Comparison

Knocki vs Shelly Smart Control

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

Head to head
About

Knocki

Turn any surface into a smart home controller. Create custom tap gestures to activate lights, music, and other connected devices. Works with popular smart home platforms.

Highlights
  • Transform surfaces into touch controls
  • Control smart home devices
  • Create custom tap gestures
  • Works with Alexa, IFTTT, Philips Hue, and more
  • Trigger task lists with gestures
  • Works via WiFi independently of phone
Features
Read full description

Transform entire walls or tables into touch controls for your favorite smart home functions. With just a few taps on a regular surface, you can control your lights, find your lost phone, and much more! Knocki works with Alexa, IFTTT, Philips Hue, Lifx, TP-Link, Sonos, Honeywell, Schlage, and more! The Knocki app lets you setup your Knocki device(s), connect to your smart devices and services, and create custom gestures (tap patterns) to trigger specific tasks or even groups of tasks all at once (called "task lists"). Once Knocki is set up, it works through WiFi, even if your phone isn't around. Popular Tasks include: - Tap your nightstand to turn off the lights. - Tap your coffee table to boot up the TV. - Tap your front door to lock the door and turn off all the house lights. - and much more! Explore what Knocki can do or get your own Knocki at http://knocki.com - Have questions? Reach out to us at support@knocki.com

About

Shelly Smart Control

Remotely monitor and control smart home devices from anywhere, either through the cloud or your local network. Manage lights, appliances, and sensors, and create custom automation scenes. Supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and LAN connectivity for seamless integration.

Highlights
  • Remote device control
  • Local network control
  • Device monitoring
  • Custom scheduling
  • Scene creation
  • Energy consumption monitoring
  • Real-time alerts
Features
Read full description

This app offers the possibility to control all Shelly devices remotely. You can monitor and control your devices from anywhere (by using the cloud option) or, if you do not want the Cloud option, you will still be able to monitor and control your devices from within your local network. Shelly devices do not need to be connected to the cloud or to send data there. The Shelly Home Automation portfolio includes a variety of relay switches, sensors, plugs, bulbs, and other controllers, all connected and controlled through your Wi-Fi network. The new Shelly Plus and Shelly Pro lines of products additionally support Bluetooth connectivity for faster device inclusion and communication, and the new Shelly Pro line offers LAN and Wi-Fi usage simultaneously. The entire Shelly portfolio is available at https://shelly.cloud/ Shelly devices are suitable to control lights, garage doors, curtains, window blinds, or other appliances, trigger actions based on certain parameters from sensor devices. Devices provide near real time notification on changes of the parameters they are measuring - energy consumption, temperature other environment values. All Shelly devices have: - Embedded Web server - Wi-Fi control and connectivity - APIs for observation and control A user account is required to access, include, and control Shelly devices through the application. Once Shelly account is registered, you can: - Connect the devices to an existing W-Fi network or use their Access Point mode locally to control other Shelly devices; - Include, manage, and operate as many Shelly devices as you need; - Configure devices and manage individual settings on every device; - Configure custom scheduling for automatic actions; - Create personalized rooms for more convenient organising and control of the devices; - Define custom Groups of devices to control multiple devices with one command within the app; - Build simple and complex scenes by combining Shelly devices to trigger certain actions in your home automation; - Monitor current and past electrical power consumption of the electrical circuit(s) and loads (for Shelly devices equipped with Power-measuring capabilities); - Build complex automation solutions for improved energy and operational efficiency; - Receive real time alerts and notifications based on your preference. Shelly devices are compatible with other widely used both local and cloud-based home automation platforms like Google Home or Alexa.

Screenshots

Knocki4 screens
Shelly Smart Control4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Shelly Smart Control at every 2 weeks against Knocki's every 2 months. Shelly Smart Control also leads on review sentiment (48% vs 31%) and ratings volume (82 vs 9). Knocki's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 3.3 for Knocki against 3.2 for Shelly Smart Control. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Shelly Smart Control has 82 ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 31% of Knocki's written reviews are positive against 48% of Shelly Smart Control's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Knocki ships an update every 2 months, Shelly Smart Control every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 20, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Knocki versus Shelly Smart Control: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterKnockiShelly Smart Control
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.3 (9 ratings) — better3.2 (82 ratings)
Positive reviews30.8% of reviews47.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings982 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size74 MB233 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHaptic, Inc.SHELLY EUROPE EOOD

Customer experience

Knocki

All ratings9 ratings
Positive55.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative44.4%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive30.8%
Neutral15.4%
Negative53.8%

Shelly Smart Control

All ratings82 ratings
Positive53.7%
Neutral8.5%
Negative37.8%
Written reviews143 reviews
Positive47.6%
Neutral12.6%
Negative39.9%

In-app purchases

None

Knocki

No in-app purchases

None

Shelly Smart Control

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Knocki free?
Knocki is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Shelly Smart Control free?
Shelly Smart Control is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Knocki or Shelly Smart Control?
Knocki is rated higher. Knocki averages 3.3 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Shelly Smart Control averages 3.2 from 82 ratings.
Do Knocki or Shelly Smart Control have ads?
Neither Knocki nor Shelly Smart Control shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Knocki or Shelly Smart Control?
Knocki ships an update every 2 months, and Shelly Smart Control every 2 weeks. Most recently, Knocki was updated on September 20, 2026 and Shelly Smart Control on September 24, 2026.

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