# Home Assistant vs HOTO

The clearest difference is rating: Home Assistant at 4.7 against HOTO's 2.7. Home Assistant also leads on review sentiment (54% vs 24%) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 20 months). HOTO's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 16.4). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

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 2.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Home Assistant has 4K ratings behind it against 7, 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 24% of HOTO's.

Home Assistant ships an update every 10 days, HOTO every 20 months. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Home Assistant | HOTO |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/home-assistant/id1099568401/reviews)** | [2.7 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hoto/id1631957908/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **4K** | 7 |
| Positive reviews | **54.3% of reviews** | 23.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Every 20 months |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 229 MB | 190 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | **11.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nabu Casa, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1525301324) | [Shanghai HOTO Technology Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1631957910) |

## What reviewers say

### Home Assistant

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/home-assistant/id1099568401)

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:** Siri integration, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### HOTO

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hoto/id1631957908)

Connects to a smart laser rangefinder to manage device settings, control functions, and update firmware. It allows for data recording and measurement drawing.

**Highlights:** Device pairing, Device control, Firmware updates, Data recording, Measurement drawing

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Home Assistant free?

Home Assistant is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is HOTO free?

HOTO is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Home Assistant or HOTO?

Home Assistant is rated higher. Home Assistant averages 4.7 out of 5 from 4K ratings, while HOTO averages 2.7 from 7 ratings.

### Do Home Assistant or HOTO have ads?

Neither Home Assistant nor HOTO shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Home Assistant or HOTO?

Home Assistant ships an update every 10 days, and HOTO every 20 months. Most recently, Home Assistant was updated on October 24, 2026 and HOTO on October 11, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*