# Hue Essentials vs Soltaro

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Hue Essentials at 38% against Soltaro's 0%. Hue Essentials also leads on device support (5 vs 3). Soltaro's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 15.0). On price and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Hue Essentials sells 8 one-off in-app purchases. Soltaro asks for nothing beyond the download.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hue Essentials | Soltaro |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.2 (141 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hue-essentials/id1462943921/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **141** | — |
| Positive reviews | **37.8% of reviews** | 0.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | — |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 271 MB | 27 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **9.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | [Thomas Vos](https://appshunter.io/developer/1462943920) | [SI SOLAR, K.K.](https://appshunter.io/developer/1062162825) |

## What reviewers say

### Hue Essentials

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hue-essentials/id1462943921)

Unlock the full potential of your smart lighting system. Create custom scenes, dynamic effects, and automate your lights with schedules and triggers. Control multiple smart home bridges and devices seamlessly for a personalized ambiance.

**Highlights:** Custom scenes and effects, Music and entertainment sync, Sunrise/sunset automation, Multi-bridge control, Device discovery and setup, Button and sensor automation, Away from home control

**Features:** Family Sharing, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (8)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Effects: Christmas | $0.99 | one-time |
| Effects: Universe | $0.99 | one-time |
| Effects: Wonders of nature | $0.99 | one-time |
| Effects: Romantic | $0.99 | one-time |
| Effects: Floral fantasy | $0.99 | one-time |
| Effects: Spooky | $0.99 | one-time |
| Multiple bridges | $4.99 | one-time |
| Premium | $7.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent Hue lighting control
- 👍 Works well with multiple bridges
- 💡 Customizable remote controls
- 🚀 Faster than official Hue app

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
- 🔒 In-app purchases required for key features
- 👎 Poor execution and user experience
- 🔋 Widgets and Apple Watch app not working

**Reported bugs**

- Fade feature not working
- Saving automations not working
- Crashes when checking 'About' section
- Widgets and Apple Watch app issues

**Requested features**

- Repeat/loop function for automations
- Strobing/flashing effects
- Dark mode
- Alexa integration


### Soltaro

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/soltaro/id1472111554)

Manage your solar power plants with this app. It connects to cloud servers for real-time monitoring and displays all data and history in clear graphs.

**Highlights:** Cloud server integration, Real-time solar power plant management, Quick and easy monitoring, Data and history visualization, Graph-based data display

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Hue Essentials free?

Hue Essentials is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Soltaro free?

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

### Do Hue Essentials or Soltaro have ads?

Neither Hue Essentials nor Soltaro shows ads.

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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.*