Comparison

BroadLink vs Cava Guard

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

Head to head
About

BroadLink

Manage all your smart home devices from one place, anywhere in the world. Control lighting, appliances, security, and more with intelligent automation and one-button scene control. Features zero-configuration setup for compatible devices.

Highlights
  • Remote device management
  • Intelligent power control
  • Lighting control
  • IR and RF remote control
  • Security and sensor integration
  • Scene creation
  • Zero configuration device setup
Features
Read full description

The new BroadLink super app lets you manage all BroadLink and compatible products in your home from anywhere in the world at any time, enjoying smart life style with intelligent power control, lighting control, IR and RF remote control, security protection, sensors, home appliances, etc. With BroadLink app, you can easily set triggers for interaction or scenes for one-button control of multiple devices. Also new FastCon technology is adopted in BroadLink app which enables you to add FastCon compatible devices without configuration process (Zero Configuration). If you have any questions, please click the "Feedback" Button in the "Help and Feedback" of the App.

About

Cava Guard

Features
Read full description

Cava Guard watches the temperature inside your wine fridge and tells you the moment something is wrong — including when the sensor itself goes quiet. IMPORTANT: THIS APP NEEDS HARDWARE YOU RUN YOURSELF Cava Guard is the iPhone client for a small monitoring server that runs on your own Raspberry Pi, with a Zigbee temperature sensor inside the fridge. Without that server the app has nothing to show you. Everything you need is listed at cavaguard.com. You do not need any of it to look first: tap "Look around without a Pi" on the opening screen to explore a sample cellar with invented readings. WHAT IT DOES • Live temperature from every sensor, and the history behind it — six hours to a year, with the highs and lows that an averaged reading hides. • Alerts that break through. Set a range per fridge; going outside it sends a time-sensitive notification that Focus does not hold back. • Alerts on silence. A sensor that stops reporting raises an alarm of its own. A monitor that fails quietly is worse than no monitor at all. • Battery and signal strength for every sensor, so a dying cell is something you replace rather than something you discover. • More than one place. A fridge in another house is simply another server in the list, and alerts reach you from all of them. WHAT IT DOES NOT DO • No cloud. Readings travel from the sensor to your Pi and from your Pi to your phone. There is no service in the middle, because there is no service. • No account. Nothing to sign up for and nothing to sign in to. • No subscription, no advertising, no analytics. The app is free and collects nothing whatsoever. AWAY FROM HOME At home the app talks to your Pi directly over your own network. To reach it from anywhere else it uses Tailscale, which you turn on from inside the app — no ports opened on your router, no dynamic DNS, and a real certificate.

Screenshots

BroadLink3 screens
Cava Guard4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Cava Guard at every 2 days against BroadLink's monthly. BroadLink's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). 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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

BroadLink ships an update monthly, Cava Guard every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
BroadLink versus Cava Guard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBroadLinkCava Guard
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.3 (2.6K ratings) — better—
Positive reviews57.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings2.6K — better—
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size167 MB4 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperBroadlink Co.,LtdLastingNote LLC

Bugs and requests

BroadLink

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Scenes not working as expected
  • Frequent app crashes
  • Devices going offline randomly
  • Alexa integration issues

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to customize button layouts
  • Integration with more smart home platforms
  • Improved scheduling and automation features
  • Temperature display in Fahrenheit
  • Backup and restore functionality

Cava Guard

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

BroadLink

No in-app purchases

None

Cava Guard

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is BroadLink free?
BroadLink is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Cava Guard free?
Cava Guard is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do BroadLink or Cava Guard have ads?
Neither BroadLink nor Cava Guard shows ads.
Which is updated more often, BroadLink or Cava Guard?
BroadLink ships an update monthly, and Cava Guard every 2 days. Most recently, BroadLink was updated on November 2, 2026 and Cava Guard on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons