Comparison

Bright vs Simple Solar

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

Head to head
About

Bright

Track your electricity and gas usage in real-time from your smart meters. This app helps you manage energy consumption and spend more efficiently, contributing to carbon reduction goals. Requires compatible hardware for full functionality.

Highlights
  • Real-time energy consumption monitoring
  • Electricity and gas usage tracking
  • Smart meter data access via DCC or CAD
  • Clamp-on sensor support for electricity
  • Energy spend management
  • Carbon efficiency goals
Features
Read full description

Monitor your energy consumption anytime, anywhere with Bright. For real-time data you need Glowmarkt compatible hardware (https://shop.glowmarkt.com/) - which works with either smart or traditional meters. People with SMETS2 (or E&A SMETS 1) meters can access their half hourly data with Bright for free, once they go through our verification process. Bright lets you check your energy consumption, this could be electricity and gas usage from your smart meters, via the DCC or our Consumer Access Device (CAD). Clamp-on technology sensors can support electricity usage monitoring. Our goal is to help you manage your energy consumption and spend more efficiently as we all strive to become more carbon efficient. To see our Frequently Asked Questions go to: https://glowmarkt.com/#/faqs/apps For more information or any questions please contact: support@glowmarkt.com Join the Glow community (https://forum.glowmarkt.com/).

About

Simple Solar

Features
Read full description

Simple Solar is the fastest, simplest way to control your SunSynk inverter. Make changes in seconds, not minutes — no clutter, no confusing menus, just clear control. Edit battery schedules instantly with a powerful visual editor, or use quick toggles to override charging, discharging, and grid export on the fly. Monitor your solar generation, battery status, and home energy consumption in real time from one clean, reliable dashboard. Core Features: • Edit battery schedules in seconds with an intuitive visual editor • Instant on/off toggles for battery charge, discharge, and export • Real-time energy flow visualisation • Daily, weekly, and monthly energy statistics • Support for multiple plants and parallel inverters Simple Solar Pro unlocks advanced automation: • Smart Tariff Integration – Automatically charge during cheap Octopus Intelligent Go slots • Custom Schedules – Fine-grained time-based rules for grid and battery control • Push Notifications – Alerts for low battery, high load, and system events • Monthly Reports – Detailed energy summaries exportable as PDF • Ad-free experience • Smart Tariff Automation – Supports Octopus Intelligent Go, Cosy, Flux and Go, plus E.ON Next, EDF GoElectric, British Gas, ScottishPower, Good Energy and fully custom tariffs. Automatically charge your battery during the cheapest slots, including extra cheap “bump” slots your provider signals through the day, and sell stored energy back during peak export periods or before your guaranteed cheap period starts. • Solar-Aware Charging – Only tops up from the grid by as much as your predicted solar won’t cover, helping you avoid over-buying energy. • Custom Schedules – Fine-grained time-of-use rules for grid and battery control. • Push Notifications – Alerts for low battery, high load and system events. • Monthly Reports – Detailed energy summaries exportable as PDF. • Ad-free experience. Terms of Use: https://minutiamobile.com/marketing/simpleSolar/terms.html Privacy Policy: https://minutiamobile.com/marketing/simpleSolar/privacy.html

Screenshots

Bright4 screens
Simple Solar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Bright at none against Simple Solar's 4. Bright also leads on iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.6). Simple Solar's advantage is update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months). On price, ads and device support 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. Simple Solar sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Bright asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Bright ships an update every 2 months, Simple Solar every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Bright versus Simple Solar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBrightSimple Solar
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews50.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS13.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size40 MB73 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHILDEBRAND TECHNOLOGY LTDMinutia Mobile

Bugs and requests

Bright

Reported bugs

28 issues
  • App crashes
  • Data not loading
  • Login issues
  • Registration errors
  • Password reset emails not received
Show 23 more
  • Graphs too tall for screen
  • Inconsistent billing data
  • App stopped working
  • Tariff information outdated
  • Login issues with password managers
  • Slow data loading
  • Gas cost not showing
  • Comparison views broken
  • Font changed to Times New Roman
  • Doesn't remember login
  • App won't load anything on iOS 15.3
  • Duplicate meters showing
  • Server outage caused no data
  • Smart meter display not recognized
  • Authentication details not sent
  • Login button not clickable until character re-typed
  • Comparison views broken
  • Gas Tariff not found
  • App won't work on IOS 15.3
  • Doesn't remember login
  • Login button not clickable until character re-typed
  • Gas Tariff not found
  • App won't work on IOS 15.3

Requested features

8 requests
  • Export data (CSV)
  • More data analysis
  • iOS widget
  • Support for dual-rate electricity tariffs (Economy 7)
  • Apple Watch version
Show 3 more
  • Ability for customer to override incorrect supplier data
  • Face-ID login
  • Live gas usage in graphical fashion

Simple Solar

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Bright

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Simple Solar

Subscriptions2
  • Automation7 Days trial$6.991 Month
  • Yearly Subscription7 Days trial$59.001 Year
One-time2
  • Remove Ads$2.99
  • Remove Ad's$2.99

Questions

Is Bright free?
Bright is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Simple Solar free?
Simple Solar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Bright or Simple Solar have ads?
Neither Bright nor Simple Solar shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Bright or Simple Solar?
Bright ships an update every 2 months, and Simple Solar every 3 weeks. Most recently, Bright was updated on October 24, 2026 and Simple Solar on October 30, 2026.

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