Comparison

LIFX vs Knocki

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

Head to head
About

LIFX

Control your smart lights with this app. Easily adjust brightness, color, and temperature. Automate schedules, create custom scenes, and explore fun lighting effects. Integrates with voice assistants and HomeKit for seamless control.

Highlights
  • Basic light control (on/off, dim, color, temperature)
  • Group lights for easy management
  • Automated schedules and scenes
  • Special lighting effects (music visualizer, fire, etc.)
  • Live color painting on compatible lights
  • Custom color palettes
  • HomeKit integration
Features
Read full description

Like you, LIFX wants smarter light. This means we care about the way you control your smart lights, as much as we do about the lights themselves. We make it easy to get started with WiFi-enabled, bright, colorful smart lights that need no hub. Yep, you can start with just one device. LIFX App 4 can not only help give you the best start, but will turn your experience “up to 11”. Automate your wake up Schedule, or set up your movie-watching Scene (then set up voice control so you don’t even have to leave the sofa), or play with Effects next time you’re entertaining. Features. The LIFX app is packed full of features like: - The Basics: on/off, dim, change color, change white temperature. - Groups: control all lights in a group easily, including on/off and dimming with one touch from the Home Dashboard. - Group personalization: choose a LIFX illustration to suit or personalize Group cards with your own pictures. - Schedules: automate your lights to fade, change color, and turn on/off, all visible in an easy calendar-style view. - Effects: play with special effects like the music visualizer, fire, move, candle flicker, strobe, color cycle & more, all in one place. - Scenes: set your lighting just the way you like it and save it for later. - Themes: a library of one click color combinations for a Group, from ‘Proud’ to ‘Soothing’. - Paint: with your finger in the app, paint color live onto your LIFX Z, Beam, Tile and Candle. - Custom color palettes: add your favorite colors to a custom color palette. - Discover Tab: find How To guides, learn about integration partners, or shop for LIFX - and much more. Example uses from our customers: - Ambiance: schedule warmer light in the evening - to calm - and whiter light in the morning - to energize. - “Moccupancy”: set irregular schedules to make it seem like you’re home when you’re not. - Sleep: set your bedroom lights to deep red just before bed to produce more melatonin which helps you get better quality sleep. - Stay put: you’ve settled into the sofa for a streaming binge but left the lights on. No need to jump up to the switch, just ask your voice assistant. - Pet owners: if you're unexpectedly late home from work, turn the lights on for your dog from wherever you are. - Silent notifications: use partner apps to give you a light flash if… your car is arriving, or the forecast says it will rain, or you are mentioned on social media, and much more. HomeKit Best color-changing smart bulb for HomeKit cnet Pairing LIFX with Apple HomeKit is easy using the HomeKit onboarding QR code available in the product packaging. Stay in touch. Need a helping hand, or want to offer us some advice? We would love to hear from you about your LIFX experience. You can reach us at support@lifx.com. LIFX lights are available at lifx.com

About

Knocki

Turn any surface into a smart home controller. Create custom tap gestures to activate lights, music, and other connected devices. Works with popular smart home platforms.

Highlights
  • Transform surfaces into touch controls
  • Control smart home devices
  • Create custom tap gestures
  • Works with Alexa, IFTTT, Philips Hue, and more
  • Trigger task lists with gestures
  • Works via WiFi independently of phone
Features
Read full description

Transform entire walls or tables into touch controls for your favorite smart home functions. With just a few taps on a regular surface, you can control your lights, find your lost phone, and much more! Knocki works with Alexa, IFTTT, Philips Hue, Lifx, TP-Link, Sonos, Honeywell, Schlage, and more! The Knocki app lets you setup your Knocki device(s), connect to your smart devices and services, and create custom gestures (tap patterns) to trigger specific tasks or even groups of tasks all at once (called "task lists"). Once Knocki is set up, it works through WiFi, even if your phone isn't around. Popular Tasks include: - Tap your nightstand to turn off the lights. - Tap your coffee table to boot up the TV. - Tap your front door to lock the door and turn off all the house lights. - and much more! Explore what Knocki can do or get your own Knocki at http://knocki.com - Have questions? Reach out to us at support@knocki.com

Screenshots

LIFX4 screens
Knocki4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: LIFX at 3.7 against Knocki's 3.3. LIFX also leads on ratings volume (7.1K vs 9) and update cadence (fortnightly vs every 2 months). Knocki's advantage is monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and review sentiment (31% vs 19%). 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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

LIFX holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 3.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: LIFX has 7.1K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 19% of LIFX's written reviews are positive against 31% of Knocki's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

LIFX ships an update fortnightly, Knocki every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
LIFX versus Knocki: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLIFXKnocki
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (7.1K ratings) — better3.3 (9 ratings)
Positive reviews18.5% of reviews30.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7.1K — better9
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS18.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size313 MB74 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLIFXHaptic, Inc.

Customer experience

LIFX

All ratings7,088 ratings
Positive65.9%
Neutral4.8%
Negative29.4%
Written reviews708 reviews
Positive18.5%
Neutral10.7%
Negative70.8%

Knocki

All ratings9 ratings
Positive55.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative44.4%
Written reviews13 reviews
Positive30.8%
Neutral15.4%
Negative53.8%

Bugs and requests

LIFX

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Lights randomly disconnecting from app
  • Scenes and effects not working as expected
  • Scheduling issues and lights not responding to timers
  • Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
  • Frequent app crashes and freezes

Requested features

5 requests
  • More granular control over individual lights
  • Improved scene and effect customization
  • Better scheduling and automation options
  • Seamless integration with smart home platforms
  • Simplified onboarding and setup process

Knocki

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

LIFX

No in-app purchases

None

Knocki

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is LIFX free?
LIFX is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Knocki free?
Knocki is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, LIFX or Knocki?
LIFX is rated higher. LIFX averages 3.7 out of 5 from 7.1K ratings, while Knocki averages 3.3 from 9 ratings.
Do LIFX or Knocki have ads?
Neither LIFX nor Knocki shows ads.
Which is updated more often, LIFX or Knocki?
LIFX ships an update fortnightly, and Knocki every 2 months. Most recently, LIFX was updated on September 24, 2026 and Knocki on September 20, 2026.

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