Comparison

essentials Smart Home vs EHW+

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

Head to head
About

essentials Smart Home

Control your smart home devices from your smartphone. Easily add new devices and create custom scenes with just a few taps.

Highlights
  • Smartphone control
  • Add new devices
  • Create smart home scenes
  • Comfortable device management
Read full description

The essentials smart home app allows you to control all your essentials smart home devices comfortably with your smartphone. Teach in new devices quickly and create whole smart home sceneries with only a few clicks.

About

EHW+

Track and analyze your electricity, heating, and water consumption to reduce utility costs and environmental impact. Monitor various meter types, view cost overviews, and receive tips for saving energy. Supports multiple properties and household members.

Highlights
  • Record and evaluate meter readings
  • Track electricity, heating, and water usage
  • Cost overview and consumption analysis
  • Support for various meter types
  • Data import/export and cloud sync
  • Manage multiple properties and users
  • Dark mode support
Features
Read full description

Reduce utility costs & protect the environment Recording and evaluating meter readings Be a climate hero now and use the app The free app EHW+ makes it possible to find out about one's own consumption of electricity, heating and water and the ancillary costs in order to better assess and regulate them. This is good for the wallet and good for the climate. Supported: * Electricity meters (also HT/NT meters). * Water meters (hot water/cold water) * Radiators with evaporator * Oil heating systems * Gas heating systems * Photovoltaic systems/solar systems (electricity feed-in meter*) * Water extraction meter*. Free basic functions: * All meters and readings in one app: there is no limit to how many meters or meter readings you can store. * Minute-by-minute entries and calculations: You determine yourself when you read the meter readings. All calculations are made to the minute. * Cost overview: What does it cost to fill a bathtub? What is the impact of a rising oil price/gas price? See if the cost of electricity/power consumption increases or decreases. * News/tips around utility costs/eco-electricity/climate change. * Meter replacement: The app automatically detects when a meter has been replaced. * Monthly consumption for the last twelve months * Cost calculation based on price per unit * Analyze whether your electricity/water consumption is high or low compared to the German average * Find out which room is heated the most. Assign a room to a meter if it only represents consumption in one room (e.g., two water meters for the bathroom only) * NEW: Compare activities like washing/showering/dishwasher/... * Use the app in dark mode (optional) Import/Export/Sync: * Save meter readings as JSON file (suitable for import). * Import existing meter readings via CSV file * Export all meter readings of your housing unit as a table file*. * Synchronize all your properties in the cloud (optional) * All household members have access to the data Other: * Support for water deduction meters*. * Manage as many residential units as you like*. * Vote on which feature to develop next. Feedback: The app was developed as recently as December 2020. Feedback on the app is highly welcome. * Paid (InApp purchase or monthly subscription). Privacy Manager: https://app.ehwplus.com/#/consent Privacy terms: https://app.ehwplus.com/#/privacy Terms of usage: https://app.ehwplus.com/#/terms

Screenshots

essentials Smart Home4 screens
EHW+4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: EHW+ at 5.0 against essentials Smart Home's 4.0. EHW+ also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 9 months). essentials Smart Home's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.6). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support 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. EHW+ sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. essentials Smart Home asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

EHW+ holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 1 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

essentials Smart Home ships an update every 9 months, EHW+ every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 11, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
essentials Smart Home versus EHW+: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameteressentials Smart HomeEHW+
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—95.2% of reviews
Number of ratings11
Update frequencyEvery 9 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.0 — better15.6
Further details — not scored
Size192 MB111 MB
Age rating12+9+
DeveloperMöhlenhoff GmbHTimo Baehr

Customer experience

essentials Smart Home

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

EHW+

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive95.2%
Neutral4.8%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

essentials Smart Home

No in-app purchases

8 purchases

EHW+

Subscriptions4
  • Premium$0.991 Month
  • Monthly subscription$1.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$7.491 Year
Show 1 more
  • Annual subscription$8.991 Year
One-time4
  • Water extraction meter$3.99
  • Einspeiszähler für PV-Anlagen$3.99
  • Multiple objects$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Further statistics$8.99

Questions

Is essentials Smart Home free?
essentials Smart Home is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is EHW+ free?
EHW+ is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, essentials Smart Home or EHW+?
EHW+ is rated higher. essentials Smart Home averages 4.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while EHW+ averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do essentials Smart Home or EHW+ have ads?
Neither essentials Smart Home nor EHW+ shows ads.
Which is updated more often, essentials Smart Home or EHW+?
essentials Smart Home ships an update every 9 months, and EHW+ every 2 weeks. Most recently, essentials Smart Home was updated on October 11, 2026 and EHW+ on October 8, 2026.

Other comparisons