Apple Home vs Homey

Apple Home is a free app for controlling smart home accessories across Apple devices. Its Home tab groups accessories into categories such as Lights, Security, and Climate and displays their status. It supports compatible accessories for lighting, security, comfort, and entry, along with Matter, cameras, energy monitoring, and voice assistants. The app can show up to four cameras at once, while guest access can grant time-limited permissions for door locks, garage doors, and alarm systems. Accessories can be added by scanning a code or bringing an iPhone or iPad near them; Apple says they cannot be added to Home on Mac. A HomePod, HomePod mini, or Apple TV can serve as a hub for remote access and automation. Examples include turning on lights at a set time, closing blinds when leaving, or adjusting a fan as temperature rises. Siri can also control accessories. Apple says Home data is stored so it cannot read it, accessories are controlled by Apple devices rather than the cloud, and communications are end-to-end encrypted. The app requires Apple devices and compatible accessories.

Homey is a smart-home platform for controlling connected devices and building automations. It supports local control, Matter, Zigbee and Z-Wave, along with camera integration, energy monitoring and voice assistants including Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Siri Shortcuts. Flow and Advanced Flow cover simple and more complex automations, while the Homey App Store offers apps for brands and services such as Spotify, Slack, Twitter and Discord. Homey says it works with over 70,000 devices from more than 2,000 brands. Its free Homey Cloud plan covers up to five devices; Homey Cloud Premium costs $2.99 per month after that allowance. Homey Pro is a $449.00 USD one-time purchase, and Homey Pro mini is $249.00 USD once. Homey Bridge, an extension for Homey Cloud, is sold separately for $69.00 USD once. Homey is available on Android, iOS and web, as well as through tablets, desktop web, Apple Watch and widgets. Family and friends can receive different access roles, and flows can provide temporary guest access. Homey says it does not sell data or serve ads.