Comparison

MRCOOL SmartHVAC vs Ghost Controls

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

Head to head
About

MRCOOL SmartHVAC

Transform your existing MRCOOL air conditioners and heat pumps into smart devices. Control your home's climate remotely via smartphone or voice commands, automate settings based on your location, and set personalized schedules for comfort and energy savings.

Highlights
  • Remote AC and heat pump control
  • Voice command integration (Alexa, Google Home)
  • Location-based automation
  • Weekly scheduling
  • Usage history monitoring
  • Air filter status alerts
  • Intelligent temperature triggers ('Comfy' feature)
Features
Read full description

MRCOOL SmartHVAC App works with MRCOOL Smart Controllers to convert MRCOOL Air Conditioners & Heat Pumps to smart ones. Our smart controllers work with this App to help you convert your existing or new ACs to smart ACs. You can control your MRCOOL ACs through your smartphone or simple voice commands (our smart controllers are Alexa & Google Home enabled). These DIY controllers are extremely easy to setup. You can automatically turn the air conditioner or heat pump OFF when you leave the premises and start to cool/heat once you arrive as per your settings. This App gives you complete control of your heating and cooling. It figures out when you're at home and when you're out and adjusts the settings to provide comfort and energy savings. You can set weekly schedules for your air conditioners, monitor usage history, set air conditioning action in relation to your locations, see the air filter status of your AC and lot more. You can set intelligent temperature based triggers for your air conditioners by using the ‘Comfy’ feature under ‘My Rules’ section of the app. Comfy lets you set triggers to personalize the operation of your AC. It helps you automatically change your AC settings if room temperature goes above or falls below a pre-set value. It helps you reduce your energy bills with lot of convenience. Continued use of GPS running in the background can dramatically decrease battery life.

About

Ghost Controls

Control your automatic gate opener remotely. Open, close, check status, and receive alerts. Schedule gate activity and grant access to others. Requires a compatible control board and the AXMC-R module.

Highlights
  • Remote gate open/close
  • Gate status monitoring
  • Open/close alerts
  • Customizable schedules
  • Grant remote access
  • Diagnostic data sharing
Features
Read full description

The Ghost Controls smart app allows you to easily open, close, check the status of, and help diagnose your automatic gate opener. This app supports all Ghost Controls gate openers that has the AXMC-R module installed. Please note that the AXMC-R module is a separately purchased accessory that does not come standard in standard Ghost Controls Kits. Additional Features: • Setup open and close alerts • Create schedules to open and/or close your automatic gate opener • Grant access to remote users • Select user connection type of Bluetooth or Wifi • View and Send diagnostics data to Ghost Controls to help reduce troubleshooting time For Ghost Controls Smart App control you will need: • A Ghost Controls control board with MultiConnect onboard • Connection to Bluetooth or Wifi To upgrade your existing Ghost Controls control board to one compatible with MultiConnect please visit www.ghostcontrols.com for more information.

Screenshots

MRCOOL SmartHVAC4 screens
Ghost Controls3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: MRCOOL SmartHVAC at 4.7 against Ghost Controls's 2.9. MRCOOL SmartHVAC also leads on update cadence (every 4 weeks vs every 8 months) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). Ghost Controls's advantage is iOS requirement (11.0 vs 13). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

MRCOOL SmartHVAC holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: MRCOOL SmartHVAC has 9.8K ratings behind it against 26, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 50% of MRCOOL SmartHVAC's written reviews are positive against 33% of Ghost Controls's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

MRCOOL SmartHVAC ships an update every 4 weeks, Ghost Controls every 8 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
MRCOOL SmartHVAC versus Ghost Controls: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterMRCOOL SmartHVACGhost Controls
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (9.8K ratings) — better2.9 (26 ratings)
Positive reviews49.7% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings9.8K — better26
Update frequencyEvery 4 weeks — betterEvery 8 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS1311.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size144 MB61 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperCielo WiGle Inc.Assemblabs Ltd

Customer experience

MRCOOL SmartHVAC

All ratings9,834 ratings
Positive93.1%
Neutral2.7%
Negative4.2%
Written reviews175 reviews
Positive49.7%
Neutral16.0%
Negative34.3%

Ghost Controls

All ratings26 ratings
Positive42.3%
Neutral11.5%
Negative46.2%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral6.7%
Negative60.0%

Bugs and requests

MRCOOL SmartHVAC

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • App frequently loses connection to unit
  • Schedules not working as expected
  • Temperature calibration issues
  • Inconsistent behavior between app, remote, and unit

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add Celsius temperature option
  • Improve scheduling functionality (set on and off times)
  • Integrate remote temperature sensor
  • Provide energy usage monitoring
  • Allow multiple user accounts

Ghost Controls

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

MRCOOL SmartHVAC

No in-app purchases

None

Ghost Controls

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is MRCOOL SmartHVAC free?
MRCOOL SmartHVAC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Ghost Controls free?
Ghost Controls is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, MRCOOL SmartHVAC or Ghost Controls?
MRCOOL SmartHVAC is rated higher. MRCOOL SmartHVAC averages 4.7 out of 5 from 9.8K ratings, while Ghost Controls averages 2.9 from 26 ratings.
Do MRCOOL SmartHVAC or Ghost Controls have ads?
Neither MRCOOL SmartHVAC nor Ghost Controls shows ads.
Which is updated more often, MRCOOL SmartHVAC or Ghost Controls?
MRCOOL SmartHVAC ships an update every 4 weeks, and Ghost Controls every 8 months. Most recently, MRCOOL SmartHVAC was updated on September 24, 2026 and Ghost Controls on September 22, 2026.

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