Comparison

Controller for HomeKit vs Refoss

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

Experience and control your Apple Home in a whole new way with Controller for HomeKit. Our app combines all the familiar HomeKit features with numerous additional enhancements, offering you a user-friendly interface, unparalleled control, and flexibility. * CONTROLLER AI: Describe a scene, automation, or workflow in everyday language – Controller builds it for you. * FLOOR PLAN: Create a detailed floor plan of your home using the LiDAR sensor on your iPhone or iPad and control your HomeKit accessories directly through the floor plan. * CHARTS: See how your Apple Home evolves over time. Charts in Controller for HomeKit show how values like temperature, humidity or battery usage change – across all your devices and brands. * COMPLEX AUTOMATIONS: Utilize advanced triggers and conditions for custom automations that are perfectly tailored to your needs. * WORKFLOWS: Optimize your daily routines with workflows that go beyond the capabilities of Apple Home. * NOTIFICATIONS: Create custom notifications to stay informed about important events in your home. * BACKUPS: Secure your setup and restore it easily when needed. * SMART FOLDERS: Organize your devices and automations effortlessly with smart folders and custom filters. * SETUP CODES: Securely store your HomeKit and Matter codes in the app, so they are always at hand and never lost. * MAINTENANCE: Keep track of your setup, quickly identifying which batteries need to be replaced, which devices are unreachable, or which automations are broken. * LOGS: Monitor all activities and changes in your smart home. * WIDGETS: Control your devices faster and easier with convenient widgets or quickly jump into your floor plan. Unlock the full potential of your smart home with Controller for HomeKit. Download the app now and experience how simple and intuitive home automation can be. For more information, visit our website: https://www.controllerforhomekit.com Privacy Policy: https://controllerforhomekit.com/privacy-en/ Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Refoss

Control and manage your home automation devices remotely. Schedule device operations, monitor their status, and integrate with voice assistants for hands-free control. Enjoy peace of mind knowing your electronics are managed efficiently.

Highlights
  • Remote on/off control
  • Automated work plans
  • Voice assistant integration
  • Device status monitoring
  • Manage smart plugs
Read full description

Refoss mainly focuses on home automation gadgets. Currently, there are products such as smart plug on the market. Customers can plug the device on it and easily manage the following functions through the Refoss app: 1. Turn on/off electronic devices anytime, anywhere through the Refoss app. 2. Create an on/off work plan to let the equipment work automatically according to the plan. 3. Link your Refoss smart devices to voice assistant, you can easily control the device with your voice. 4. View the on/off status of connected devices from anywhere for peace of mind.

Screenshots

Controller for HomeKit4 screens
Refoss4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Refoss at 87% against Controller for HomeKit's 26%. Refoss also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 10) and rating (4.5 vs 4.1). Controller for HomeKit's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 5 weeks) and ratings volume (2.7K vs 125). On price and ads 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 8 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Refoss asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Refoss holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Controller for HomeKit has 2.7K ratings behind it against 125, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 26% of Controller for HomeKit's written reviews are positive against 87% of Refoss's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Controller for HomeKit ships an update every 10 days, Refoss every 5 weeks. Both last shipped on October 12, 2026.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Controller for HomeKit versus Refoss: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterController for HomeKitRefoss
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.1 (2.7K ratings)4.5 (125 ratings) — better
Positive reviews26.0% of reviews87.4% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.7K — better125
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 5 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS17.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size212 MB224 MB
Age rating4+4+
Developeracasa Software GmbHFLEXBEE HK LIMITED

Customer experience

Controller for HomeKit

All ratings2,726 ratings
Positive75.8%
Neutral4.7%
Negative19.6%
Written reviews457 reviews
Positive26.0%
Neutral9.6%
Negative64.3%

Refoss

All ratings116 ratings
Positive91.4%
Neutral0.9%
Negative7.8%
Written reviews222 reviews
Positive87.4%
Neutral1.8%
Negative10.8%

User reviews

Controller for HomeKit

From 2.7K 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

Refoss

From 125 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to set up
  • 🚀 Works well
  • 🚀 Reliable
  • 🚀 Precise measurements
  • 🚀 Responsive app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent disconnections
  • 🐛 Incorrect status reporting
  • 🐛 Buggy app
  • 🐛 Unreliable door control
  • 🐛 Confusing setup process

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

Refoss

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App frequently loses login credentials
  • Incorrect door status reporting
  • Failure to connect and control devices
  • Outdated app version not allowing new features

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to set different electricity rates based on time of day and day of week
  • More detailed energy consumption data (hourly/minute-level)
  • Apple Watch app
  • CarPlay integration
  • Ability to pause/stop door operation mid-cycle

In-app purchases

8 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-time2
  • Controller Essentials Lifetime$99.99
  • Controller Essentials Lifetime$139.99
None

Refoss

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Controller for HomeKit free?
Controller for HomeKit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Refoss free?
Refoss is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Controller for HomeKit or Refoss?
Refoss is rated higher. Controller for HomeKit averages 4.1 out of 5 from 2.7K ratings, while Refoss averages 4.5 from 125 ratings.
Do Controller for HomeKit or Refoss have ads?
Neither Controller for HomeKit nor Refoss shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Controller for HomeKit or Refoss?
Controller for HomeKit ships an update every 10 days, and Refoss every 5 weeks. Most recently, Controller for HomeKit was updated on October 12, 2026 and Refoss on October 12, 2026.

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