HomeMapper vs ShellMan
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HomeMapper
This app provides a unified inventory of all devices on your smart home network. It scans HomeKit, Home Assistant, Thread, Matter, and IP devices, correlating them by hardware identifiers to display comprehensive details in one view. It also helps manage setup codes for various smart home devices.
- Unified device inventory
- Scans HomeKit, Home Assistant, Thread, Matter, IP
- Correlates devices by hardware identifiers
- Detailed device information
- Setup code vault for HomeKit, Matter, Z-Wave
- Export inventory to CSV
- Room-based device grouping
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Your entire smart home network. One view. HomeMapper builds a unified inventory of every device on your network, scanning HomeKit, Home Assistant, Thread, Matter, and IP at once and correlating them by hardware identifiers. DISCOVER Every method runs at once: • Apple's ecosystem. HomeKit via Apple's framework, plus Thread accessories, Border Routers, and Matter. • The network itself. Bonjour, subnet scans, and protocols like SSDP/UPnP. Printers, NAS boxes, and other local-only devices show up too. • Home Assistant. Direct read of your device registry: Matter, Thread, Zigbee, Z-Wave, ESPHome, and MQTT. When a device appears through several methods, HomeMapper merges it by seven hardware identifiers, not names. Anything uncertain stays as duplicates, never a guess. YOUR DEVICES, EVERY DETAIL See devices Apple's Home app can't, and the details it tucks away: manufacturer, model, firmware, serial number, battery, IP and MAC address, and how each device connects, in columns like Connected via, Signal, Channel, and Stability. On iPad and Mac, devices appear as a sortable table; on iPhone, as detail cards. A room-based view groups them by room. TOPOLOGY MAP The Topology map draws your smart home the way it is wired: your Thread mesh, from the border routers down to the end devices they carry, and each HomeKit bridge with the accessories behind it. It draws only connections it can measure. Filter to the whole picture, just the Thread mesh, or just your bridges. Tap a device for its full detail, or tap a connection to see its signal strength and how stable it has been. A red triangle marks a connection that is not working: weak, dropping traffic, or gone quiet. When a device will not report how it connects, HomeMapper says so rather than inferring a connection. A Health view lists what needs attention on your mesh, worst first: what is wrong, which devices, and one thing to try. Most homes read "Everything looks healthy." Export the map as a PNG, PDF, or SVG, titled with the home and dated. It also reads each Thread device's mesh role, and each Border Router's Extended PAN ID and Thread version, hidden in the Home app. HOME ASSISTANT HomeMapper scans your Home Assistant instance as deeply as HomeKit. Zigbee, Z-Wave, ESPHome, MQTT: devices HomeKit can't see appear alongside the ones it can. Pick a Primary Platform, and its room names win when a device is known to both. SETUP CODE VAULT Every HomeKit, Matter, and Z-Wave device has a setup code on a sticker that fades or gets lost. You need it to pair the device, and again if you reset or move it. No scan can recover one: setup codes never travel over the network. Save each code while you still have it: scan the QR with the camera, pull it from a photo, or type it in. It reads printed 8-digit codes too, for older accessories without a QR. A room-by-room list shows which devices are still missing one. Have a lot? Export a CSV worksheet, fill it in on a computer, and import it back. Your codes stay yours: on your device, in your backups, and synced through your own iCloud. EXPORT AND BACK UP Export your inventory to CSV, filtered how you want, for Numbers, Excel, or Sheets. Back up your inventory, settings, and setup codes to iCloud Drive or a local folder, and restore on another device. PRIVACY You are not the product. Zero ads, zero tracking. Nothing leaves your device unless you send it. No account, and the only login is your own Home Assistant. FREE AND PRO HomeKit scanning, the device list, the room-based view, and switching between Apple Homes are free forever, with no scan or time limits. Pro unlocks multi-protocol scanning, all 20+ columns, the combined "All Homes" view, Home Assistant, the Topology map, the setup code vault, backup and restore, and CSV export. Subscribe yearly with a 7-day free trial, or buy Lifetime once and it never expires. Runs on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Terms of Use: https://homemapper.app/terms/
ShellMan
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ShellMan is the most powerful local-network controller for your Shelly Gen 2, Gen 3, and Gen 4 smart home devices. No cloud. No subscription. Pure local control. Disclaimer: This app is an independent, unofficial third-party tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or in any way connected to Allterco Robotics Ltd. or its subsidiaries. "Shelly®" is a registered trademark of Allterco Robotics Ltd. All product names, logos, and brands mentioned are property of their respective owners and are used solely for identification purposes. This app communicates with devices using their publicly documented, open JSON-RPC 2.0 API. DISCOVER YOUR DEVICES • Auto-discover devices instantly via mDNS — no IP addresses needed • Scan your entire subnet to find every Shelly on your network • Add devices manually by entering their IP address CONTROL EVERYTHING • Turn switches on/off with a single tap • Dim lights to the perfect level • Adjust colour temperature and RGB colour for smart bulbs • Open, close, and position covers and blinds with precision REAL-TIME MONITORING • Live status updates via WebSocket — see your devices react in real time • Energy dashboard with power, voltage, current, and consumption data • Sensor readings: temperature, humidity, flood, smoke, motion, and illuminance MANAGE YOUR DEVICES • View firmware versions and update devices over the air • Batch-update multiple devices at once • Create and manage schedules directly on each device • Reboot or factory-reset devices when needed WORKS WITH YOUR HOME • Full support for password-protected devices (SHA-256 Digest authentication) • Automatic reconnection if a device drops off the network • Dark mode, light mode, and system theme support • Available in English, Deutsch, Français, Español, 中文, and 日本語 Compatible with all Shelly Gen 2, Gen 3, and Gen 4 devices. Gen 1 devices are not supported.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ShellMan at none against HomeMapper's 1. ShellMan also leads on iOS requirement (14.0 vs 18.4). HomeMapper's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs fortnightly). On price, ads 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
Both are free to download. HomeMapper sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $9.99 per year. ShellMan asks for nothing beyond the download.
HomeMapper ships an update weekly, ShellMan fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on September 13, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HomeMapper | ShellMan |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 4 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.4 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 16 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Vault Hunters NM LLC | Lars Roth |
In-app purchases
HomeMapper
- HomeMapper Pro7 Days trial$9.991 Year
ShellMan
No in-app purchases









