Comparison

Thule vs IKEA Home smart

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

Head to head
About

Thule

Features
Read full description

This is the official Thule app. It allows you to connect to your connected Thule product. Supported product includes: * Thule Chariot Air Purifier * Thule Epos ParkSecure * Thule Elm Connect and Thule Alfi Connect

About

IKEA Home smart

Automate your home with smart lighting, speakers, blinds, and air purifiers. Create custom scenes for everyday moments like waking up or leaving home, and control devices individually or in groups. Integrates with popular voice assistants for seamless control.

Highlights
  • Create custom scenes
  • Control devices individually or in groups
  • Schedule scenes
  • Voice assistant integration
  • Personalize rooms and products
  • Remote control options
Features
Read full description

With IKEA Home smart app and DIRIGERA hub, it's easy to create smarter everyday moments with lighting, speakers, blinds and air quality products. Picture yourself waking up as your smart lights gently rise. Your favourite songs play on the speakers and you still haven't gotten out of bed. How lovely, right? Smart products like lighting, speakers, blinds and air purifiers can make a lovely addition to your everyday life. When you improve the IQ of your home, life itself runs a bit smoother. The magic happens when you combine two or more smart products from IKEA, tell them what to do in the app and save it as a 'Scene'. A great scene is one you will use often. Think about waking up and going to bed, cooking and eating, date night and family time, or leaving and coming home. All everyday moments when we can support you with the best lighting, sound that suits your mood, and cleaner air. When it comes to control, we think of everyone, from young to old and even visitors. So while the app gives you total control to customise your smart home, our range of remotes make it easy for everyone to live with and use a smart home. In control • You can control products individually or in groups. You can turn whole rooms on and off or the whole home, all at once. • Dim and change light colours, adjust blinds, speaker volume, and much more. • Set the scenes you need and trigger them with schedules, a shortcut button or use the app. Easy to use • The home screen gives a fast overview of your whole home. Quickly control products, access rooms, or start/stop scenes. This is also where you add new products, rooms, and scenes. Organised and personal • Organising your smart products in rooms gives fast access to the products you want to control. • Personalise the app with your choice of icons, names and colours for rooms and products • Create personal scenes, for example your own combination of cosy lighting and your favourite music. Integrations • Connect to Apple Home, Amazon Alexa or Google Home to use a voice assistant.

Screenshots

Thule3 screens
IKEA Home smart4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: IKEA Home smart at fortnightly against Thule's monthly. Thule's advantage is iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Thule ships an update monthly, IKEA Home smart fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 2, 2026 and September 26, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Thule versus IKEA Home smart: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThuleIKEA Home smart
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.4 (1.3K ratings) — better
Positive reviews—34.3% of reviews
Number of ratings—1.3K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPod, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS15.6 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size108 MB208 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThule Sweden ABInter IKEA Systems B.V.

Bugs and requests

Thule

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

IKEA Home smart

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Inability to remove devices
  • Scenes not working as expected
  • Inconsistent device discovery
  • Shortcut buttons not functioning
  • HomeKit integration problems

Requested features

5 requests
  • Gradual lighting transitions
  • Sunrise/sunset automation
  • Remote access functionality
  • More customization options
  • Improved energy monitoring

In-app purchases

None

Thule

No in-app purchases

None

IKEA Home smart

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Thule free?
Thule is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is IKEA Home smart free?
IKEA Home smart is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Thule or IKEA Home smart have ads?
Neither Thule nor IKEA Home smart shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Thule or IKEA Home smart?
Thule ships an update monthly, and IKEA Home smart fortnightly. Most recently, Thule was updated on September 2, 2026 and IKEA Home smart on September 26, 2026.

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