Comparison

Aqara Home vs Narwal

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

Head to head
About

Aqara Home

Manage and automate your smart home devices remotely. Control lights, monitor sensors, and create custom scenes and automations for a more convenient living experience. Supports a wide range of smart home accessories.

Highlights
  • Remote control of smart accessories
  • Create homes and rooms
  • Monitor appliance status and environmental data
  • Automate actions with timers and triggers
  • Create scenes for multi-device control
  • Siri integration for voice control
Features
Read full description

Aqara Home is an app for smart home automation and control. With Aqara Home, you can: 1. control Aqara accessories anywhere and anytime where there is Internet access; 2. create homes and rooms and assign accessories to the rooms; 3. control your Aqara accessories and check the status of connected appliances. For example: *adjust the brightness of lights and check the power consumption of home appliances; *monitor the temperature, humidity and air pressure; *detect water leak, and human movement; 4. create Automations to automate your home. For example: *set a timer to turn on or off an appliance connected to a smart plug; *use a Door and Window Sensor to trigger lights: turn on lights automatically when the door opens; 5. create Scenes to control multiple accessories. For example, add a Scene to turn on multiple lights and fans; 6. ask Siri to control HomeKit supported Aqara accessories and user defined Scenes; Aqara Home app supports following Aqara accessories: Aqara Hub, Smart Plug, Wireless Remote Switch, LED Light Bulb, Door and Window Sensor, Motion Sensor, Temperature and Humidity Sensor, Vibration Sensor, and Water Leak Sensor. Please see www.aqara.com for more details.

About

Narwal

Remotely control and monitor your cleaning robot from anywhere. Customize cleaning modes, schedules, and spot cleaning for a spotless home. Receive detailed cleaning reports and manage room layouts with no-go zones.

Highlights
  • Remote control and monitoring
  • Multiple cleaning modes
  • Customized cleaning plans
  • Spot cleaning functionality
  • Map management with no-go zones
  • Customized cleaning reports
Features
Read full description

The Narwal app allows you to control the Narwal robots remotely, view its working status anytime you want, from anywhere you are. Using this app, you can unlock the more advanced functions of Narwal! [Multiple Cleaning Modes] Narwal is equipped with 5 cleaning modes, including Freo Mode, Vacuum and Mop, Vacuum then Mop, so that you can choose the one that suits your floor the best. [Customized Cleaning Plans] Long story short, you can customize in any way you want! You get to decide the cleaning sequence, frequency, even the mopping pressure and moisture of the robot via this app, so that you can get the most flawless floor in just one click! [Spot Cleaning] Only one specific area is dirty? You can select that one place on the app, and Freo will head out to clean! [Map Management] Merge and divide rooms as you want! You can even set no-go zones to make sure Freo doesn't intrude! [Customized Cleaning Reports] At the end of each cleaning plan, you can see how Freo made your floor spotless through a customized and engaging short video!

Screenshots

Aqara Home4 screens
Narwal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Aqara Home at 4.7 against Narwal's 3.7. Aqara Home also leads on ratings volume (7.3K vs 617). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Aqara Home holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Aqara Home has 7.3K ratings behind it against 617, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 41% and 41% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Aqara Home versus Narwal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAqara HomeNarwal
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (7.3K ratings) — better3.7 (617 ratings)
Positive reviews41.4% of reviews — better41.1% of reviews
Number of ratings7.3K — better617
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.115.1
Further details — not scored
Size539 MB322 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAqara Software Service Co.,Ltd.Yunjing Intelligence Innovation (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.

Customer experience

Aqara Home

All ratings7,263 ratings
Positive94.2%
Neutral1.2%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews1,482 reviews
Positive41.4%
Neutral11.5%
Negative47.1%

Narwal

All ratings617 ratings
Positive64.8%
Neutral5.7%
Negative29.5%
Written reviews375 reviews
Positive41.1%
Neutral9.6%
Negative49.3%

User reviews

Aqara Home

From 7.3K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy setup
  • 👍 User-friendly app
  • 🔒 Reliable hardware
  • 💡 Extensive automation capabilities
  • 🚀 Seamless HomeKit integration

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy app with crashes and glitches
  • 👎 Confusing and unintuitive UI
  • 🔋 Battery drain issues
  • 🚫 Lack of dark mode
  • 🚫 Unreliable notifications

Narwal

From 617 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great machine, easy to operate
  • 👍 Dependable and helps with allergies
  • 💡 Excellent app and device
  • 👍 Fantastic cleaning performance
  • 👍 Seamless on hardwood and carpets

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Mapping and room splitting issues
  • 🐛 Connectivity problems with app
  • 🐛 Buggy and unstable app
  • 🐛 Difficult to use app interface
  • 🐛 Lack of push notifications and status updates

Bugs and requests

Aqara Home

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes on opening
  • Devices disappearing from app
  • Incorrect temperature/humidity readings
  • Delayed or missing doorbell notifications
  • Inability to delete detection zones

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add sunset/sunrise automation
  • Improve camera timeline scrubbing
  • Enable 12-hour time format
  • Provide more customization options
  • Improve Alexa/Google Home integration

Narwal

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • App crashes and freezes
  • Connectivity issues between app and robot
  • Mapping errors and inability to edit maps
  • Unreliable scheduling and cleaning tasks
  • Unexpected robot behavior and getting stuck
Show 1 more
  • Compatibility issues with newer iOS versions

Requested features

7 requests
  • Ability to split rooms and create custom zones
  • Improved mapping and room editing features
  • More scheduling options (e.g., every 2 weeks, monthly)
  • Integration with voice assistants
  • Ability to order replacement parts directly from the app
Show 2 more
  • Improved notification system and status updates
  • Easier access to maintenance information and reminders

In-app purchases

None

Aqara Home

No in-app purchases

None

Narwal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Aqara Home free?
Aqara Home is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Narwal free?
Narwal is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Aqara Home or Narwal?
Aqara Home is rated higher. Aqara Home averages 4.7 out of 5 from 7.3K ratings, while Narwal averages 3.7 from 617 ratings.
Do Aqara Home or Narwal have ads?
Neither Aqara Home nor Narwal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Aqara Home or Narwal?
Aqara Home ships an update every 2 weeks, and Narwal every 2 weeks. Most recently, Aqara Home was updated on September 24, 2026 and Narwal on September 22, 2026.

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