Comparison

HomeWatch vs HomePulse

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

Head to head
About

HomeWatch

Monitor and control your HomeKit devices with a glanceable status display. This app offers customizable views for rooms, scenes, and individual devices across Apple platforms, including widgets and menu bar items.

Highlights
  • Glanceable room status with color-coded indicators
  • Control scenes and devices within rooms
  • View camera feeds, weather, and website content
  • Customizable home and lock-screen widgets
  • Menu bar items for Mac with real-time updates
  • Extensive interface customization options
Read full description

I made an app for my Apple Watch to see a glanceable status of our home and to control our HomeKit devices. It worked so well on the watch, that I expanded it to a dashboard app for all our Apple devices. I have now added a configuration interface to make it compatible with any HomeKit enabled home setup. I hope some of you will find it useful. HOME VIEW The circle / grid with icons on the home view shows a color coded status of the rooms of the home: red when a door is open, yellow when a window is open, orange when the heating is on, cyan when lights are on and green when nothing is on. On the iPhone, iPad, tvOS and Mac the app also shows the time, date, cameras, feeds, events, reminders, a website and weather information. When there is rain, it will show a rain graph. ROOM VIEWS When a room is selected, the circle layout will show the scenes you can control in that room. The grid layout also shows the devices that can be controlled in that room. Additionally the room view has an information section. To the right it can show any characteristics from your devices. Below is a detail view that can show a camera view, a website, a temperature, humidity and climate history graphs. WIDGETS Fully customisable lock-screen and home-screen widgets. Tap / Clicking a widget item to go directly to a room view, execute a scene or launch any url-scheme. Customisable complications on the Watch can have actions to go directly to a room view and execute any scene. MENU BAR ITEMS On the Mac any HomeKit characteristic can be added to the menu bar and is kept up to date. CUSTOMISATION The interface can be fully customised. The user can add their own background images and icons from the photo library. Customise gradient overlays, icons, fonts, colours and more. Make it your own…

About

HomePulse

Monitor and manage your smart home devices with this diagnostic tool. It provides real-time insights into device performance, tracks changes, and helps troubleshoot issues before they become problems. Features include a home health score, battery monitoring, and offline Matter code storage.

Highlights
  • Home Health Score
  • Live Event Tracking
  • Battery Monitoring
  • Matter Vault (offline QR code storage)
  • Device Connectivity & Performance Checks
  • Party Mode for lights
Features
Read full description

Take control of your smart home with HomePulse, the essential diagnostic tool for HomeKit and Matter devices. Get real-time insights into your home's health, track device performance, and troubleshoot issues before they impact your daily life. HomePulse - Key Features: Home Health Score: Get an instant overview of your smart home’s performance. Live Event Tracking: See device state changes in real time with history. Battery Monitoring: Monitor battery levels and charging across all devices. Matter Vault: Securely store and scan Matter QR codes offline. Device Health: Check device connectivity and performance. Party Mode: Make lights dance to your music in real time. Please refer to the standard Apple End User Licensing Agreement - https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ We also follow the standard Apple Privacy Policy - https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/

Screenshots

HomeWatch3 screens
HomePulse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: HomeWatch at none against HomePulse's 2. HomeWatch also leads on device support (6 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.6). HomePulse's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 2 months) and rating (5.0 vs 4.8). On price, ratings volume and ads 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. HomePulse sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. HomeWatch asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HomePulse holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 4 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HomeWatch ships an update every 2 months, HomePulse every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on July 7, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
HomeWatch versus HomePulse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHomeWatchHomePulse
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better2
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB2 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperPeter VogelsGeorge Wood

Customer experience

HomeWatch

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive60.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative20.0%

HomePulse

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

HomeWatch

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

HomePulse

Subscriptions1
  • HomePulse - 1 Month Subscription1 Month trial2 variants$1.991 Month

Questions

Is HomeWatch free?
HomeWatch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is HomePulse free?
HomePulse is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, HomeWatch or HomePulse?
HomePulse is rated higher. HomeWatch averages 4.8 out of 5 from 4 ratings, while HomePulse averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do HomeWatch or HomePulse have ads?
Neither HomeWatch nor HomePulse shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HomeWatch or HomePulse?
HomeWatch ships an update every 2 months, and HomePulse every 4 days. Most recently, HomeWatch was updated on July 7, 2026 and HomePulse on September 20, 2026.

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