NorthStar Home vs Sunnova
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NorthStar Home
Monitor and control your home or business remotely from your Apple devices. Manage security, view live video, and automate devices like lights and thermostats. Receive real-time notifications for important events.
- Real-time remote monitoring
- Interactive security control
- Live video streaming
- Home automation management
- Customizable push notifications
- Apple Watch integration
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With a NorthStar Home security system, you can monitor and control your home or business in real-time and from anywhere - from your iPhone, iPad, or your Apple Watch. NorthStar Home's interactive security, video monitoring, energy management, and home automation solutions give you instant awareness and remote control for the places you care about most. With Apple Watch support, your home is always at your fingertips, and on your wrist. Glances let you quickly see home status, and through the watch app you can control your key devices and even view live video from your home. Note: This app requires a compatible system and an interactive NorthStar Home service plan. Feature availability varies based on system, equipment, and service plan. Visit www.northstarhome.com for more information. Remote features: • See what’s happening at your property • Arm or disarm your security panel • Watch live video and recorded clips from your security cameras • Turn on or off lights • Set the ideal temperature • Lock or unlock doors • Search your complete system event history • And much more! With NorthStar Home, you can also receive real-time email, text message, and push notifications for the specific events that matter to you. Beyond important emergency related events, you can also immediately know when: Your kids get home from school
Sunnova
Take charge of your home's energy consumption. This app integrates solar, storage, and electric vehicle management into a single platform. Monitor performance, optimize usage, and gain insights into your energy ecosystem.
- Manage solar, storage, and EV devices
- View energy performance (hourly, daily, monthly)
- Optimize home energy usage
- Centralized energy ecosystem management
- Control Sunnova Adaptive Home™
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The Sunnova App puts homeowners in control of their home energy by combining modern energy appliances, including solar, storage, and electric vehicles, in one, convenient app. Users can manage their devices; view hourly, daily, and monthly performance; and discover new ways to optimize their home. As the central place for managing a new kind of home energy ecosystem, the Sunnova app enables homeowners to manage and optimize their Sunnova Adaptive Home™.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Sunnova at 3.9 against NorthStar Home's 3.2. Sunnova also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (857 vs 59). On price, review sentiment, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Sunnova holds the better App Store score, 3.9 against 3.2. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Sunnova has 857 ratings behind it against 59, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 7% and 6% positive.
NorthStar Home ships an update every 2 months, Sunnova every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NorthStar Home | Sunnova |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.2 (59 ratings) | 3.9 (857 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 7.1% of reviews — better | 6.3% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 59 | 857 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.1 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 377 MB | 87 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Northstar Alarm Services, LLC | Sunnova Energy Corp |
Customer experience
NorthStar Home
Sunnova
Bugs and requests
NorthStar Home
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Sunnova
Reported bugs
3 issues- App freezes on startup
- Incorrect or missing production data
- Billing information not updating properly
Requested features
3 requests- Custom date range for production data
- Real-time energy usage and generation data
- Ability to view individual panel performance
In-app purchases
NorthStar Home
No in-app purchases
Sunnova
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is NorthStar Home free?
Is Sunnova free?
Which has better reviews, NorthStar Home or Sunnova?
Do NorthStar Home or Sunnova have ads?
Which is updated more often, NorthStar Home or Sunnova?
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