Home Assistant vs SmartThings: local control against convenience
Both speak every radio. Only one of them still works when Samsung changes its mind.
Two good platforms with opposite philosophies#
Both handle Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread and Matter. Both run some logic on hardware in your house. On a feature-by-feature list they look closer than they are, because the difference is structural: SmartThings is a product Samsung operates and you use, while Home Assistant is software you operate.
That shows up in every decision below, including the one that will matter most to current SmartThings owners: Samsung is ending free API access in October 2026.
The comparison#
| Home Assistant | SmartThings | |
|---|---|---|
| Matter version | Matter 1.6 in shipping code since Matter Server 9.1.0, July 2026. Not yet re-certified | Matter 1.5, shipped December 2025, about a month after the specification |
| Matter cameras | Experimental, exposed only in the Matter Server web interface | Live streaming, two way audio, motion detection, event history, PTZ and privacy zones |
| Radios | All of them, as separate dongles | Zigbee and Thread onboard, Z-Wave historically from Aeotec hubs |
| Hub hardware | Green at $199, or your own machine | SmartThings Station, Aeotec hub, or built into 2022 and later Samsung TVs (Q60 and above) and Family Hub fridges |
| Where automations run | Entirely on your hardware | Edge drivers run on the hub; Samsung does not document which routines survive an outage |
| Local Control Index | 100 / 100 | 30 / 100 |
| Local voice | Yes, a full local pipeline | No |
| Subscription | None required. Home Assistant Cloud is $6.50 a month | None for app use. API access moves to a paid plan from October 2026 |
| Maintenance | Monthly releases, occasional breaking changes, you own backups | Samsung maintains it |
| Support | Community forum and documentation | A vendor with a support channel |
| Platform | Score /100 | Local automation execution | Local voice control | Survives a vendor shutdown | Local API or integration surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home Assistant | 100 | 20 / 20 | 10 / 10 | 15 / 15 | 10 / 10 |
| Hubitat Elevation | 87.5 | 20 / 20 | 0 / 10 | 15 / 15 | 10 / 10 |
| Homey Pro | 62.5 | 20 / 20 | 0 / 10 | 7.5 / 15 | 10 / 10 |
| Apple Home | 60 | 20 / 20 | 0 / 10 | 7.5 / 15 | 0 / 10 |
| Samsung SmartThings | 30 | 10 / 20 | 0 / 10 | 0 / 15 | 0 / 10 |
| Google Home | 15 | 0 / 20 | 0 / 10 | 0 / 15 | 0 / 10 |
| Amazon Alexa | 5 | 0 / 20 | 0 / 10 | 0 / 15 | 0 / 10 |
Scoring is against our published rubric.
Where SmartThings is genuinely better#
Matter speed. SmartThings was the first platform to ship Matter 1.5, announced on 18 December 2025, roughly a month after the specification. Firmware reached the 2018 V3 hub and the Aeotec hubs in December 2025 and the 2015 V2 hub in January 2026, which is an unusually good record for supporting old hardware.
Matter cameras that actually exist. SmartThings is the only major controller shipping Matter 1.5 camera support: live streaming, two way audio, motion detection, event history, PTZ and privacy zones, with Aqara, Eve and Xthings/Ulticam as launch partners and cameras arriving from around March 2026. The caveat worth knowing is that at announcement no Matter 1.5 cameras existed to buy, and they were reported as not yet fully usable inside SmartThings Routines. Home Assistant's Matter camera support is experimental and not exposed as normal camera entities.
Zero setup cost if you own the right TV. A Samsung TV from 2022 or later at Q60 and above has a SmartThings hub built in, with Matter, Thread and Zigbee. That is a hub you already paid for.
Nobody has to maintain it. This is the whole product. Samsung ships updates, Samsung fixes breakages, and the app is designed for people who do not want to think about any of this.
Where Home Assistant is genuinely better#
Local execution, completely. Automations, state, dashboards on the LAN and even voice all run in the house. SmartThings edge drivers do run on the hub, which is real local processing and better than Google or Alexa manage, but Samsung does not document which routines keep working during an outage, so you cannot plan around it. Home Assistant you can. The device-level picture is in what still works when the internet goes down.
Matter version. Matter Server 9.1.0 brought Matter 1.6.0 in July 2026, ahead of every other platform. The honest asterisk: that implementation has not been re-certified by the alliance, so certification-based comparisons still list Home Assistant lower. Both facts are true, and every Matter version explains what is in each release.
Every radio, on your terms. Z-Wave 800 with Long Range through a Connect ZWA-2, Zigbee or Thread through a Connect ZBT-2, Bluetooth by adapter or ESPHome proxy, infrared and 433 MHz through ESPHome. SmartThings' Z-Wave story has historically depended on Aeotec hardware and current series support is not clearly documented, which matters given how much of the Z-Wave certification pipeline now targets Long Range.
