# Home Assistant vs MQTT

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Home Assistant at none against MQTT's 2. Home Assistant also leads on ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 10 days vs every 16 months). On price and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. MQTT sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Home Assistant asks for nothing beyond the download.

Home Assistant ships an update every 10 days, MQTT every 16 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Home Assistant | MQTT |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.7 (4K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/home-assistant/id1099568401/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **4K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 54.1% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | **No** | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Every 16 months |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 232 MB | 5 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | **15.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | +4 | 4+ |
| Developer | [Nabu Casa, Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/1525301324) | [109700](https://appshunter.io/developer/573519108) |

## 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


### MQTT

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/mqtt-iot/id6468445528)

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Upgrade to PLUS | $9.99 | one-time |
| Upgrade to PRO | $39.99 | one-time |


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Home Assistant free?

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

### Is MQTT free?

MQTT is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Do Home Assistant or MQTT have ads?

MQTT shows ads; Home Assistant does not.

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

Home Assistant ships an update every 10 days, and MQTT every 16 months. Most recently, Home Assistant was updated on November 1, 2026 and MQTT on October 25, 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.*