Comparison

NorthStar Home vs Sunnova

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Real-time remote monitoring
  • Interactive security control
  • Live video streaming
  • Home automation management
  • Customizable push notifications
  • Apple Watch integration
Features
Read full description

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

About

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.

Highlights
  • Manage solar, storage, and EV devices
  • View energy performance (hourly, daily, monthly)
  • Optimize home energy usage
  • Centralized energy ecosystem management
  • Control Sunnova Adaptive Home™
Features
Read full description

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

NorthStar Home4 screens
Sunnova4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
NorthStar Home versus Sunnova: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNorthStar HomeSunnova
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.2 (59 ratings)3.9 (857 ratings) — better
Positive reviews7.1% of reviews — better6.3% of reviews
Number of ratings59857 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size377 MB87 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperNorthstar Alarm Services, LLCSunnova Energy Corp

Customer experience

NorthStar Home

All ratings59 ratings
Positive52.5%
Neutral3.4%
Negative44.1%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive7.1%
Neutral7.1%
Negative85.7%

Sunnova

All ratings833 ratings
Positive73.2%
Neutral1.3%
Negative25.5%
Written reviews144 reviews
Positive6.3%
Neutral2.8%
Negative91.0%

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

None

NorthStar Home

No in-app purchases

None

Sunnova

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NorthStar Home free?
NorthStar Home is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Sunnova free?
Sunnova is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NorthStar Home or Sunnova?
Sunnova is rated higher. NorthStar Home averages 3.2 out of 5 from 59 ratings, while Sunnova averages 3.9 from 857 ratings.
Do NorthStar Home or Sunnova have ads?
Neither NorthStar Home nor Sunnova shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NorthStar Home or Sunnova?
NorthStar Home ships an update every 2 months, and Sunnova every 3 weeks. Most recently, NorthStar Home was updated on October 24, 2026 and Sunnova on October 22, 2026.

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