HCA vs BHand
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HCA
Control your home's lighting, thermostat, and automation devices remotely. Monitor sensors, trigger programs, and manage keypads. Uses geofencing for automated actions when entering or leaving areas.
- Remote device control
- Sensor status monitoring
- Program execution
- Keypad control
- Geofencing automation
- Log viewing and filtering
- Custom icon synchronization
Read full descriptionHide full description
HCA is a companion app for the Home Control Assistant Server desktop application. It is a client that connects to your HCA Server home automation system over WiFi or Cell network. I have no affiliation with the makers of HCA Server - I'm just a user providing this app for free to people who already own HCA Server. With this app, you can: - Control your home lighting, thermostat and other automation devices remotely. - Check on the status of motion and door/window sensors and your alarm system. - Trigger the execution of HCA programs to expand your remote automation capability. - Control the keypads throughout your home. - Use GeoFences to cause an HCA program to execute when entering/leaving an area. - View the HCA log and filters - Synchronize your custom icons from the HCA server to the app. - View your custom HTML pages generated by the HCA Server - Much, Much more! NOTE: For geofences, the users location is NEVER transmitted to the server or anywhere else outside of the app. It is used only by iOS to track the geofence. The app only sends the user-supplied name of the geofence to the server. For a video showing how to setup and use the app, see here: Part 1: https://youtu.be/IRWOgmouC_c Part 2: https://youtu.be/-On3jNJHW6M Please provide feedback on what features you would like to see implemented next! *** Please give us a rating in the app store ***
BHand
Read full descriptionHide full description
This app helps you configure your gas sensor via your mobile device. You simply power up your compatible device and use the app to configure it via Bluetooth. You can configure your device with this app: - The network to connect to, and configure how to connect to your data server. - Data protocols used, security certificates. - Download cached data (if supported by device). - and more.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: HCA at 12.0 against BHand's 14. On price, update cadence, ads 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.
HCA ships an update every 4 months, BHand every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 5, 2026 and October 2, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HCA | BHand |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (6 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 80.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 6 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 14 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 38 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Advanced Quonset Technology, Inc | Tongdy Sensing Technology Corporation |
In-app purchases
HCA
No in-app purchases
BHand
No in-app purchases
