Comparison

Home Assistant vs Spectrum Light

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

About

Spectrum Light

Control RGB LED lights via Bluetooth to customize colors and modes. Set schedules for automatic on/off and sync with your music library.

Highlights
  • Bluetooth LED light connection
  • Customizable color wheel
  • Multiple lighting modes
  • Adjustable speed for multicolor effects
  • Music synchronization from iTunes
  • Automatic ON/OFF timers
Features
Read full description

This App is only works on device that are running iOS 7.0 or higher, it will work if you are using an iphone 4S,5,5C,5S,6 or newer, or an iPad3, iPads air or newer device. Connect your smart device with this RGB LED light by bluetooth, you may assign renamed this light, this App has "the uncilor steady ", "color choose wheel", "change mode" can show from the unicolor choose with per color and offer 6 functions and multicolor with 7 functions. "Speed "slide is applicable if you choose multicolor , "Music" can add from iOS device by iTunes. "Timer" are two timers available, set the light ON and OFF automaticaly at the prefernce time.

Screenshots

Home Assistant4 screens
Spectrum Light4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Home Assistant at 54% against Spectrum Light's 8%. Home Assistant also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 4 months). Spectrum Light's advantage is iOS requirement (9.0 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Home Assistant ships an update every 10 days, Spectrum Light every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 18, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Home Assistant versus Spectrum Light: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHome AssistantSpectrum Light
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (4K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews54.1% of reviews — better8.2% of reviews
Number of ratings4K — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.49.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size261 MB5 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNabu Casa, IncTaizhou Zhengda Decoration Lights Co,.LTD

Customer experience

Home Assistant

All ratings3,967 ratings
Positive93.5%
Neutral1.6%
Negative4.9%
Written reviews510 reviews
Positive54.1%
Neutral8.6%
Negative37.3%

Spectrum Light

Written reviews49 reviews
Positive8.2%
Neutral4.1%
Negative87.8%

Bugs and requests

Home Assistant

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Spectrum Light

Reported bugs

16 issues
  • Lights do not connect to the app after updates
  • App searches for lights but fails to connect
  • App times out before connecting to lights
  • Update stopped lights connecting
  • Timers default to current time or 0:00
Show 11 more
  • App never remembers timers
  • Turning off lights at the switch deletes settings
  • App doesn't sync to Apple Music library
  • App doesn't work in dark mode
  • Timer screen shows no times or defaults to midnight
  • Music function doesn't work
  • Bluetooth is temperamental
  • Color selector doesn't show on screen
  • App doesn't see any music
  • App doesn't allow control of multiple sets independently
  • Spelling errors on the app

Requested features

8 requests
  • Fix music sync for Spotify
  • Improve timer functionality
  • Allow saving custom colors
  • Add more color combinations
  • Improve app compatibility with dark mode
Show 3 more
  • Allow control of multiple light sets independently
  • Provide better support resources
  • Allow music mode to pick colors

In-app purchases

None

Home Assistant

No in-app purchases

None

Spectrum Light

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Home Assistant free?
Home Assistant is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Spectrum Light free?
Spectrum Light is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Home Assistant or Spectrum Light have ads?
Neither Home Assistant nor Spectrum Light shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Home Assistant or Spectrum Light?
Home Assistant ships an update every 10 days, and Spectrum Light every 4 months. Most recently, Home Assistant was updated on October 18, 2026 and Spectrum Light on October 14, 2026.

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