Home Assistant vs Narwal
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
Narwal
Remotely control and monitor your cleaning robot from anywhere. Customize cleaning modes, schedules, and spot cleaning for a spotless home. Receive detailed cleaning reports and manage room layouts with no-go zones.
- Remote control and monitoring
- Multiple cleaning modes
- Customized cleaning plans
- Spot cleaning functionality
- Map management with no-go zones
- Customized cleaning reports
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The Narwal app allows you to control the Narwal robots remotely, view its working status anytime you want, from anywhere you are. Using this app, you can unlock the more advanced functions of Narwal! [Multiple Cleaning Modes] Narwal is equipped with 5 cleaning modes, including Freo Mode, Vacuum and Mop, Vacuum then Mop, so that you can choose the one that suits your floor the best. [Customized Cleaning Plans] Long story short, you can customize in any way you want! You get to decide the cleaning sequence, frequency, even the mopping pressure and moisture of the robot via this app, so that you can get the most flawless floor in just one click! [Spot Cleaning] Only one specific area is dirty? You can select that one place on the app, and Freo will head out to clean! [Map Management] Merge and divide rooms as you want! You can even set no-go zones to make sure Freo doesn't intrude! [Customized Cleaning Reports] At the end of each cleaning plan, you can see how Freo made your floor spotless through a customized and engaging short video!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Home Assistant at 4.7 against Narwal's 3.7. Home Assistant also leads on review sentiment (54% vs 41%) and ratings volume (4K vs 617). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Home Assistant has 4K ratings behind it against 617, 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 41% of Narwal's.
Home Assistant ships an update every 10 days, Narwal every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Home Assistant | Narwal |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (4K ratings) — better | 3.7 (617 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 54.1% of reviews — better | 41.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 4K — better | 617 |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 261 MB | 322 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nabu Casa, Inc | Yunjing Intelligence Innovation (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd. |
Customer experience
Home Assistant
Narwal
Bugs and requests
Home Assistant
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Narwal
Reported bugs
6 issues- App crashes and freezes
- Connectivity issues between app and robot
- Mapping errors and inability to edit maps
- Unreliable scheduling and cleaning tasks
- Unexpected robot behavior and getting stuck
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- Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions
Requested features
7 requests- Ability to split rooms and create custom zones
- Improved mapping and room editing features
- More scheduling options (e.g., every 2 weeks, monthly)
- Integration with voice assistants
- Ability to order replacement parts directly from the app
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- Improved notification system and status updates
- Easier access to maintenance information and reminders
In-app purchases
Home Assistant
No in-app purchases
Narwal
No in-app purchases







