Activate Home vs Sapphire Connect
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Activate Home
Manage your building's access, communications, and services from your phone. Receive alerts for packages, reserve amenities, and connect with your property team and neighbors.
- Building access control
- Visitor registration
- Service request management
- Amenity reservations
- Package arrival notifications
- Resident communication
- Digital building key
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Stay connected to everything happening in your building and the people within it. From building access, to communications from your property team, or package arrival alerts, it’s all at your fingertips with the Activate Home app. Download the app to: -Register visitors -Submit and manage service requests -Reserve amenities -Get notifications for package arrivals -Communicate with management and fellow residents -See upcoming events in your building -Give feedback through polls -Use your phone as a digital key to access the building -And so much more! *Note: features vary by building.
Sapphire Connect
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Sapphire is the resident and property-management app for connected apartment communities. It runs on a property's own smart-device ecosystem (locks, thermostats, cameras, and garage access) and gives residents and staff one app to manage all of it. This is provisioned software tied to a property account. Residents are invited by their property manager or added via their PMS integration; there is no public self-signup. WHAT RESIDENTS GET Smart lock access Unlock your front door, view lock status, and manage access codes for your unit without a physical key, through SmartThings, Brivo, Dormakaba, or RemoteLock integrations depending on what your property has installed. Thermostat control View and adjust your unit's thermostat, including scheduled automation your property manager has configured for vacant or move-in states. Garage and camera access Open myQ-connected garage doors and view Eagle Eye Networks camera feeds for common areas and access points your property has made available to residents. Community messaging and support Message your property team directly, browse a searchable knowledge base for common questions, and open a support ticket without leaving the app. WHAT PROPERTY STAFF GET A single dashboard across properties, units, and organizations, with role-based permissions, resident and lease management, device diagnostics, and PMS sync (RealPage, Yardi) so unit and resident data stays current automatically. REQUIREMENTS An active Sapphire account tied to a participating property. Residents cannot self-register; contact your property management office for access. Push notification, camera, and Bluetooth permissions may be requested depending on which integrations your property uses (e.g. photo attachments on support tickets, Bluetooth-paired locks). All are optional and the rest of the app works without them. ABOUT SAPPHIRE CONNECTED COMMUNITIES Sapphire builds a unified smart-access and property-management platform for multifamily housing, connecting locks, thermostats, cameras, and garage systems from multiple vendors into one resident and staff experience. Support: support@sapphireconnect.io Privacy: https://app.sapphireconnect.io/privacy-policy.html
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Activate Home at 4.0 against Sapphire Connect's 1.0. Activate Home also leads on ratings volume (413 vs 1). Sapphire Connect's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs monthly). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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.
Activate Home holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 1.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Activate Home has 413 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Activate Home ships an update monthly, Sapphire Connect fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Activate Home | Sapphire Connect |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (413 ratings) — better | 1.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 29.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 413 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 15.5 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 261 MB | 33 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rise Buildings, LLC | Sapphire Connected Communities |
Bugs and requests
Activate Home
Reported bugs
17 issues- Mobile key not working
- “No response met from Salto SVN” error
- Visitors disappearing
- Packages checked out/in disappearing
- “General error” when opening
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- “No door found” error on elevators
- App crashes on launch
- Cannot login
- Error when password submitted
- Reset password link trackers not working
- App does not open on iOS 13
- Clicking edit on visitor profile doesn't work
- Cannot log out
- Incorrect apartment number on profile
- App crashes during registration
- App freezing or having other bugs
- Red bubble notification remains after checking
Requested features
8 requests- Add phone key to Apple Wallet
- Improve offline functionality for app launch/key access
- Add a hard fob solution for non-smartphone users
- Implement a buzz-in feature for visitors/deliveries
- Allow users to see other's elevator reservations
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Allow users to stay signed in
- Improve back button navigation in community posts
- More reports for property managers
Sapphire Connect
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Activate Home
No in-app purchases
Sapphire Connect
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Activate Home free?
Is Sapphire Connect free?
Which has better reviews, Activate Home or Sapphire Connect?
Do Activate Home or Sapphire Connect have ads?
Which is updated more often, Activate Home or Sapphire Connect?
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