Comparison

Helm vs HomeBar for HomeKit

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

Head to head
About

Helm

Features
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Turn your iPhone into a powerful remote control for your Mac. Helm connects over SSH on your local network โ€” no cloud, no third-party servers, just direct control. WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR FREE: โ€ข Trackpad โ€” Move your cursor with smooth gestures, tap to click, scroll naturally โ€ข Keyboard โ€” Quick clipboard shortcuts: copy, paste, cut, select all โ€ข Audio โ€” Adjust volume, mute/unmute, quick presets โ€ข Power โ€” Sleep, lock, restart, or shut down your Mac remotely UNLOCK HELM PRO: โ€ข Media Control โ€” Now playing info, playback controls, seek, shuffle & repeat for Music and Spotify โ€ข Brightness โ€” Adjust display brightness with a simple slider โ€ข Appearance โ€” Toggle dark mode and change your Mac's accent color โ€ข Bluetooth โ€” View connected devices with battery levels, connect and disconnect โ€ข Apps โ€” See running apps, quit or force quit with one tap โ€ข Browser Tabs โ€” Manage Safari and Chrome tabs remotely โ€ข Screenshot โ€” Capture your Mac's screen and save to your iPhone โ€ข Storage โ€” Monitor disk usage, view volumes, eject external drives HOW IT WORKS: 1. Enable Remote Login (SSH) on your Mac 2. Connect Helm on the same Wi-Fi network 3. Start controlling โ€” that's it WHY HELM? โ€ข Privacy First โ€” All data stays on your local network. No cloud. No tracking. โ€ข Auto-Discovery โ€” Finds your Mac automatically via Bonjour โ€ข Multiple Devices โ€” Save and switch between multiple Macs โ€ข Secure โ€” Passwords stored in iOS Keychain with SSH host key verification โ€ข Beautiful Design โ€” Premium dark interface with smooth animations and haptic feedback Perfect for developers, power users, and anyone who wants to control their Mac from the couch. Download Helm and take control today. Privacy Policy: https://cappsule.com.tr/helm/privacy-policy.html Terms of Use: https://cappsule.com.tr/helm/terms-of-service.html

About

HomeBar for HomeKit

Features
Read full description

HomeBar is the AI-powered companion that turns your HomeKit setup into a home that actually feels smart. Describe an automation โ€” "when it starts raining, close the garage and turn off the sprinklers" โ€” and HomeBar builds it. Get daily summaries of what's working, see which device is dragging down your reliability, automation and device logs track every change, and track every watt across your home. Pair it with HomeBar for Mac to unlock the full experience, or use it standalone for powerful on-the-go control that goes far beyond what Apple's Home app offers. AI-POWERED AUTOMATIONS Describe what you want in plain English -- "Turn off all lights when I leave home, but only on weekdays" -- and HomeBar's AI builds the automation for you. Powered by Claude, the AI Automation Builder translates your intent into precise HomeKit triggers, conditions, and actions. SMART DEVICE FILTERS Build custom device views using natural language. Type "lights that are on upstairs" or "devices using more than 100 watts" and HomeBar creates the filter instantly. Save it for one-tap access. INTERACTIVE WIDGETS Home Screen widgets with device toggles, dimmer sliders, and scene activation. Lock Screen widgets for quick device state and scene launch. StandBy mode dashboard with sensor readings at a glance. DEEP DIAGNOSTICS & LOGS See exactly why your automations fail. A searchable log of every automation attempt shows which conditions passed or failed, and why. Push notifications alert you to repeated failures even when you're away from your Mac. DEVICE HEALTH DASHBOARD One screen showing every device that needs attention -- unreachable accessories, low battery, firmware updates, and broken automation references. Push notifications for new issues. ENERGY MONITORING & COST INTELLIGENCE Track real-time power draw, per-device energy breakdowns, and projected costs against your utility rate. Weekly AI recommendations tell you exactly where to save. AI ANOMALY DETECTION Proactive monitoring catches what you miss -- doors left open, energy spikes, sensors going offline. Daily smart summaries and pattern-based automation suggestions delivered right to your iPhone. MATTER NATIVE HomeBar surfaces Matter device data that HomeKit's own UI doesn't show -- real-time power, energy, and cluster data from Thread and Wi-Fi accessories. SENSOR HISTORY & CHARTS Interactive time-series charts for every sensor. Works with all brands, not just Eve hardware. Compare sensors across rooms with swipe-to-zoom and CSV export. BACKUP & RESTORE View and manage HomeKit backups created on your Mac. Full restore guidance with per-device checklists. NFC AUTOMATION TRIGGERS Tap a standard NFC tag to trigger any HomeKit scene or automation. No custom hardware needed -- just writable NFC tags. SIRI SHORTCUTS Full Shortcuts integration for building custom workflows with HomeBar actions. SYNCS WITH MAC CloudKit sync keeps your automation logs, sensor history, and folder assignments in perfect sync between Mac and iPhone. Delta sync minimizes cellular data usage. PRIVATE BY DEFAULT All data stays on your device. No cloud accounts required. AI features send only device names and types -- never audio, video, or location. PRICING HomeBar is free to download with powerful core features. Unlock Pro ($3.99/mo or $34/yr) for advanced automations, diagnostics, and backup. Go Max ($8.99/mo or $74/yr) for unlimited AI, energy monitoring, anomaly detection, and 90-day history. One subscription works across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV. EULA https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ PRIVACY POLICY https://homebar.industries/privacy

Screenshots

Helm4 screens
HomeBar for HomeKit4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: HomeBar for HomeKit at fortnightly against Helm's every 2 months. HomeBar for HomeKit also leads on device support (4 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Helm sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and HomeBar for HomeKit sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Helm ships an update every 2 months, HomeBar for HomeKit fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences ยท 4 level
Helm versus HomeBar for HomeKit: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHelmHomeBar for HomeKit
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsFortnightly โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV โ€” better
Requires iOS17 โ€” better18.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size28 MB49 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCappsule TeknolojiAndrew Gould

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Helm

One-time1
  • Helm Pro$4.99
5 purchases

HomeBar for HomeKit

Subscriptions4
  • HomeBar - Pro (Monthly)$3.991 Month
  • HomeBar - Max (Monthly)$8.991 Month
  • HomeBar - Pro (Annual)$33.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • HomeBar - Max (Annual Subscription)$73.991 Year
One-time1
  • HomeBar - LIfetime$119.99

Questions

Is Helm free?
Helm is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is HomeBar for HomeKit free?
HomeBar for HomeKit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Helm or HomeBar for HomeKit have ads?
Neither Helm nor HomeBar for HomeKit shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Helm or HomeBar for HomeKit?
Helm ships an update every 2 months, and HomeBar for HomeKit fortnightly. Most recently, Helm was updated on October 24, 2026 and HomeBar for HomeKit on October 8, 2026.

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