Home Assistant vs Joint Maker Lab
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
Joint Maker Lab
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Platform Introduction The platform is committed to building an ecological community for in-depth co-creation among users, and establishing a full-process participation system from demand insight to product implementation. Through the user segmentation (contribution + clustering) operation mechanism, core users are invited to participate in the four key stages of product definition, joint development, scenario testing, and market validation throughout the process, and a real-time feedback closed-loop system is established. Meanwhile, a user incentive point system is constructed to quickly iterate high-quality suggestions into product optimization, ultimately forming an ecological closed loop of "demand co-creation - product co-research - value sharing" to create an ideal product that truly meets interactive experience and offers excellent performance. Product Manifesto From creative inspiration to technological breakthrough, jointly create the ideal product Core Proposition Focusing on the concept of "letting technology products evolve through customer engagement", consumers have transformed from "passive users" to "product co-creators" Platform Audience Positioning Pioneers who love digital black technology, have unique insights into home, audio-visual, and energy storage products, and are creative innovators with boundless imagination A chronicler of daily life, hoping to jointly create more exceptional products with Anker Be willing to share your usage scenarios and needs for Anker products User Rights Participate in the new product internal testing rights and contribute ideas to the new product design Priority participation in irregular brand events, offline interviews... Enjoy exclusive welfare discounts and surprises, making it truly spectacular
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Home Assistant at every 10 days against Joint Maker Lab's every 2 months. Home Assistant also leads on device support (4 vs 2). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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 ships an update every 10 days, Joint Maker Lab every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 15, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Home Assistant | Joint Maker Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (4K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 54.1% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 261 MB | 132 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Nabu Casa, Inc | Power Mobile Life LLC |
In-app purchases
Home Assistant
No in-app purchases
Joint Maker Lab
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Home Assistant free?
Is Joint Maker Lab free?
Do Home Assistant or Joint Maker Lab have ads?
Which is updated more often, Home Assistant or Joint Maker Lab?
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