Comparison

HomeWatch vs Dabs

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

Dabs

Features
Read full description

Dabs is a simple and private way to log your sessions and understand your consumption. Track every dab, keep your stash organized, and see how your habits evolve over time. Everything works offline and stays on your device. Features • Log sessions in seconds • Track your stash and strains • See simple stats and trends • Fully offline and private • Clean and distraction-free design Whether you dab occasionally or every day, Dabs helps you keep a clear record of your sessions. No accounts. No tracking. Just your data.

Screenshots

HomeWatch3 screens
Dabs4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Dabs at weekly against HomeWatch's every 2 months. HomeWatch's advantage is device support (6 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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

HomeWatch ships an update every 2 months, Dabs weekly. The most recent releases landed on July 7, 2026 and September 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
HomeWatch versus Dabs: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHomeWatchDabs
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (4 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews60.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings4 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac, Apple TV, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size64 MB1 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperPeter VogelsPedro Canelas

In-app purchases

None

HomeWatch

No in-app purchases

None

Dabs

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HomeWatch free?
HomeWatch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Dabs free?
Dabs is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do HomeWatch or Dabs have ads?
Neither HomeWatch nor Dabs shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HomeWatch or Dabs?
HomeWatch ships an update every 2 months, and Dabs weekly. Most recently, HomeWatch was updated on July 7, 2026 and Dabs on September 11, 2026.

Other comparisons