Comparison

Hive vs Counta

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

Head to head
About

Hive

Manage your home's energy consumption, from heating and lighting to EV charging and solar power, all from your smartphone. Save money and reduce your carbon footprint with intelligent scheduling and real-time insights.

Highlights
  • Personalized dashboard
  • Energy saving schedules
  • EV charging control
  • Smart lighting and plugs
  • Solar power management
  • Budget tracking and insights
Features
Read full description

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

About

Counta

Features
Read full description

Life moments are worth a countdown. The holiday you've been dreaming about. Christmas. A wedding. A new car. That trip you keep putting off. Counta is the countdown app that doesn't just show you how many days are left — it helps you get there. Create a countdown for any date that matters. Watch the days, hours and minutes tick down in real time. Then attach a savings plan — tell Counta how much you need and how often you can save, and it calculates the rest automatically. Your countdown and your savings goal live together, so every time you check in you can see both how close you are in time, and how close you are in money. Use Counta for: Holiday countdowns and travel savings Christmas countdowns and Christmas savings funds Wedding countdowns and wedding savings goals Birthday and anniversary countdowns Concert, event and festival countdowns New car savings goals House deposit savings Emergency fund goals Everyday milestones and short-term savings targets Features: Countdown to any date — days, hours and minutes Build savings plans with automatic calculations Track savings progress visually as your pot fills up Set reminders and notifications to stay on track Dark mode for a calm, focused experience Clean, simple design — no clutter, no overwhelm Counta Unlimited includes: Unlimited countdowns and saving plans Premium features and all future updates Privacy Policy: https://timtomstudio.co.uk/privacy.html Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Hive4 screens
Counta4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hive at none against Counta's 2. Counta's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). On price, update cadence, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Counta sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Hive asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hive ships an update fortnightly, Counta every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Hive versus Counta: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHiveCounta
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (817 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews18.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings817 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightly — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple WatchiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS16.413.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size247 MB38 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCentrica Hive LimitedTimTom Studio

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

Counta

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Hive

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Counta

Subscriptions2
  • Counta Unlimited7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Counta Unlimited Annual$14.991 Year

Questions

Is Hive free?
Hive is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Counta free?
Counta is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Hive or Counta have ads?
Neither Hive nor Counta shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hive or Counta?
Hive ships an update fortnightly, and Counta every 3 weeks. Most recently, Hive was updated on November 3, 2026 and Counta on October 25, 2026.

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