# Alternatives to Home Assistant

The open source smart home hub.

Home Assistant ranks #2 of 8 in Home automation, with an Alt Score of 100. It is licensed under Apache-2.0, free from Free and available on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android. 10 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/home-assistant/
Category: Home automation

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: DIY enthusiasts, tinkerers, and privacy-conscious homeowners who want to control their smart home devices locally without relying on manufacturer clouds. Suits anyone comfortable running self-hosted software, from casual users to advanced automation experts.
- **What you get**: An open-source home automation platform that unifies over 1,000 brands and thousands of device integrations into a single system. Data and processing stay on your local network by default, with cloud services used only when necessary. You get customizable dashboards, trigger-based automations, and Assist, a local voice assistant, plus official mobile apps for remote control and presence detection.
- **How it works**: You install Home Assistant on compatible hardware (such as a Raspberry Pi or a dedicated device), and it scans your network to discover and set up supported devices as integrations. From there you build dashboards to monitor and control devices and create automations that trigger actions based on conditions like time, sensors, or device state.

## Profile

- **License**: Apache-2.0 (verified 2026-07-10)
- **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-10)
- **Starts at**: Free (verified 2026-07-10)
- **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android
- **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-10)

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Domoticz](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/domoticz.md) | 100 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, Linux, iOS, Android |
| 2 | [ESPHome](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/esphome.md) | 86 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 3 | [SmartThings](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/smartthings.md) | 73 | Proprietary | Windows, iOS, Android |
| 4 | [Homebridge](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/homebridge.md) | 68 | Apache-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 5 | [openHAB](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/openhab.md) | 64 | EPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| 6 | [Scrypted](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/scrypted.md) | 64 | ISC | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS |
| 7 | [Frigate](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/frigate.md) | 46 | MIT | Linux, Web |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Home automation checklist | Home Assistant | Domoticz | ESPHome | SmartThings | Homebridge | openHAB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Free | Free | Free | ? | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free | Free | ? | Free | Free |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary | Apache-2.0 | EPL-2.0 |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | Windows, Linux, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Local-first (no cloud required) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Device / integration count | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Automation engine | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |
| Voice assistant integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? |
| Matter / Thread support | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | Partial | ? |
| Energy monitoring | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | ? |
| Dashboards | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ? | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Runs on Raspberry Pi | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Home Assistant. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: Apache-2.0 — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/home-assistant/core/dev/LICENSE.md> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Apache License, Version 2.0, January 2004”
- **Starts at**: Free — <https://www.home-assistant.io/getting-started/> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “There are no servers in the cloud and no hidden subscriptions: Home Assistant runs on your own hardware, in your own home, and your data stays with you.”
- **Pricing model**: Free — <https://www.home-assistant.io/getting-started/> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: The software is free/open source; Home Assistant Cloud (Nabu Casa) is an optional paid add-on for remote access and voice.
  - Quote: “There are no servers in the cloud and no hidden subscriptions: Home Assistant runs on your own hardware, in your own home, and your data stays with you.”
- **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android — <https://www.home-assistant.io/installation/> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Note: iOS/Android via the official companion apps.
  - Quote: “Install Home Assistant on Linux; Install Home Assistant on macOS; Install Home Assistant on Windows”
- **Status**: active — <https://www.home-assistant.io/faq/release/> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “A new stable version of Home Assistant is released on the first Wednesday of every month.”
- **Local-first (no cloud required)**: Yes — <https://www.home-assistant.io/getting-started/> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “There are no servers in the cloud and no hidden subscriptions: Home Assistant runs on your own hardware, in your own home, and your data stays with you.”
- **Device / integration count**: Yes — <https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Home Assistant supports thousands of brands across more than a hundred categories, including Z-Wave, Zigbee, Matter, and Thread.”
- **Automation engine**: Yes — <https://www.home-assistant.io/docs/automation/> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Automations are how you make your home work for you. They let Home Assistant automatically respond to things that happen, such as turning the lights on at sunset or pausing the music when you receive ”
- **Voice assistant integration**: Yes — <https://www.home-assistant.io/voice_control/> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Assist is the voice assistant built into Home Assistant. It lets you control your smart home with natural language, and it can run fully on your own hardware, so your voice commands stay private.”
- **Matter / Thread support**: Yes — <https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/matter/> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “The Matter integration allows you to control Matter devices on your local Wi-Fi or Thread network.”
- **Energy monitoring**: Yes — <https://www.home-assistant.io/home-energy-management/> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Home Assistant helps you monitor your energy usage, transition to sustainable energy and save money.”
- **Dashboards**: Yes — <https://www.home-assistant.io/dashboards/> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “From there, you can build your own dashboards visually, with drag and drop, no coding required.”
- **Mobile app**: Yes — <https://companion.home-assistant.io/#the-companion-apps> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “All the ways you can integrate Home Assistant into Android and iOS.”
- **Open source**: Yes — <https://raw.githubusercontent.com/home-assistant/core/dev/LICENSE.md> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Apache License, Version 2.0, January 2004”
- **Runs on Raspberry Pi**: Yes — <https://www.home-assistant.io/installation/raspberrypi> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Install Home Assistant on a Raspberry Pi”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/