Comparison

Controller for HomeKit vs Brilliant Smart Home System

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Controller for HomeKit

Enhance your smart home experience with advanced control and automation. Visualize your home with floor plans, track device performance with charts, and create complex automations tailored to your needs. Organize devices, store setup codes, and monitor your entire smart home ecosystem.

Highlights
  • Floor plan visualization with LiDAR
  • Device performance charts
  • Complex automations and workflows
  • Custom notifications
  • Smart folders and filters
  • Setup code storage
  • Device maintenance and logs
Features
Read full description

Get more out of your smart home. Your HomeKit and Matter devices can do more than on and off: Controller for HomeKit gives you dashboards you build yourself, workflows that run over several steps, months of history, and a floor plan you control directly. YOUR OWN DASHBOARD Your devices sit where you need them, instead of in a list. - Views you compose yourself from tiles: per home, per person, and if you want, per device. One for the iPad on the wall, one for the iPhone in your pocket. - More than 25 tile variants: devices, scenes, workflows, time, weather, calendar, charts, battery warnings. - Five standard sizes, or drag your own size on the grid. - Visibility conditions: a tile or a whole section appears only when you need it. - Plus widgets for your Home Screen and a view of your own on Apple Watch. CONTROLLER AI Describe what you need in plain language: a dashboard, a scene, an automation or a workflow. Controller builds it, and you adjust it however you like afterwards. MORE THAN A SCHEDULE Two devices become a sequence that thinks along. - Workflows: multiple steps, conditions and branches for sequences a single automation cannot express. - Automations with advanced triggers and conditions. - States: virtual switches that capture how your home currently stands and drive your workflows accordingly. - Custom notifications for anything you want to know about. - NFC tags: one tap and the workflow runs. YOUR SENSORS ARE ALREADY MEASURING Controller remembers the values and makes them readable. - Charts: see how temperature, humidity or battery level develop over weeks and months, across every device and brand. - Maintenance: which battery is empty, which device is unreachable, which automation is broken. - Logs: every activity and every change, traceable. - Smart folders: devices and automations grouped by filters you define. - Floor Plan: scan your home with the LiDAR sensor of your iPhone or iPad and control your devices right on the plan. - Controller Hub: a dedicated iPhone, iPad, Apple TV or Mac runs your workflows automatically. Charts and States require Controller Hub. SHARE THE WORK, NOT JUST THE SWITCHES - Home Sharing: pass your entire setup to the people you live with. For each person you choose between the whole app or only the dashboards you share with them. - Setup codes: your HomeKit and Matter codes stay safe in the app and never get lost. - Backups: save your setup and restore it whenever you need to. TRY IT FREE FOR 7 DAYS A week in your own home tells you more than any screenshot. Choose a yearly subscription to Controller Essentials or Controller Plus: the first 7 days are free, so you can see what Controller gets out of your devices. Rather pay once? Controller Lifetime gives you everything in Controller Plus, forever, with no subscription. Controller for HomeKit runs on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple TV. You already own the devices. Controller for HomeKit brings out what is in them. More on our website: https://www.controllerforhomekit.com Privacy Policy: https://controllerforhomekit.com/privacy/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Brilliant Smart Home System

Control your smart home devices remotely from your phone. Manage lights, climate, security, and more with touch and voice commands. The app offers live view for two-way communication and allows you to personalize your smart home experience.

Highlights
  • Remote smart device control
  • Live two-way video chat
  • Device and room navigation
  • Scene execution
  • Personal photo display
  • Demo mode simulation
Features
Read full description

Get mobile access to your Brilliant Control(s) by downloading and pairing the Brilliant App. The Brilliant Control replaces an existing light switch to give you touch and voice control over all of your smart home products. From lights, music, climate, security, and doorbells to whatever comes next, Brilliant connects everyone in the home with controls that are easy to access and use. With Alexa built in for voice control, a personalizable high resolution display for touch control, and a camera with a privacy shutter for room-to-room video chat, your home is now more than just smart. It’s Brilliant. The Brilliant App gives you remote/mobile access to your Brilliant Control(s), so you can see and adjust the status of your connected smart home products, turn on/off lights, activate scenes, upload personal photos, and more. Don’t have a Brilliant Control yet? You can download the app and use our “demo mode” to simulate the mobile experience. Key Features Remote Access - Control your smart light, climate, and lock devices all from one place - anywhere and anytime. Live View - Stay connected via two-way talk with anyone in your home such as kids, guests, housekeepers, and nannies – regardless of whether you are home or away. Navigate your home the way you want - Access your smart home devices by room or by device type. Execute your home automation - Execute scenes you have created on your Brilliant remotely through your smart phone. Personalize your Brilliant - Upload up to 25 personal photos to turn your Brilliant into a digital photo frame. Access Demo Mode - Explore how Brilliant can unify and automate your home before you buy. Some features require a working internet connection/Wi-Fi on your phone and/or Brilliant. Product currently sold in the United States and Canada.