Diagnostics. Home Assistant exposes Thread routing detail, added a Matter network map visualization in the 2026.9 release, and lets you see why something failed. SmartThings shows you that it failed.
Nobody can switch it off. No vendor decision removes a feature you depend on. See when a smart home company shuts down.
The October 2026 change that forces the question#
Samsung is ending free SmartThings API access in October 2026, replacing it with a $4.99 a month Personal Plan for individual developers and commercial tiers above that. The app and basic device control stay free.
Home Assistant's SmartThings integration falls under the new plan, and as of September 2026 Home Assistant has not said how it will handle that. Apple, Google and Amazon still offer free smart home API access.
This matters most to a specific and common setup: SmartThings owning the radios, Home Assistant doing the automations on top. That arrangement now has an unpriced dependency on a vendor's developer policy.
By household#
Nobody wants to administer anything. SmartThings. This is not a compromise, it is the correct answer. A platform nobody maintains is a platform that stops working, and Home Assistant needs a maintainer.
One person enjoys this and the rest of the house just wants lights. Home Assistant, with a voice assistant in front so everyone else never opens it. The risk to manage is that the maintainer goes on vacation.
You own a recent Samsung TV and about a dozen devices. SmartThings. The hub is free, the setup is an evening, and the Matter support is current.
Automations are load-bearing: medical reminders, accessibility, a freezer alarm. Home Assistant. You need documented, inspectable local behavior, not "edge drivers generally run on the hub."
You want Matter cameras now. SmartThings, with the caveat that the ecosystem of actual Matter 1.5 cameras is young. Cameras and doorbells covers what to expect.
You want local control without becoming a system administrator. Neither, quite. Look at Hubitat, which runs rules locally as an appliance, or read the seven platforms compared for the full field.
Pick Home Assistant if#
- Someone in the household will happily maintain it.
- You want automations that are documented to keep running in an outage.
- You need Z-Wave Long Range, infrared, 433 MHz or local voice.
- You want the current Matter implementation rather than the current Matter certificate.
- You do not want a vendor policy change to alter what your house can do.
Pick SmartThings if#
- No one wants to be the administrator, and that is not going to change.
- You already own a Samsung TV or fridge with a hub inside it.
- You want new Matter features, especially cameras, as soon as they exist.
- You would rather have a support channel than a forum thread.
- Your automations are convenient rather than critical.
Will the SmartThings API change break Home Assistant?
It changes the cost, not necessarily the capability. Samsung ends free SmartThings API access in October 2026 and moves individual developers to a $4.99 a month Personal Plan, and Home Assistant's SmartThings integration falls under it. Home Assistant has not announced its approach as of September 2026. Devices connected directly to Home Assistant by Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread or Matter are unaffected.
Which one is better for Matter?
It depends what you mean. Home Assistant implements Matter 1.6 in shipping code as of July 2026, ahead of everyone, though that implementation is not re-certified. SmartThings ships certified Matter 1.5 and is the only platform with working Matter camera support. For version currency, Home Assistant. For camera features you can use today, SmartThings.
Can I run both together?
Yes, and many people do, with SmartThings holding the radios and Home Assistant running automations on top. That arrangement now depends on paid API access from October 2026, so treat it as a transitional setup rather than a permanent architecture unless you are happy with the fee.
Does SmartThings work without the internet?
Partly, and Samsung does not document the boundary. Edge drivers execute on the hub, which is genuine local processing, but there is no published list of which routines keep running during an outage. That uncertainty is why it scores 30 out of 100 on our local control rubric, ahead of Google and Alexa and well behind Home Assistant.
Is Home Assistant too hard for a normal household?
It is not hard to use, it is hard to maintain. Dashboards, voice control and the mobile app are approachable for anyone in the house. Someone still has to handle monthly updates, backups and the occasional broken integration. If nobody will, the platform decays quietly and then fails loudly.
How much does each cost to start?
Home Assistant is around $199 for a Green plus $49 for a Connect ZBT-2, or about $270 with a Z-Wave stick, with no required subscription. SmartThings costs nothing extra if you own a recent Samsung TV or fridge with a hub, otherwise a Station or Aeotec hub. Samsung's current hub pricing is not clearly published, so check at the point of purchase.
Can I move from SmartThings to Home Assistant without rebuying devices?
Mostly yes. Zigbee devices reset and re-pair to a new coordinator, Z-Wave devices are excluded and re-included, and Matter devices are unpaired and re-commissioned. Your routines do not transfer and have to be rebuilt. Budget for the dongles and a couple of weekends rather than for new hardware.
Which is better for Z-Wave?
Home Assistant, clearly. A Connect ZWA-2 gives you an 800 series radio with Long Range support and full visibility into the mesh. SmartThings' Z-Wave support has historically come through Aeotec hubs and current series support is not clearly documented, so verify it before committing a Z-Wave heavy house.
Primary sources
Specification and vendor documentation we checked while writing this page. Where a claim depends on firmware behaviour rather than a published spec, the page says so inline.