Rain Bird vs Hinkley
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
Hinkley
Effortlessly manage your smart home lighting and fans with intuitive controls. Schedule lights, adjust brightness, and control fan settings from your smartphone, whether you're home or away.
- Home automation
- Lighting control
- Fan control
- Scheduling and timers
- Zone control
- Brightness adjustment
- Remote access
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Enjoy simple setup, easy customization, and effortless home automation at your fingertips with the Hinkley App. Hinkley products are thoughtfully designed to add beauty, function, and comfort to any space, and now you can add even more convenience with Hinkley lighting automation via your smartphone and voice-controlled smart devices. Created for use with the Hinkley Smart Landscape Dimmer Control and all Hinkley Smart Fans, it effortlessly brings your preferences to light. Controlling your Hinkley Smart Fans is a breeze. Within the app, you can: - Turn the light on/off - Switch fan direction - Change wind speed and light brightness on a slidable scale - Group multiple fans and control settings together - Set schedules and timers - Share access to ceiling fan control - And more! With the Hinkley Landscape Dimmer Control, you can enjoy complete landscape lighting control by splitting your property up into two zones and controlling them with the touch of a button. Within the app, you can: - Easily set lighting zones - Turn dimmers on/off together or control each zone separately - Adjust brightness on a slidable scale - Set programs, schedules, and timers Hinkley makes it easy to control your living spaces whether you are home or away. Plus, with easy setup and an intuitive app design, you can be up and running in minutes.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Rain Bird at 4.7 against Hinkley's 2.5. Rain Bird also leads on review sentiment (31% vs 0%) and ratings volume (70K vs 13). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Rain Bird has 70K ratings behind it against 13, 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 0% of Hinkley's.
Rain Bird ships an update every 2 months, Hinkley every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and August 10, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Rain Bird | Hinkley |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (70K ratings) — better | 2.5 (13 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 31.3% of reviews — better | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 70K — better | 13 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months — better | Every 8 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 48 MB | 189 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rain Bird Corporation | Hinkley Lighting, Inc. |
Customer experience
Rain Bird
Hinkley
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
Hinkley
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Rain Bird
No in-app purchases
Hinkley
No in-app purchases
