Comparison

Hue Essentials vs Command for Philips Hue

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

Head to head
About

Hue Essentials

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
Read full description

Imagine unlimited possibilities in your smart home. Set scenes and fast effects to your mood. Experience Dance Sensation in your entertainment area with Philips Hue Entertainment. Feel more in control with schedules and automation from sunrise to sunset. Control multiple bridges simultaneously without switching between them. Supported devices • Philips Hue bridge • Philips Hue Bluetooth lights • deCONZ (ConBee) • diyHue • LIFX Scenes & effects Create the perfect ambiance from your photos or the included photo library. Experience special animations like lava, fireplace, fireworks, or lightning. Wake up at sunrise and go to sleep at sunset with fading lights. Get into the party on the beats of your music. Sync your lights for a night of disco with strobe effects (updates 25 times/sec). Quick access Create rooms and groups to organize your lights. You can even put a light in several groups. Smart lights & controls The unique ‘Touchlink’ search allows you to find new (3rd party, Zigbee) lights. Use included wizards for easy setup of your devices. You can set scenes, actions, or even multiple scenes on a button to make your switch a real investment. Experience the right ambiance during different times of your day with your motion sensor. All of your creations are stored on the bridge. Easy for you and your family. Advanced Automation allows you to have greater control of your smart home. Turn on your lights when the door opens. Adjust your ventilation when the humidity gets too high. Open or close blinds and curtains based on temperature or sunshine. Make it look like you are at home using 'Away from Home' (out of home control). Communicate directly with your Hue bridge using the API debugger. View technical details of your Hue bridge and update its resources like lights and sensors. You want it all? Fast performance with ad-free experience. Purchase the premium version to unlock full content.

About

Command for Philips Hue

Take full control of your smart lights with advanced features not found in the official app. Create custom scenes, manage multiple bridges, and even sync lights with entertainment.

Highlights
  • Precise color wheel with XY color space accuracy
  • Powerful scene builder for static or dynamic palettes
  • Circadian rhythm lighting with automatic adjustments
  • Remote access and control from anywhere
  • Switch and button programming for custom actions
  • Energy usage tracking per light and room
  • Entertainment streaming for light synchronization
Features
Read full description

Command is the fast, dependable way to control your lights. It opens straight to your rooms and responds instantly, and your rooms are one swipe away in Control Center and on the Lock Screen. At bedtime, Goodnight fades any room gently to off. NEW IN 1.2 • Instant: opens straight to your rooms, with lights and scenes that respond the moment you tap • All On and All Off for the whole house • Goodnight: fade any room to off over 1 to 60 minutes. It runs on your Bridge, even after you close the app • Room toggles in Control Center, on the Lock Screen and on the Action button (iOS 18 or later) • Always in sync: reconnects on its own, finds your Bridge if its address changes, shows live sensors and batteries, and tells you if a change fails • Made for iPad and iPhone Duo: more rooms at a glance, a side tab bar and a fold-aware layout • Demo mode: explore every feature before you connect a Bridge COMPLETE LIGHT CONTROL • Precise color picker with accurate XY color • Color harmony overlays: complementary, analogous, triadic, split complementary • Brightness, color temperature and on/off for every light SCENES • Create static or dynamic palette scenes and save them to your Bridge • Set per-light colors visually, then name and save • Activate scenes from room cards or the scene library EFFECTS THAT STAY ON • Candle, Fireplace and other animated effects • Effects that run on your Bridge keep glowing after you close the app ROOMS AT A GLANCE • Every room with its live light status • Quick toggle, brightness and scenes for each room • Sensor and accessory status: motion, temperature, battery CIRCADIAN LIGHTING • Color temperature that follows the day • Sunrise and sunset times based on your location • Presets for wake, focus, relax and sleep ENTERTAINMENT & MUSIC SYNC • Real-time 25 Hz light streaming through the Entertainment API • Music sync with 5-band frequency analysis SWITCH & BUTTON PROGRAMMING • Assign custom actions to dimmer switches, Tap, Smart Button and other switches • Toggle rooms, start scenes or set brightness with any button press GEOFENCING • Start scenes automatically when you arrive or leave • Processed on your device, with a custom radius per location REMOTE ACCESS • Control your lights from anywhere, not just on your home network • Secure OAuth sign-in ENERGY • Estimated energy use per light and per room • Daily, weekly and monthly kWh trends MULTI-BRIDGE • Connect and manage several Bridges at once • Each Bridge keeps its own rooms and scenes ON ALL YOUR APPLE DEVICES • Native apps for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV and Apple Vision Pro • Apple Watch companion and Home Screen widgets • One Command Pro purchase works on all your Apple devices Requires Bridge v2 or Bridge Pro. Control Center, Lock Screen and Action button controls need iOS 18 or later. Light and room control, scenes, effects and circadian lighting are free. Command Pro adds remote access, multiple Bridges, automations, switch programming, energy insights and more, with a monthly or yearly subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase. Command is an independent app and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Signify or Philips. Philips and Hue are trademarks of Signify Holding. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://huecommand.com/privacy

Screenshots

Hue Essentials4 screens
Command for Philips Hue4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Hue Essentials at 38% against Command for Philips Hue's 0%. Hue Essentials also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, 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. Hue Essentials sells 8 one-off in-app purchases and Command for Philips Hue sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hue Essentials ships an update every 2 weeks, Command for Philips Hue every 4 weeks. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Hue Essentials versus Command for Philips Hue: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHue EssentialsCommand for Philips Hue
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (140 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews37.8% of reviews — better0.0% of reviews
Number of ratings140 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 4 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size271 MB46 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperThomas VosJoseph Leporati

Customer experience

Hue Essentials

All ratings138 ratings
Positive77.5%
Neutral7.2%
Negative15.2%
Written reviews241 reviews
Positive37.8%
Neutral8.3%
Negative53.9%

Command for Philips Hue

Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Bugs and requests

Hue Essentials

Reported bugs

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

Requested features

4 requests
  • Repeat/loop function for automations
  • Strobing/flashing effects
  • Dark mode
  • Alexa integration

Command for Philips Hue

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

8 purchases

Hue Essentials

One-time8
  • Effects: Christmas$0.99
  • Effects: Universe$0.99
  • Effects: Wonders of nature$0.99
Show 5 more
  • Effects: Romantic$0.99
  • Effects: Floral fantasy$0.99
  • Effects: Spooky$0.99
  • Multiple bridges$4.99
  • Premium$7.99
3 purchases

Command for Philips Hue

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Yearly$19.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime$39.99

Questions

Is Hue Essentials free?
Hue Essentials is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Command for Philips Hue free?
Command for Philips Hue is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Hue Essentials or Command for Philips Hue have ads?
Neither Hue Essentials nor Command for Philips Hue shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hue Essentials or Command for Philips Hue?
Hue Essentials ships an update every 2 weeks, and Command for Philips Hue every 4 weeks. Most recently, Hue Essentials was updated on October 24, 2026 and Command for Philips Hue on October 24, 2026.

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