Home Assistant vs Controller for HomeKit
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Home Assistant
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.
- 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
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The Home Assistant Companion app allows you to access your Home Assistant instance on the go. Home Assistant is the smart home solution focused on privacy, choice, and sustainability. It runs locally in your home via a device like the Home Assistant Green or Raspberry Pi. This app connects to all the most powerful features of Home Assistant, - One app to control the whole home - Home Assistant is compatible with the biggest brands in the smart home, connecting to thousands of smart devices and services. - Discover automatically and quickly configure new devices - such as Philips Hue, Sonos, and IKEA Tradfri. - Automate everything - Make all the devices in your home work in harmony - have your lights dim when you start watching a movie, or turn off your heat when you’re away from home. - Keep your home’s data in the home - use it privately to see past trends and averages. - Connect to open standards with hardware add-ons - including Z-Wave, Zigbee, Matter, Thread, and Bluetooth. - Connect anywhere - If you would like to access this app while away from home, the most secure and simple way to get started is Home Assistant Cloud. The app unlocks your smartphone or tablet as a home automation tool. - Securely share your location, using it to automate heating, security, and so much more. - Get notifications on what's happening in your home, from detecting leaks to doors left open, you have full control over what it tells you. - Carplay functionality lets you open a garage or disable the security system from the dash of your car. - Build your own widgets to control any device in your home with a tap. - Integrate Home Assistant's functionality into Shortcuts, for example have your phone’s morning alarm turn on the coffee machine. - Apple Watch compatibility can show your home's temperature on a watch face or quickly activate devices. - Text or talk to your local voice assistant on your device. - Mac compatibility allows you to control your home from your desktop, but also to share data to build automation, like having your streaming lights turn on when your camera is active. Join the over 1 million users and empower your home with better privacy, choice and sustainability. Compatible with: Airthings, Amazon Alexa, Amcrest, Apple HomeKit, Apple TV, ASUSWRT, August, Belink WeMo, Bluetooth, Bose SoundTouch, Broadlink, BTHome, deCONZ, Denon, Devolo, DLNA, Ecobee, Ecovacs, Ecowitt, Elgato, EZVIZ, Fritz, Fully Kiosk, GoodWe, Govee, Growatt, Hikvision, Hive, Home Connect, Homematic, HomeWizard, Honeywell, iCloud, IFTTT, IKEA Tradfri, Insteon, Jellyfin, LG Smart TVs, LIFX, Logitech Harmony, Lutron Caseta, Magic Home, Matter, MotionEye, MQTT, MusicCast, Nanoleaf, Netatmo, Nuki, OctoPrint, ONVIF, Opower, Overkiz, OwnTracks, Panasonic Viera, Philips Hue, Pi-hole, Plex, Reolink, Ring, Roborock, Roku, Samsung TVs, Sense, Sensiba, Shelly, SmartThings, SolarEdge, Sonarr, Sonos, Sony Bravia, Spotify, Steam, SwitchBot, Synology, Tado, Tasmota, Tesla Wall, Thread, Tile, TP-Link Smart Home, Tuya, UniFi, UPnP, Verisure, Vizio, Wallbox, WebRTC, WiZ, WLED, Xbox, Xiaomi BLE, Yale, Yeelight, YoLink, Z-Wave, Zigbe
Controller for HomeKit
Enhance your smart home experience with advanced control and automation. Visualize your home with floor plans, track device performance with charts, and create complex automations tailored to your needs. Organize devices, store setup codes, and monitor your entire smart home ecosystem.
- Floor plan visualization with LiDAR
- Device performance charts
- Complex automations and workflows
- Custom notifications
- Smart folders and filters
- Setup code storage
- Device maintenance and logs
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Experience and control your Apple Home in a whole new way with Controller for HomeKit. Our app combines all the familiar HomeKit features with numerous additional enhancements, offering you a user-friendly interface, unparalleled control, and flexibility. * CONTROLLER AI: Describe a scene, automation, or workflow in everyday language – Controller builds it for you. * FLOOR PLAN: Create a detailed floor plan of your home using the LiDAR sensor on your iPhone or iPad and control your HomeKit accessories directly through the floor plan. * CHARTS: See how your Apple Home evolves over time. Charts in Controller for HomeKit show how values like temperature, humidity or battery usage change – across all your devices and brands. * COMPLEX AUTOMATIONS: Utilize advanced triggers and conditions for custom automations that are perfectly tailored to your needs. * WORKFLOWS: Optimize your daily routines with workflows that go beyond the capabilities of Apple Home. * NOTIFICATIONS: Create custom notifications to stay informed about important events in your home. * BACKUPS: Secure your setup and restore it easily when needed. * SMART FOLDERS: Organize your devices and automations effortlessly with smart folders and custom filters. * SETUP CODES: Securely store your HomeKit and Matter codes in the app, so they are always at hand and never lost. * MAINTENANCE: Keep track of your setup, quickly identifying which batteries need to be replaced, which devices are unreachable, or which automations are broken. * LOGS: Monitor all activities and changes in your smart home. * WIDGETS: Control your devices faster and easier with convenient widgets or quickly jump into your floor plan. Unlock the full potential of your smart home with Controller for HomeKit. Download the app now and experience how simple and intuitive home automation can be. For more information, visit our website: https://www.controllerforhomekit.com Privacy Policy: https://controllerforhomekit.com/privacy-en/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Home Assistant at 4.7 against Controller for HomeKit's 4.1. Home Assistant also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and review sentiment (54% vs 26%). On price, ratings volume, 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. Controller for HomeKit sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Home Assistant asks for nothing beyond the download.
Home Assistant holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3.9K and 2.7K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of Home Assistant's written reviews are positive against 26% of Controller for HomeKit's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 10 days. Both last shipped on September 23, 2026.
| Parameter | Home Assistant | Controller for HomeKit |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (3.9K ratings) — better | 4.1 (2.7K ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 53.8% of reviews — better | 26.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3.9K — better | 2.7K |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days | Every 10 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 252 MB | 212 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nabu Casa, Inc | acasa Software GmbH |
Customer experience
Home Assistant
Controller for HomeKit
Bugs and requests
Home Assistant
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Controller for HomeKit
Reported bugs
4 issues- Backup and restore issues
- Disappearing automations and accessories
- Compatibility problems with iOS 16.2
- Slow performance and unresponsiveness
Requested features
4 requests- Improved documentation and tutorials
- Better integration with Apple Home app
- Support for more HomeKit device types
- Ability to customize automation triggers
In-app purchases
Home Assistant
No in-app purchases
Controller for HomeKit
- Controller Essentials2 variants$4.991 Month
- Essentials Lifetime - Plus Addon$4.991 Month
- Controller Plus$8.991 Month
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- Controller Essentials7 Days trial2 variants$39.991 Year
- Essentials Lifetime - Plus Addon7 Days trial$39.991 Year
- Controller Plus7 Days trial$79.991 Year
- Controller Essentials Lifetime2 variants$99.99
Questions
Is Home Assistant free?
Is Controller for HomeKit free?
Which has better reviews, Home Assistant or Controller for HomeKit?
Do Home Assistant or Controller for HomeKit have ads?
Which is updated more often, Home Assistant or Controller for HomeKit?
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