AeroGarden vs SmartBQ
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
AeroGarden
Monitor and control your Wi-Fi enabled indoor garden from your phone. Receive alerts for water and nutrient needs, access gardening tips, and connect with a community of growers. Enjoy bigger, healthier harvests with smart convenience.
- Plant alerts for water and nutrients
- Remote monitoring and control
- Indoor gardening tips and FAQs
- Connect with growing communities
- Monitor multiple gardens
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NEW FOR 2024 Now your plants can talk! With the free AeroGarden App your plants in a W-Fi enabled AeroGarden will tell you when they need water or nutrients with friendly alerts on your Phone. Enjoy bigger, healthier harvests by never missing a watering or feeding again! And unlock a full set of features for your AeroGarden Indoor Grow Lights! GROW SMARTER Timely tips delivered straight to your iPhone teach you our favorite indoor gardening secrets and guide you to growing healthier, more beautiful and abundant gardens. Includes a detailed set of FAQs that help you get the most from your AeroGarden. STAY CONNECTED Easily connect with growing communities of AeroGardeners on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and more. Or enjoy one-click access to our expert AeroGarden Customer Service specialists. Connect and monitor multiple AeroGardens from one simple interface for your biggest harvests ever! SIMPLE CONVENIENCE Wi-Fi technology lets you monitor, control and customize critical garden functions such as light, water and nutrients from anywhere in the world at any time. Just download the free AeroGarden App onto your mobile device with iOS 12.0 or higher.
SmartBQ
Control your smart appliances remotely for a more effortless life. Manage devices like ice makers, activate self-cleaning, and schedule operations from anywhere via your smartphone.
- Remote appliance control
- Instant ice making
- Self-cleaning activation
- Scheduled operations
- Easy support access
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Smarter appliances for a more effortless life. Start Your Smarter Life Here. Take full control of your smart appliances anytime, anywhere with SmartBQ. Designed for intelligent devices like ice makers and more, SmartBQ makes your daily life easier and smarter. Key Features: - Remote Control: Start, stop, and manage your appliances from anywhere via your smartphone. - Instant Ice Making: Prepare fresh ice on demand—no matter where you are. - Self-Cleaning: Activate and monitor your device’s automatic cleaning for hassle-free maintenance. - Scheduled Operations: Set timers and plan your appliance’s work according to your lifestyle. - Easy Support Access: Contact customer service whenever you need help. Experience convenience, efficiency, and smart living—all at your fingertips with SmartBQ. Download now and turn your home into a smarter place!
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: SmartBQ at 5.0 against AeroGarden's 4.1. SmartBQ also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). AeroGarden's advantage is ratings volume (657 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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.
SmartBQ holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: AeroGarden has 657 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
AeroGarden ships an update every 6 weeks, SmartBQ every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | AeroGarden | SmartBQ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.1 (657 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 13.4% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 657 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.5 — better | 15.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 150 MB | 73 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Scotts Miracle-Gro | BESTQI INTERNATIONAL LLC |
Customer experience
AeroGarden
SmartBQ
Bugs and requests
AeroGarden
Reported bugs
4 issues- Unable to connect to gardens
- Light controls not working as expected
- App crashing or freezing
- Login/account issues
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to control light intensity and duration
- Push notifications for garden maintenance
- Retain login session for longer periods
- Support for older devices and tablets
SmartBQ
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
AeroGarden
No in-app purchases
SmartBQ
No in-app purchases
