# Hue Essentials vs bonappo pay

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: bonappo pay at none against Hue Essentials's 8. bonappo pay also leads on update cadence (every 3 days vs every 2 weeks). Hue Essentials's advantage is device support (5 vs 2). On price, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

Hue Essentials ships an update every 2 weeks, bonappo pay every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hue Essentials | bonappo pay |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 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 | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | **Every 3 days** |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Size | 271 MB | 36 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 15.1 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Thomas Vos](https://appshunter.io/developer/1462943920) | [Bonappo LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1621753111) |

## 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


### bonappo pay

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bonappo-pay/id6737230917)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Wallet

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Hue Essentials free?

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

### Is bonappo pay free?

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

### Do Hue Essentials or bonappo pay have ads?

Neither Hue Essentials nor bonappo pay shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Hue Essentials or bonappo pay?

Hue Essentials ships an update every 2 weeks, and bonappo pay every 3 days. Most recently, Hue Essentials was updated on October 26, 2026 and bonappo pay on October 25, 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.*