Comparison

HCA vs Easy Shortcut Key

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Remote device control
  • Sensor status monitoring
  • Program execution
  • Keypad control
  • Geofencing automation
  • Log viewing and filtering
  • Custom icon synchronization
Features
Read 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 ***

About

Easy Shortcut Key

Read full description

This is a collection of shortcut keys that can be easily viewed on a smartphone. It mainly features AI functions. More shortcut keys are being added with updates. You can also use KeyboardGW to input actual keys. To use KeyboardGW, all you need is M5Stack's AtomS3 Lite and burn it with M5Bunner. M5Bunner can be downloaded from the M5Stack website. Set the device to AtomS3 and search for KeyboardGW. If you have any requests, please post an issue at https://github.com/NW-Lab/EasyShortcutKey.

Screenshots

HCA3 screens
Easy Shortcut Key3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Easy Shortcut Key at every 8 days against HCA's every 4 months. HCA's advantage is device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.6). On price, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HCA ships an update every 4 months, Easy Shortcut Key every 8 days. Both last shipped on October 5, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
HCA versus Easy Shortcut Key: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHCAEasy Shortcut Key
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (6 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings6 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 8 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better17.6
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB1 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperAdvanced Quonset Technology, IncYasushi Tauchi

In-app purchases

None

HCA

No in-app purchases

None

Easy Shortcut Key

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HCA free?
HCA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Easy Shortcut Key free?
Easy Shortcut Key is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do HCA or Easy Shortcut Key have ads?
Neither HCA nor Easy Shortcut Key shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HCA or Easy Shortcut Key?
HCA ships an update every 4 months, and Easy Shortcut Key every 8 days. Most recently, HCA was updated on October 5, 2026 and Easy Shortcut Key on October 5, 2026.

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