird controller models.
- Remote sprinkler control
- Customizable watering schedules
- Automated weather adjustments
- Water and money saving
- Controller model compatibility
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Smart Watering Made Simple. Connect your Rain Bird controller to your mobile device to turn on sprinklers, set up customized watering schedules, and automate weather adjustments, saving you water and money. Compatible with the following Rain Bird controller models: ST8-WIFI ESP-TM2 ESP-RZXe ESP-Me ESP-ME3 RC2 ARC8 For more information: http://wifi.rainbird.com 1-800-RAINBIRD
Hayward Poolwatch
Monitor your pool's pH, ORP, and water temperature in real-time. Remotely adjust filtration, water treatment, and lighting settings. Control external devices like heat pumps via auxiliary relays.
- Real-time pool monitoring
- pH level tracking
- ORP level tracking
- Water temperature monitoring
- Remote filtration adjustment
- Remote water treatment control
- Remote lighting control
- External device control
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Cette application vous permettra de toujours avoir un œil sur votre piscine et de connaitre en temps réel suivant votre configuration -le niveau de votre PH -le niveau de votre ORP -La température de votre eau Vous pourrez à distance changer ou ajuster les réglages de votre filtration, de votre traitement d'eau, ou encore de votre éclairage. Grace à ses relais auxiliaires, vous pourrez aussi contrôler à distance des périphériques externes dont la pompe à chaleur ou autres... Application compatible avec tous les systèmes Hayward équipés du module WiFi AQR-PLUS-WIFI et AQR-PLUS-WIFI2
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Rain Bird at 4.7 against Hayward Poolwatch's 1.0. Rain Bird also leads on ratings volume (79K vs 1) and review sentiment (31% vs 20%). On price, update cadence, 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.
Rain Bird holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rain Bird has 79K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 31% of Rain Bird's written reviews are positive against 20% of Hayward Poolwatch's.
Rain Bird ships an update every 2 months, Hayward Poolwatch every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Rain Bird | Hayward Poolwatch |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (79K ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 31.2% of reviews — better | 19.5% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 79K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rain Bird Corporation | Hayward |
Customer experience
Rain Bird
Hayward Poolwatch
Bugs and requests
Rain Bird
Reported bugs
5 issues- Constant connection errors
- App crashes frequently
- Date/time not syncing correctly
- Seasonal adjustment not working as expected
- Manual controls not functioning properly
Requested features
6 requests- Add water usage history and analytics
- Allow pausing of individual zones
- Improve manual control options
- Add weather integration and smart scheduling
- Improve notification system
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- Add ability to turn off entire system remotely
Hayward Poolwatch
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Rain Bird
No in-app purchases
Hayward Poolwatch
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Rain Bird free?
Is Hayward Poolwatch free?
Which has better reviews, Rain Bird or Hayward Poolwatch?
Do Rain Bird or Hayward Poolwatch have ads?
Which is updated more often, Rain Bird or Hayward Poolwatch?
Other comparisons
