Hive vs Three+
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hive
Control your home's energy usage, from heating and EV charging to lighting and solar power, all from your smartphone. Save money and reduce your carbon footprint with smart scheduling, real-time tracking, and personalized insights.
- Smart heating control
- EV charging management
- Smart lighting and plugs
- Solar energy generation and storage
- Energy usage tracking and budgeting
- Personalized dashboard
- Smart actions and scheduling
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SAVE MONEY AND ENERGY WITH HIVE From smart heating to EV charging and so much more, Hive makes it easy to cut costs and carbon – all from your smartphone. Already trusted by more than 2 million customers, our clever technology is changing the way homes use, store and generate energy for the better. So we can get Britain living more sustainably every day. INTRODUCING THE NEW HIVE APP Our better-than-ever app has even more features to make saving energy easier – all based on feedback from real Hive users. • Personalise your dashboard to show your most-used devices first for quicker control. • Track budgets, check your history and discover more ways to save with Trends. • Switch on your devices, set smart actions and control it all from the dashboard. HIVE THERMOSTATS • Get everything you need to take control of your heating with the best-selling Hive Thermostat - or choose the Hive Thermostat Mini for all the benefits at an even more affordable price. • Set energy-saving schedules, boost the temperature and get alerts if you’ve accidentally left the heating on. • Save energy and protect your heating system with built-in features like Frost Protection and Holiday Mode. • Boost your control with smart Hive Radiator Valves and save by never heating a room you’re not using. • Upgrade to Hive Heating Plus for even more ways to save, including insight tools, budget tracking and personalised recommendations. HIVE EV CHARGING • Make the switch to EV easier with Hive EV Charging, including a smart home charger, installation by British Gas and simple control via the Hive app. • Pair it with any British Gas electricity tariff to access SmartCharge – our revolutionary scheduling tool that automatically charges at the greenest and cheapest times. Then, get any money you’ve saved credited on your next bill. • Or if you’re a new customer, get exclusive access to FreeCharge for a year of free charging on us! • See how much you’re spending in the Hive app and get real-time updates when your car’s ready to go. HIVE LIGHTS, SENSORS & PLUGS • Set the mood with a swipe and get light where you need it with our ultra-efficient bulbs. • Monitor power-hungry appliances with smart plugs, so you can see how much energy you’re using at any time. • Link your whole smart home together with Motion Sensors and get it saving energy without lifting a finger. *NEW* HIVE SOLAR • Get everything you need to power your home with greener, renewable energy, including solar panels, home battery, expert installation and full app control. • Generate free green energy from the sun, store what you don’t use with a solar battery and sell any you don’t need back to the grid. • Pair it with the Hive Solar Saver tariff from British Gas and save hundreds on your energy bills. Discover more at hivehome.com
Three+
Access exclusive rewards and offers from popular brands, available only to customers. Discover deals on food, entertainment, days out, shopping, and more to enhance your lifestyle.
- Exclusive rewards and offers
- Deals on food and drink
- Entertainment discounts
- Savings on days out
- Shopping promotions
- Wellbeing offers
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Rewards and offers from brands you love, only on Three. Welcome to life with a few extra plusses. Three+ is our new loyalty rewards app exclusive to Three customers. It’s our way of saying thanks and helping you create more meaningful moments. Download now and start exploring an ever-growing list of offers across categories like: - Food and drink - Entertainment - Days out - Wellbeing - Shopping - And more So kickstart a film club with money off at the movies. Treat a friend out to dinner. Or have date night delivered and make it one to remember. Download Three+ today and see how all those extra plusses add up.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Hive at none against Three+'s shown. Hive also leads on monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months). Three+'s advantage is iOS requirement (12.0 vs 15.1). On price, review sentiment and in-app purchases 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.
Hive holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hive has 791 ratings behind it against 31, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 18% of Hive's written reviews are positive against 20% of Three+'s, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Hive ships an update every 2 weeks, Three+ every 2 months. Both last shipped on October 3, 2026.
| Parameter | Hive | Three+ |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.2 (791 ratings) — better | 4.0 (31 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 18.4% of reviews | 19.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 791 — better | 31 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | 12.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 197 MB | 63 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Centrica Hive Limited | Hutchison 3G UK Ltd |
Customer experience
Hive
Three+
User reviews
Hive
From 791 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🔒 Secure system
- 👍 Convenient remote control
- 👍 Integrates well with Alexa and Google
Room to improve
- 🐛 Frequent connectivity issues
- 🐛 Unreliable app performance
- 🐛 Scheduling problems
- 🔋 High battery drain on devices
- 👎 Paywall for basic features
Three+
From 31 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast app
- 💡 Great rewards
- 👍 Useful discounts
- 🤩 Fantastic app
- 😊 Excellent rewards
Room to improve
- 🐛 Constantly crashes
- 🔑 Difficult to log in
- ⏱️ Slow to load
- 🤯 Buggy and glitchy
- 🙄 Unreliable
Bugs and requests
Hive
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes and freezes
- Devices randomly going offline
- Heating/cooling schedules not working as expected
- Camera live view and recordings not functioning properly
Requested features
4 requests- Dark mode option
- More granular scheduling controls
- Better integration with smart home platforms
- Improved camera functionality and recording
Three+
Reported bugs
4 issues- App crashes frequently
- Login issues and password problems
- Rewards not working as expected
- Slow performance and loading times
Requested features
4 requests- Bring back Cafe Nero rewards
- Expand rewards to more locations
- Improve app stability and reliability
- Make it easier to redeem rewards
In-app purchases
Hive
No in-app purchases
Three+
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Hive free?
Is Three+ free?
Which has better reviews, Hive or Three+?
Do Hive or Three+ have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hive or Three+?
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