Screenshots

Controller for HomeKit4 screens
Brilliant Smart Home System4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Brilliant Smart Home System at 4.8 against Controller for HomeKit's 4.1. Brilliant Smart Home System also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10). Controller for HomeKit's advantage is device support (5 vs 2). On price, review sentiment, ratings volume and update cadence 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Controller for HomeKit sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Brilliant Smart Home System asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Brilliant Smart Home System holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.8K and 2K respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 28% of Controller for HomeKit's written reviews are positive against 36% of Brilliant Smart Home System's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Controller for HomeKit ships an update every 2 weeks, Brilliant Smart Home System every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 27, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Controller for HomeKit versus Brilliant Smart Home System: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterController for HomeKitBrilliant Smart Home System
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (2.8K ratings)4.8 (2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews28.4% of reviews35.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.8K — better2K
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.016.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size219 MB217 MB
Age rating4+12+
Developeracasa Software GmbHBrilliant Home Technology

Customer experience

Controller for HomeKit

All ratings2,765 ratings
Positive76.2%
Neutral4.7%
Negative19.1%
Written reviews486 reviews
Positive28.4%
Neutral9.7%
Negative61.9%

Brilliant Smart Home System

All ratings1,958 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral1.8%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews76 reviews
Positive35.5%
Neutral15.8%
Negative48.7%

User reviews

Controller for HomeKit

From 2.8K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful automation features
  • 📚 Helpful backup and restore functionality
  • 🔍 Detailed logging and troubleshooting
  • 🧠 Advanced HomeKit control and customization

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and crash-prone
  • 💰 Expensive subscription model
  • 🤖 Poor customer support
  • 🤔 Confusing and unintuitive UI

Brilliant Smart Home System

From 2K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy and works
  • 🚀 Life is easier
  • 🚀 Smarter home
  • 👍 Awesome
  • 👍 Looks great

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Doesn't work
  • 🐛 Not for Canadian
  • 🐛 The works with LIFX never resolves, never grants access
  • 🐛 App didn't work
  • 🐛 HORRIBLE

Bugs and requests

Controller for HomeKit

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Backup and restore issues
  • Disappearing automations and accessories
  • Compatibility problems with iOS 16.2
  • Slow performance and unresponsiveness

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved documentation and tutorials
  • Better integration with Apple Home app
  • Support for more HomeKit device types
  • Ability to customize automation triggers

Brilliant Smart Home System

Reported bugs

25 issues
  • Doesn't work
  • Not for Canadian
  • The works with LIFX never resolves, never grants access
  • App didn't work
  • HORRIBLE
Show 20 more
  • Glitchy
  • Nice looking devices, but buggy at times
  • No longer works on iPad
  • Misleading claims
  • Can't hear anything
  • Please reconsider buying this
  • Great concept - fails to execute
  • Glitchy
  • No longer works on iPad
  • App is garbage
  • Network connectivity issues literally all the time
  • Update
  • Cannot change Control settings from phone
  • Not really ready
  • Confusing
  • Horrible
  • Not HomeKit compatible
  • Still no HomeKit
  • Live View does not work. Ever!
  • Great hardware, software leaves a lot to be desired

Requested features

15 requests
  • No Watch App
  • Allow the user to be able to custom organize the lights in whatever order they desire
  • HomeKit integration
  • Apple Watch app
  • Widget
Show 10 more
  • Integration with MyQ LiftMaster, Lennox iComfort S30 Thermostats and Hayward OmniLogic Pool control
  • HomeKit still not completed and no Apple Watch support
  • Live View
  • Ability to configure devices from the app like you can do on the switches
  • TP-Link's KASA integration
  • Camera access
  • More integration. Needs to work with security cameras or at least work with Zwave type devices
  • Scenes on the app
  • Dark mode option
  • Advanced analytics dashboard

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Controller for HomeKit

Subscriptions6
  • Controller Essentials2 variants$4.991 Month
  • Essentials Lifetime - Plus Addon$4.991 Month
  • Controller Plus$8.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Essentials Lifetime - Plus Addon3 Months trial$39.991 Year
  • Controller Essentials7 Days trial2 variants$39.991 Year
  • Controller Plus7 Days trial$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • Controller Plus Lifetime2 variants$179.99
None

Brilliant Smart Home System

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Controller for HomeKit free?
Controller for HomeKit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Brilliant Smart Home System free?
Brilliant Smart Home System is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Controller for HomeKit or Brilliant Smart Home System?
Brilliant Smart Home System is rated higher. Controller for HomeKit averages 4.1 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while Brilliant Smart Home System averages 4.8 from 2K ratings.
Do Controller for HomeKit or Brilliant Smart Home System have ads?
Neither Controller for HomeKit nor Brilliant Smart Home System shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Controller for HomeKit or Brilliant Smart Home System?
Controller for HomeKit ships an update every 2 weeks, and Brilliant Smart Home System every 3 weeks. Most recently, Controller for HomeKit was updated on October 27, 2026 and Brilliant Smart Home System on October 24, 2026.

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