Comparison

SwitchBot vs Aqara Home

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SwitchBot

Control smart devices like bots, hubs, and sensors remotely. Schedule appliance operation and monitor environmental conditions. Expand your smart home ecosystem with new devices and features.

Highlights
  • Remote device control
  • Appliance scheduling
  • Environmental monitoring
  • Hub integration
  • Camera cloud storage
Features
Read full description

You can control the SwitchBot Bot with a tap on the icons. You can schedule your appliances to turn on or off according to your preference with SwitchBot Hub Mini. You can monitor the environment of your family and properties with SwitchBot Thermometer and Hygrometer. And that’s just the beginning. Purchase a SwitchBot device and download the app to get started today. Stay tuned for updates as we add new features and new products to the SwitchBot family. SwitchBot Camera Cloud Storage Service Subscription Cycle: 1 month (monthly plans) Subscription Price: $3.99/month (monthly plans) Payment: Users confirm the purchase and proceed to payment. Users can manage this subscription and the auto-renewal via their Apple ID > Subscriptions. Cancellation: Users can manually cancel this subscription via Apple ID > Subscriptions at least 24 hours before the current subscription period expires. Renewal: The user's account will be charged within 24 hours before the end of the current period, and the subscription will be extended for another period upon successful payment. Term of Use: https://www.switch-bot.com/pages/switchbot-terms-of-service Privacy Policy: https://www.switch-bot.com/pages/switchbot-privacy-policy - Website: switch-bot.com - Facebook: @SwitchBotRobot - Instagram: @theswitchbot - Twitter: @SwitchBot

About

Aqara Home

Manage and automate your smart home devices remotely. Control lights, monitor sensors, and create custom scenes and automations for a more convenient living experience. Supports a wide range of smart home accessories.

Highlights
  • Remote control of smart accessories
  • Create homes and rooms
  • Monitor appliance status and environmental data
  • Automate actions with timers and triggers
  • Create scenes for multi-device control
  • Siri integration for voice control
Features
Read full description

Aqara Home is an app for smart home automation and control. With Aqara Home, you can: 1. control Aqara accessories anywhere and anytime where there is Internet access; 2. create homes and rooms and assign accessories to the rooms; 3. control your Aqara accessories and check the status of connected appliances. For example: *adjust the brightness of lights and check the power consumption of home appliances; *monitor the temperature, humidity and air pressure; *detect water leak, and human movement; 4. create Automations to automate your home. For example: *set a timer to turn on or off an appliance connected to a smart plug; *use a Door and Window Sensor to trigger lights: turn on lights automatically when the door opens; 5. create Scenes to control multiple accessories. For example, add a Scene to turn on multiple lights and fans; 6. ask Siri to control HomeKit supported Aqara accessories and user defined Scenes; Aqara Home app supports following Aqara accessories: Aqara Hub, Smart Plug, Wireless Remote Switch, LED Light Bulb, Door and Window Sensor, Motion Sensor, Temperature and Humidity Sensor, Vibration Sensor, and Water Leak Sensor. Please see www.aqara.com for more details.

Screenshots

SwitchBot4 screens
Aqara Home4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Aqara Home at 4.7 against SwitchBot's 3.4. Aqara Home also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 19) and ratings volume (7.3K vs 828). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. SwitchBot sells 17 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per 7 days. Aqara Home asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Aqara Home holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Aqara Home has 7.3K ratings behind it against 828, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 32% of SwitchBot's written reviews are positive against 41% of Aqara Home's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 23, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
SwitchBot versus Aqara Home: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSwitchBotAqara Home
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.4 (828 ratings)4.7 (7.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews31.7% of reviews41.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings8287.3K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size647 MB539 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developerwonderlabs, IncorporatedAqara Software Service Co.,Ltd.

Customer experience

SwitchBot

All ratings828 ratings
Positive54.8%
Neutral7.0%
Negative38.2%
Written reviews477 reviews
Positive31.7%
Neutral15.1%
Negative53.2%

Aqara Home

All ratings7,263 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral1.2%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews1,482 reviews
Positive41.4%
Neutral11.5%
Negative47.1%

User reviews

SwitchBot

From 828 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Reliable and stable app
  • 👍 Easy to use and set up
  • 💡 Useful features like temperature/humidity monitoring
  • 🚀 Responsive customer support

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy app with frequent crashes and disconnections
  • 👎 Poor user interface and unintuitive navigation
  • 🔋 Battery life issues with some devices
  • 🔒 Security concerns with mandatory account creation and data sharing

Aqara Home

From 7.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy setup
  • 👍 User-friendly app
  • 🔒 Reliable hardware
  • 💡 Extensive automation capabilities
  • 🚀 Seamless HomeKit integration

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy app with crashes and glitches
  • 👎 Confusing and unintuitive UI
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🚫 Lack of dark mode
  • 🚫 Unreliable notifications

Bugs and requests

SwitchBot

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Firmware update issues
  • Devices disappearing from the app
  • Unreliable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity
  • Incorrect temperature and humidity readings

Requested features

4 requests
  • Sunrise/sunset automation support
  • Ability to set more than 5 schedules
  • Improved widget functionality
  • Integration with Apple HomeKit and Siri

Aqara Home

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes on opening
  • Devices disappearing from app
  • Incorrect temperature/humidity readings
  • Delayed or missing doorbell notifications
  • Inability to delete detection zones

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add sunset/sunrise automation
  • Improve camera timeline scrubbing
  • Enable 12-hour time format
  • Provide more customization options
  • Improve Alexa/Google Home integration

In-app purchases

17 purchases

SwitchBot

Subscriptions17
  • cloud storage-2cams weekly$0.997 Days
  • AI Agent Plan$1.691 Month
  • Basic Monthly Plan1 Month trial2 variants$3.991 Month
Show 14 more
  • Test$3.991 Month
  • Test1 Month trial$3.991 Month
  • Starter Plan$4.991 Month
  • Plus Monthly Plan$6.991 Month
  • Home Plan$8.991 Month
  • Basic Monthly Plan1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • cloud storage-3cams monthly$10.991 Month
  • Home Plus$13.991 Month
  • Family Monthly Plan$20.991 Month
  • Home Max$22.991 Month
  • Basic Annual Plan$34.991 Year
  • Plus Annual Plan$69.991 Year
  • cloud storage-1cam weekly7 Days trial$99.997 Days
  • Family Annual Plan$209.991 Year
None

Aqara Home

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SwitchBot free?
SwitchBot is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Aqara Home free?
Aqara Home is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SwitchBot or Aqara Home?
Aqara Home is rated higher. SwitchBot averages 3.4 out of 5 from 828 ratings, while Aqara Home averages 4.7 from 7.3K ratings.
Do SwitchBot or Aqara Home have ads?
Neither SwitchBot nor Aqara Home shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SwitchBot or Aqara Home?
SwitchBot ships an update every 2 weeks, and Aqara Home every 2 weeks. Most recently, SwitchBot was updated on September 22, 2026 and Aqara Home on September 23, 2026.

Other comparisons