Nest vs Google Home
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Nest
Control your smart home devices, including thermostats, security systems, cameras, and smoke detectors, all from a single app. Receive alerts, manage schedules, and automate actions based on your presence.
- Remote thermostat control
- Arm/disarm security system
- Live camera feeds
- Smoke/CO alerts
- Automated actions
- Visitor notifications
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At Google Nest, we make products that are beautiful, helpful and easy to use. The Nest app is no exception. Control your Nest thermostat, arm and disarm your Nest Secure alarm system, see your home with Nest Cam, and get an alert if Nest Protect goes off – all in one place. And receive notifications on your iPhone or iPad. Nest uses sensors, algorithms and the location of your phone to do the right thing automatically, turning off the heat and turning on the camera when you leave. Forget to set the alarm? It will notice, and send you a Remind Me alert. Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Thermostat E Thermostats that program themselves to help you save energy. - Change the temperature from the subway or the sofa using your phone. - See how much energy you used, and why. - View and edit your schedule. - Get extreme temperature alerts before your home gets too cold. Nest Secure alarm system - Arm and disarm your home remotely from the app. - Receive a Remind Me alert if you leave home and forget to set the alarm. - Receive a security alert on your phone telling you what triggered the alarm – a door or window opening, or someone entering a room. Nest Protect The smoke and carbon monoxide alarm that thinks, speaks, and alerts your phone. - Get an alert if Nest Protect senses smoke or carbon monoxide. (Requires Wi-Fi and a working internet connection.) - Silence an alarm from your phone with App Silence. (Nest Protect 2nd gen only.) - See the status of your batteries, sensors, and Wi-Fi connection. - Run a Safety Checkup to test all your alarms at once. (Nest Protect 2nd gen only.) - See your Safety History so you know when alerts happened and why. Nest Cam IQ Indoor and Outdoor, Nest Cam Indoor, Nest Cam Outdoor, and Dropcam The security cameras that let you see your home on your phone, inside and out. - Get alerts when there’s activity, and talk back to get someone’s attention. - See what you missed with snapshots of the last three hours. - Check in 24/7 with crisp 1080p HD video (Nest Cam and Dropcam Pro only). - Get person alerts (or familiar face alerts with Nest Cam IQ) and up to 30 days of video history when you subscribe to Nest Aware. (Subscription service sold separately.) Nest Hello Know who’s knocking. - 24/7 video streaming means you’ll never miss a moment. - Designed to show you everything at your doorstep – people head to toe, or packages on the ground. - Knows the difference between a person and a thing. - Notifies you about visitors, even if they don’t ring the bell. - HD Talk and Listen lets you have a seamless conversation with someone at your door. - When you can’t answer the door, quick responses let you reply to visitors with prerecorded audio messages. Nest x Yale Lock The lock for a more secure connected home. - Instead of sharing keys, assign passcodes to people you trust in the Nest app. - Get an alert when someone locks or unlocks the door. - With Home/Away Assist and Auto-Lock, your door can lock itself when you leave. Some features require a working internet connection, Wi-Fi, and/or Bluetooth.
Google Home
Manage your smart home devices and stay updated on home activity. Easily control devices with voice commands and view live camera feeds. Organize your home into custom dashboards for quick access.
- Home status overview
- Device grouping into dashboards
- Live camera view and history
- Voice control with Gemini for Home
- Streamlined settings navigation
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The Google Home app helps you get the most out of Gemini for Home. See your home at a glance The Google Home app is designed to show you the status of your home and keep you up to date with what you may have missed. Keep up with what’s important Updated design and streamlined organization help you group your devices into dashboards and easily navigate your settings. Plus you can check in on your home anytime. Scan camera events quickly The camera live view and history interface makes it easier than ever to see what happened. Search or ask your home Control your home in a brand new way. Just say what you want your devices to do with Gemini for Home. * Some products and features may not be available in all regions. Compatible devices required.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Nest at none against Google Home's shown. Nest also leads on review sentiment (24% vs 15%) and device support (4 vs 2). Google Home's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 2 months) and monetization model (ad-supported vs free with in-app purchases). On price, rating, ratings volume 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.6 for Nest against 4.6 for Google Home. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2.6M and 1.4M respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 24% of Nest's written reviews are positive against 15% of Google Home's.
Nest ships an update every 2 months, Google Home weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Nest | Google Home |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (2.6M ratings) | 4.6 (1.4M ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 24.2% of reviews — better | 15.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2.6M — better | 1.4M |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Weekly — better |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Best chart rank | #90 | #11 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.0 — better | 17.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 240 MB | 606 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Nest Labs | |
Customer experience
Nest
Google Home
User reviews
Nest
From 2.6M App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🔒 Reliable security features
- 📽️ Good video quality
- 🔔 Useful alerts and notifications
- 🌐 Convenient remote access
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent connectivity issues
- ⏱️ Slow app performance
- 🔒 Overly complex setup and login process
- 💰 Expensive subscription required for full functionality
- 🔋 Battery life issues with cameras
Google Home
From 1.4M App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent camera quality
- 👍 Secure home monitoring
- 🚀 Reliable notifications
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent disconnections
- 🐛 Buggy app performance
- 👎 Lacking advanced features
- 👎 Unintuitive user interface
Bugs and requests
Nest
Reported bugs
4 issues- Inconsistent home/away detection
- Thermostat schedule resets unexpectedly
- Smoke detector false alarms
- Camera feed freezes or fails to load
Requested features
4 requests- Improved scheduling and automation options
- Better integration with other smart home devices
- More customization options for alerts and notifications
- Offline viewing and recording capabilities
Google Home
Reported bugs
3 issues- Inability to remove 'ghost' devices
- Inconsistent connectivity between app and devices
- Unreliable motion detection
Requested features
3 requests- Ability to customize notification settings
- Integration with more smart home devices
- Improved video history browsing
In-app purchases
Nest
No in-app purchases
Google Home
No in-app purchases









