Comparison

HSBuddy vs Insteon Director

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

Head to head
About

HSBuddy

Control your HomeSeer home automation system from your mobile device and Apple Watch. Manage devices, run events, view camera feeds, and create custom dashboards. Automate tasks with Siri shortcuts and widgets.

Highlights
  • Control and edit devices
  • Run and edit events
  • View camera feeds
  • Customizable dashboards
  • Siri shortcuts
  • Home Screen widgets
  • Push notifications
Features
Read full description

HSBuddy is a free application for iOS® that turns your mobile device into the ultimate companion for your HomeSeer® home automation system. With the included Apple Watch companion app you can take control of your home from your wrist! Certain features require an additional HomeSeer controller plug-in which you can install from the plug-in manager in your HomeSeer configuration pages. Look for HSBuddy under the User Interfaces section. Complement your home automation experience and use HSBuddy to: • Control and edit devices • Run and edit events • View history of device state changes * • View images from your home cameras ** • Create your own customized dashboards • Speed up your daily automation tasks » Create Siri shortcuts » Place Widgets for your Home Screen • Send push-notifications to your devices as part of your server events • Browse your HomeSeer server logs * • Enable geo-location on the app and location-based events * • Automatically switch between local-WiFi and remote connectivity to your server based on your location. • Connect to multiple HomeSeer servers and switch quickly between them • Use Smart Tags to quickly control a device or run an event by tapping a tag with your phone *Requires installing the free HSBuddy HomeSeer controller plug-in **Compatible with some existing HomeSeer controller camera plug-ins To use this app you need a running instance of HomeSeer. To find out more, visit http://www.homeseer.com For more information and troubleshooting help, go to http://hsbuddy.avglabs.net

About

Insteon Director

This app offers a redesigned home management experience with quick access to devices and scenes. It introduces new scheduling features, including sunrise/sunset offsets, and improved sensor monitoring. Enjoy faster performance for device control and scene creation.

Highlights
  • Redesigned interface with bold tiles
  • One-touch actions for multiple devices
  • Favorites management
  • Schedules view with sunrise/sunset offsets
  • Sensor check-in tracking
  • Faster device control and scene creation
Features
Read full description

Hello everyone! If you are a user of the older Insteon for Hub app, are using a Hub 2 (2245-222), and haven’t yet tried this newer app version, here are some great enhancements to know about: This app is an entirely new experience, redesigned to simplify how you manage your home. Bold tiles give you quick access to your devices and scenes. New one-touch actions make it easy to quickly control multiple devices in your home all from the same screen. And adding favorites is now as simple as tapping a single icon. The app also brings new features to Insteon, including a Schedules view that makes it easier to see what’s happening in your home throughout the day. We’ve also added one of the most-requested features to schedules: sunrise and sunset offsets, so your scenes can occur up to 4 hours before or after the sun goes up or down in your local area. We’ve added sensor check-in tracking so that if your sensor supports heartbeat broadcasts, we will let you know when it’s time to check the battery or other communication issues. You’ll also find that everything in the app is faster. From logging in to navigating between screens, you can expect a faster, fluid experience. Statuses display quickly—no more waiting for each individual device to update. You’ll see the most significant improvements in creating and editing scenes. We’ve completely overhauled how we manage scene updates, in many cases bringing the experience down from minutes to seconds (depending on scene complexity). Here are some high-level things you should know about the new mobile app before you dive in. --Faster time from launch to device control - Depending on device you can be in less than 3 seconds from launch --Faster scene creation - Depending on the complexity of the scene, up to 80% faster in some cases --Easier scheduling – Schedule multiple devices for the same time without the need to create scenes [Device Support] Wired-in Devices --i3 Dial, Paddle, Outlet and Keypad --Paddle Switch and Dimmer --Toggle Switch and Dimmer --Keypad On/Off and Dimmer --Inline On/Off and Dimmer --Micro On/Off, Dimmer, and Open/Close --Dual Outlet --Outlet Dimmer --Ceiling Fan and Light Controller --240V Controller --Ballast Dimmer --Din Rail On/Off and Dimmer --Wired Thermostat Plug-ins and bulbs: --Dimmer Module --On/Off Module --Outdoor On/Off Module --LED Bulbs --I/O Module (aka IOLinc) --Siren --Range Extender Sensors: --Hidden Door Sensor --Open Close Sensor --Leak Sensor --Motion Sensor --Motion Sensor II [Requirements] Compatible with North American Hub 2 (2245-222) and requires access to Insteon Hub service. Learn more at http://www.insteon.com/hub

Screenshots

HSBuddy4 screens
Insteon Director4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: HSBuddy at 76% against Insteon Director's 32%. HSBuddy also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.8) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Insteon Director's advantage is update cadence (monthly vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (164 vs 29). On price, 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

HSBuddy holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Insteon Director has 164 ratings behind it against 29, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 76% of HSBuddy's written reviews are positive against 32% of Insteon Director's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HSBuddy ships an update every 2 months, Insteon Director monthly. Both last shipped on November 2, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 3 level
HSBuddy versus Insteon Director: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHSBuddyInsteon Director
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (29 ratings) — better2.8 (164 ratings)
Positive reviews76.5% of reviews — better31.9% of reviews
Number of ratings29164 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size60 MB47 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAntonio Vargas GarciaInsteon Technologies

Customer experience

HSBuddy

All ratings29 ratings
Positive86.2%
Neutral3.4%
Negative10.3%
Written reviews17 reviews
Positive76.5%
Neutral5.9%
Negative17.6%

Insteon Director

All ratings164 ratings
Positive40.2%
Neutral11.0%
Negative48.8%
Written reviews94 reviews
Positive31.9%
Neutral14.9%
Negative53.2%

Bugs and requests

HSBuddy

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Insteon Director

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Login issues and inability to reset password
  • Devices not showing up in the app
  • Scenes not working as expected
  • Crashes and freezes when using the app

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for Insteon thermostats and cameras
  • Improve device status reporting accuracy
  • Introduce landscape mode and iPad-specific layout
  • Allow customization of button/icon sizes
  • Preserve existing scenes and automations

In-app purchases

None

HSBuddy

No in-app purchases

None

Insteon Director

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HSBuddy free?
HSBuddy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Insteon Director free?
Insteon Director is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, HSBuddy or Insteon Director?
HSBuddy is rated higher. HSBuddy averages 4.6 out of 5 from 29 ratings, while Insteon Director averages 2.8 from 164 ratings.
Do HSBuddy or Insteon Director have ads?
Neither HSBuddy nor Insteon Director shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HSBuddy or Insteon Director?
HSBuddy ships an update every 2 months, and Insteon Director monthly. Most recently, HSBuddy was updated on November 2, 2026 and Insteon Director on November 2, 2026.

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