Home Assistant

Home Assistant is the software most people mean when they say they moved their smart home off a vendor cloud. The project began in 2013 when its founder Paulus Schoutsen wrote a few lines of Python, and in 2024 it was placed under the Open Home Foundation.

The foundation's privacy policy gives an address in Baar, Switzerland, and the project's site says it is a non-profit that cannot be sold or acquired. The core code is on GitHub under the Apache-2.0 licence.

Local first

The installation guide says the smart home keeps working when the internet is down and that data stays at home. You can start on Home Assistant Green, a ready-made hub, or install it yourself on a Raspberry Pi, an x86-64 machine, a container or a virtual machine.

Breadth of devices

The homepage counts more than 1500 integrations. Zigbee and Thread need a radio, which the project sells as the Connect ZBT-2 stick, and Z-Wave needs the Connect ZWA-2. Matter devices work over Wi-Fi and Ethernet once the Matter integration and server are set up.

What the optional subscription is

Remote access, offsite backups and Alexa or Google Home control come from a paid subscription called Home Assistant Link, formerly Cloud. Its pricing page lists EUR 7.50 a month or EUR 75 a year. It is sold by Nabu Casa, Inc., whose website gives a California address, so it is not part of the European listing. You can reach your instance from outside without it by setting up your own access.

Limitations to Consider

Home Assistant expects you to configure things, and its own docs describe a community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts, so it is a steeper start than Homey. Zigbee, Thread and Z-Wave each need a separate radio. The remote-access subscription and the Green hardware are sold by a US-addressed company, Nabu Casa, Inc.

Who Should Use Home Assistant

Households that want the most flexible local hub in this list and are happy to learn a configuration-heavy tool.