Home Assistant vs Third Reality
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
Third Reality
Control your home's lights and switches remotely with smart devices. This app allows you to configure hubs, add smart switches and bulbs, group devices for easy control, and set lighting schedules. Voice assistant integration is also supported.
- Remote control of lights and switches
- Configure smart home hubs
- Add and manage smart switches and bulbs
- Group devices for unified control
- Create lighting schedules
- Voice assistant integration (Alexa, Google Home)
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THE SIMPLIEST PATH TO A SMARTER HOME Take complete control of your home or apartment’s switches and lights from anywhere with the Reality Series of Smart Home devices. RealityAdapter connects all your Third Reality devices to your home network RealitySwitch turns any existing switch into a smart switch Set lights to reflect your mood with SmartBulbs Use RealityApp to configure and control your Smart Home RealityApp FEATURES Configure RealityAdapter hub to communicate with your home network and connect all Third Reality devices Add, name and configure RealitySwitches and RealityBulbs Group multiple devices to control from your smartphone with one button Create timers to control lighting schedules Connect Amazon Alexa or Google Home voice assistants to manage all your devices with voice commands Apple Notes: The app utilizes Location Services to record the location of your Remote Plus when you add it to your account and also when you ring it. Continue use of GPS or Bluetooth running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Home Assistant at 4.7 against Third Reality's 2.2. Home Assistant also leads on review sentiment (54% vs 12%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 3 months). Third Reality's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). 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.
Home Assistant holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Home Assistant has 4K ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 54% of Home Assistant's written reviews are positive against 12% of Third Reality's.
Home Assistant ships an update every 10 days, Third Reality every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 12, 2026 and October 5, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Home Assistant | Third Reality |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (4K ratings) — better | 2.2 (26 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 54.2% of reviews — better | 11.8% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4K — better | 26 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 3 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 261 MB | 50 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nabu Casa, Inc | Third Reality, Inc |
Customer experience
Home Assistant
Third Reality
In-app purchases
Home Assistant
No in-app purchases
Third Reality
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Home Assistant free?
Is Third Reality free?
Which has better reviews, Home Assistant or Third Reality?
Do Home Assistant or Third Reality have ads?
Which is updated more often, Home Assistant or Third Reality?
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