Sort of … the biggest difference is HP is considerably harder to set up. In return it is free and it runs fully under your control. It is more customizable and is presented as an open source platform.
By the way I bought ActionTiles and I still use it sometimes so if you already have it and are happy with it there is no need to use HP. I made it because my wife wanted something that looked a little less sterile and I wanted something that was more flexible. I ended up having fun writing it so here it is.
My goal has since evolved to provide an open source platform that developers an use to creat dashboards and panels for SmartThings. This is why I am excited about the Open-Dash merge and brand. The above look is just one of many ways you can make HousePanel look. You can also use it as a silent web service for controlling or querying your smart home. I will document how soon.