# HC vs SPOTLED

The clearest difference is rating: SPOTLED at 2.7 against HC's 1.4. SPOTLED also leads on review sentiment (45% vs 13%) and ratings volume (160 vs 16). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

SPOTLED holds the better App Store score, 2.7 against 1.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SPOTLED has 160 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 13% of HC's written reviews are positive against 45% of SPOTLED's.

HC ships an update every 2 months, SPOTLED monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 25, 2026 and October 13, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | HC | SPOTLED |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [1.4 (16 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hc-led/id1456460121/reviews) | **[2.7 (160 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spotled/id1564039607/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 16 | **160** |
| Positive reviews | 12.5% of reviews | **45.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 29 MB | 88 MB |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [宇立 叶](https://appshunter.io/developer/1456460120) | [Host No.4 Technology (chengdu) Co., Ltd](https://appshunter.io/developer/1450248090) |

## What reviewers say

### HC

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hc-led/id1456460121)

This application is designed to work with the Xin Yi Hao Cai (HC) series of control cards. It supports various models for animated grayscale full-color, video-level high grayscale full-color, and video-level high grayscale monochrome displays.

**Highlights:** Supports HC-1 control cards, Supports HC-3 control cards, Supports XY-3 control cards, Animated grayscale full-color display, Video-level high grayscale full-color display, Video-level high grayscale monochrome display

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### SPOTLED

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/spotled/id1564039607)

This utility app requires connection to LED hardware to function. It enables control and management of connected LED devices.

**Highlights:** Connects to LED hardware, Controls LED devices, Manages LED hardware

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Decent functionality
- 💡 Interesting concept
- 🚀 Fast app startup

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes
- 🔒 Security concerns
- 🔋 Drains battery quickly
- 👎 Poor user experience

**Reported bugs**

- Bluetooth connectivity issues
- Incorrect display of text/animations
- Firmware update problems
- Registration/login errors

**Requested features**

- Add playlist support
- Improve text editing capabilities
- Provide more font and color options
- Allow custom image/GIF uploads


## Frequently asked questions

### Is HC free?

HC is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is SPOTLED free?

SPOTLED is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, HC or SPOTLED?

SPOTLED is rated higher. HC averages 1.4 out of 5 from 16 ratings, while SPOTLED averages 2.7 from 160 ratings.

### Do HC or SPOTLED have ads?

Neither HC nor SPOTLED shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, HC or SPOTLED?

HC ships an update every 2 months, and SPOTLED monthly. Most recently, HC was updated on September 25, 2026 and SPOTLED on October 13, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*