# Google Home vs SmartThings

The clearest difference is ads: SmartThings at none against Google Home's shown. SmartThings also leads on review sentiment (31% vs 15%) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). Google Home's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, rating, ratings volume and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

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 Google Home against 4.6 for SmartThings. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1.4M and 809K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 15% of Google Home's written reviews are positive against 31% of SmartThings's.

Google Home ships an update weekly, SmartThings monthly. Both last shipped on September 26, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Google Home | SmartThings |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.6 (1.4M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google-home/id680819774/reviews) | [4.6 (809K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartthings/id1222822904/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **1.4M** | 809K |
| Positive reviews | 15.4% of reviews | **31.0% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Monthly |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | #10 | **#5** |
| Size | 606 MB | 961 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.4 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Google](https://appshunter.io/developer/281956209) | [Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.](https://appshunter.io/developer/359580642) |

## What reviewers say

### Google Home

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/google-home/id680819774)

**Currently charting:** #10 Top Free · Lifestyle (US App Store)

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.

**Highlights:** Home status overview, Device grouping into dashboards, Live camera view and history, Voice control with Gemini for Home, Streamlined settings navigation

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Excellent camera quality
- 👍 Secure home monitoring
- 🚀 Reliable notifications

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent disconnections
- 🐛 Buggy app performance
- 👎 Lacking advanced features
- 👎 Unintuitive user interface

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to remove 'ghost' devices
- Inconsistent connectivity between app and devices
- Unreliable motion detection

**Requested features**

- Ability to customize notification settings
- Integration with more smart home devices
- Improved video history browsing


### SmartThings

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartthings/id1222822904)

**Currently charting:** #5 Top Free · Lifestyle, #138 Top Free (US App Store)

Unify and manage all your smart home devices from a single application. Connect hundreds of brands, create custom scenes and routines, and control your home remotely. Monitor energy usage and even get meal planning assistance.

**Highlights:** Connect and control devices from multiple brands, Create custom scenes and routines, Remote home monitoring and control, Automated notifications and status updates, Voice control with Google Assistant, Energy tracking and saving features, Smart cooking and meal planning assistance

**Features:** Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Remote control functionality
- 📚 Laundry cycle recommendations
- 🤖 Automation and scheduling capabilities
- 🔧 Customizable settings

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent disconnections and crashes
- ⏱️ Slow and laggy performance
- 🔍 Difficulty connecting and configuring devices
- 🤔 Confusing and unintuitive user interface
- 🔒 Privacy concerns with location tracking

**Reported bugs**

- Inability to add or remove devices
- Inconsistent device status updates
- Notifications not working as expected

**Requested features**

- Ability to control TV without remote
- Improved photo/artwork management for Frame TV
- More advanced automation and scheduling options
- Better integration with other smart home platforms


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Google Home free?

Google Home is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is SmartThings free?

SmartThings is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Google Home or SmartThings?

Google Home and SmartThings are both rated 4.6 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1.4M and 809K ratings respectively.

### Do Google Home or SmartThings have ads?

Google Home shows ads; SmartThings does not.

### Which is updated more often, Google Home or SmartThings?

Google Home ships an update weekly, and SmartThings monthly. Most recently, Google Home was updated on September 26, 2026 and SmartThings on September 26, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Google Home or SmartThings?

Google Home currently peaks at #10 in the App Store charts, and SmartThings at #5. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*