# Amazon Alexa vs Surplife

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Surplife at none against Amazon Alexa's 2. Surplife also leads on review sentiment (54% vs 20%) and iOS requirement (15.5 vs 17.0). Amazon Alexa's advantage is ratings volume (5.9M vs 1.2K) and chart position (#11 vs #136). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Amazon Alexa sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Surplife asks for nothing beyond the download.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Amazon Alexa against 4.5 for Surplife. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Amazon Alexa has 5.9M ratings behind it against 1.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 20% of Amazon Alexa's written reviews are positive against 54% of Surplife's.

Amazon Alexa ships an update weekly, Surplife fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 19, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Amazon Alexa | Surplife |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.5 (5.9M ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/amazon-alexa/id944011620/reviews) | [4.5 (1.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surplife/id1607260535/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **5.9M** | 1.2K |
| Positive reviews | 20.3% of reviews | **53.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Weekly** | Fortnightly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#11** | #136 |
| Size | 501 MB | 479 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | **15.5** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [AMZN Mobile LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/297606954) | [明长 周](https://appshunter.io/developer/595148652) |

## What reviewers say

### Amazon Alexa

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/amazon-alexa/id944011620)

**Currently charting:** #11 Top Free · Lifestyle, #200 Top Free (US App Store)

Manage your smart home devices, control music, and organize your day with voice commands. This app allows you to set up and interact with compatible devices, discover new skills, and stay connected with others. It learns your preferences for a personalized experience.

**Highlights:** Manage Alexa-enabled devices, Control music playback, View and edit lists, Set reminders and timers, Discover and enable skills, Connect with other devices

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Amazon Kids+ | $6.99 | per month |
| Alexa+ Standard Monthly | $19.99 | per month |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Convenient for controlling smart devices
- 🚀 Helpful for managing reminders and playing music
- 👍 Alexa is a great companion
- 👍 Alexa is funny, nice, and kind
- 👍 Alexa is a lifesaver for the elderly

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
- 🐛 Inconsistent voice recognition
- 🐛 Cluttered and unintuitive interface
- 🐛 Slow and unresponsive app
- 🐛 Alexa sometimes ignores commands or gives irrelevant responses

**Reported bugs**

- Alexa unable to link to Apple Music account
- Alexa unable to properly control smart plugs and lights
- Alexa unable to maintain connection with Bluetooth speakers
- Alexa unable to consistently set alarms and timers
- Alexa app crashing or becoming unresponsive

**Requested features**

- More customization options for routines
- Better integration with third-party apps
- Ability to control Alexa devices without voice commands
- Option to set custom sounds/music for alarms and timers
- Improved music playback controls in the app


### Surplife

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/surplife/id1607260535)

**Currently charting:** #136 Top Free · Lifestyle (US App Store)

Control your smart lighting devices with ease. Add and manage multiple lights from a single application, allowing you to adjust settings remotely from any location.

**Highlights:** Add multiple devices, Control multiple devices, Remote device control, Easy device management

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Easy to use
- 🚀 Convenient control
- 💡 Customizable lighting
- 👍 Responsive support
- 🚀 Reliable functionality

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Connectivity issues
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance
- 🐛 Buggy app interface
- 🐛 Unreliable scheduling
- 🐛 Unresponsive customer service

**Reported bugs**

- Lights turning on/off randomly
- Inability to save custom settings
- App crashing or not opening
- Lights not responding to app commands
- Scheduling feature not working as expected

**Requested features**

- More holiday and theme options
- Ability to save custom scenes
- Improved app UI and navigation
- Multi-device syncing and control
- Integration with smart home platforms


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Amazon Alexa free?

Amazon Alexa is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is Surplife free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Amazon Alexa or Surplife?

Amazon Alexa and Surplife are both rated 4.5 out of 5 on the App Store, from 5.9M and 1.2K ratings respectively.

### Do Amazon Alexa or Surplife have ads?

Neither Amazon Alexa nor Surplife shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Amazon Alexa or Surplife?

Amazon Alexa ships an update weekly, and Surplife fortnightly. Most recently, Amazon Alexa was updated on October 19, 2026 and Surplife on October 18, 2026.

### Which is more popular, Amazon Alexa or Surplife?

Amazon Alexa currently peaks at #11 in the App Store charts, and Surplife at #136. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

---

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