Softwr

Smart Home · head to head

Crestron vs Tines

Crestron logo

Crestron

Smart Home

Enterprise-grade control and automation technology

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tines logo

Tines

Automation Integration

No-code automation for security teams

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Tines has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Crestron no published pricing or pricing tiers; no specific product prices disclosed.; Tines no-code, UI-driven approach is restrictive for complex logic and version control integration with SDLC
  • They diverge on capability: Crestron covers Enterprise Control, Tines covers Story builder.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Crestron and Tines actually diverge.

Attributes where Crestron and Tines differ
AttributeCrestronTines
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsControl systems, Mobile apps, Web interfaces, Touch screensWeb
CategorySmart HomeAutomation Integration
Founded19712018

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Crestron

  • Enterprise Control
  • Powerful Programming
  • Extensive Integration
  • Reliability
  • 5000+ devices
  • Custom protocols
  • Web/Mobile apps
  • Touch panels

Only in Tines

  • Story builder
  • Drag-and-drop workflows
  • Event triggers
  • Incident response automation
  • Threat intelligence
  • Case management
  • Alert triage
  • Slack

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Crestron

  • Conference room automationnot Tines
  • Building managementnot Tines
  • Campus-wide controlnot Tines
  • Corporate AVnot Tines

Tines

  • Workflow Automationnot Crestron
  • Data Integrationnot Crestron
  • Process Automationnot Crestron
  • App Integrationnot Crestron
  • API Connectivitynot Crestron

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Crestron

  • No published pricing or pricing tiers; no specific product prices disclosed.
  • The pricing page only announces a 10% global price increase effective March 1, 2022, without listing actual prices.

Tines

  • No-code, UI-driven approach is restrictive for complex logic and version control integration with SDLC
  • No native log intelligence layer to validate data completeness
  • Limited scope to security workloads, cannot handle general business automation
  • Governance features lag behind EU AI Act compliance requirements

Pricing, plan by plan

Crestron

On request
  • Professional$1000/month
    • Programming tools
    • Device control
    • Advanced features
  • Enterprise$10000/month
    • Large deployments
    • Custom solutions
    • Enterprise support

Tines

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Tines review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Crestron if

  • You need enterprise control.
  • You work on Control systems, Mobile apps, Web interfaces, Touch screens.
  • You also want powerful programming.
Crestron review

Choose Tines if

  • You need story builder.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want drag-and-drop workflows.
Tines review

Questions people ask

Is Crestron or Tines better?
Neither clearly leads. Crestron starts at On request and Tines at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Crestron or Tines?
Tines has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Crestron and Free for Tines.
Does Crestron or Tines run on more platforms?
Crestron runs on Control systems, Mobile apps, Web interfaces, Touch screens. Tines runs on Web.
Can I use Tines for free?
Yes. Tines has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Crestron starts at On request.
What is Crestron best used for?
Crestron is most often used for conference room automation, building management, campus-wide control, corporate av. Of those, conference room automation and building management are not what Tines is typically brought in for.
What can Crestron do that Tines cannot?
Crestron covers Enterprise Control, Powerful Programming, Extensive Integration, Reliability. Tines covers Story builder, Drag-and-drop workflows, Event triggers, Incident response automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Crestron: How much do Crestron products cost?

Crestron does not publish specific product pricing or pricing tiers on their website. Customers must contact Crestron directly for pricing information on AV control systems and related products.

Source
Tines: What are Tines' pricing tiers?

Tines offers a free Community Edition for evaluation, Starter Edition at $500/month with annual billing, and Business/Enterprise tiers starting around $50,000/year for small security teams and scaling to $200,000+ for large SOCs.

Source
Crestron: What was Crestron's most recent price change?

Crestron implemented a 10% global price increase effective March 1, 2022 on all products and services. Orders placed before March 1, 2022 that shipped by December 31, 2022 were honored at prior pricing. No retroactive increases applied to existing orders.

Source
Tines: What is the Community Edition limited to?

As of July 2026, the free Community Edition is scoped to 1 builder and 3 flows as an evaluation tool to test Tines' capabilities.

Source
Tines: Is Tines limited to security automation?

Yes, Tines is purpose-built for security automation. Teams needing non-security automation on the same orchestration layer would need to evaluate alternatives.

Source
Tines: Does Tines have native log intelligence capabilities?

No, Tines lacks a native log intelligence layer, meaning it cannot determine whether the data feeding your detection tools is complete. Teams must build automation against whatever alerts their existing infrastructure provides.

Source
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