I’ve used both. I started with SmartThings, moved to Home Assistant, and never looked back. But that doesn’t mean SmartThings is bad — it depends on what you want. Here’s the honest breakdown.

The Short Version

	Home Assistant	SmartThings
Cost	Free software + ~$50-150 hardware	Free (hub discontinued, app-only now)
Setup difficulty	Medium-Hard	Easy
Local control	Yes, fully local	Partial (some routines run locally)
Cloud dependency	None required	Required for most features
Integrations	2,500+	200+
Customization	Unlimited	Limited to app options
Mobile app	Good (both platforms)	Good (both platforms)
WAF (partner approval)	Low initially, high once set up	High out of the box
Community	Massive, very active	Smaller, Samsung-managed

Setup Difficulty

SmartThings: Download the app, add devices, create routines. Done. A non-technical person can set this up in an afternoon. Samsung has made the onboarding smooth.

Home Assistant: Install on a Raspberry Pi, NUC, or VM. Configure integrations. Learn YAML (or use the UI, which has gotten much better). Build dashboards. The initial setup takes a weekend minimum, and you’ll be tweaking for weeks.

Winner: SmartThings, easily. But this is a one-time cost — once Home Assistant is set up, daily use is just as simple.

Cost

SmartThings: The app is free. Samsung killed the dedicated hub — now it runs on Samsung TVs, fridges, or the Aeotec Smart Home Hub (~$70). Some features work without any hub using Wi-Fi devices.

Home Assistant: The software is free. You need hardware to run it:

• Cheapest: Raspberry Pi 4 (~$55) + SD card + case = ~$70
• Recommended: Home Assistant Green ($99) — purpose-built, just works
• Best: Intel NUC or a VM on existing hardware — fast, reliable, expandable

Both platforms support the same Zigbee/Z-Wave devices, so peripheral costs are the same.

Winner: Roughly equal. SmartThings might be “free” if you have a Samsung TV, but Home Assistant’s hardware is a one-time purchase with no subscription risk.

Local vs. Cloud

This is the big one.

SmartThings runs most automations through Samsung’s cloud servers. If your internet goes down or Samsung has an outage, your automations stop working. They’ve added some local processing for basic routines, but anything complex still requires cloud.

Home Assistant runs 100% locally by default. Your automations work even if your internet is completely dead. No cloud account required. No data leaves your house unless you explicitly set up remote access.

I’ve had my internet go down for 6 hours and every automation in my house kept running. That’s not possible with SmartThings.

Winner: Home Assistant, no contest.

Integrations & Device Support

Home Assistant supports over 2,500 integrations. Not just smart home — weather, media players, 3D printers, cars, sprinkler systems, solar panels, network equipment. If a device has an API, someone has probably written an integration.

SmartThings has a solid but smaller ecosystem, mostly focused on traditional smart home devices. Samsung’s own products work well, and Matter support is decent.

The gap here is enormous. Home Assistant can integrate with virtually anything. SmartThings is limited to what Samsung and its partners support.

Winner: Home Assistant by a mile.

Automations

SmartThings automations (called “Routines”) are simple if/then rules. Turn lights on when motion detected. Lock the door at 10 PM. They work, they’re easy to create, but they’re limited.

Home Assistant automations can be as simple or as complex as you want:

• Simple: Same if/then rules, creatable from the UI
• Medium: Choose blocks, conditions, templates
• Advanced: Node-RED integration, Python scripts, custom components

Example of something Home Assistant can do that SmartThings can’t: “If the washing machine power sensor drops below 5W after being above 10W for at least 5 minutes, and it’s a weekday, send a notification to whoever is home but not to whoever is sleeping (based on bed occupancy sensors).”

Winner: Home Assistant.

Reliability

SmartThings reliability depends on Samsung’s cloud. Historically, there have been outages that took down everyone’s automations simultaneously. When it works, it works well. When Samsung’s servers have issues, you’re stuck.

Home Assistant reliability depends on your hardware. A properly set up instance on a NUC or VM is rock solid — mine has months of uptime between updates. Running on an SD card in a Raspberry Pi is less reliable (SD cards fail). The software itself is very stable.

Winner: Home Assistant (with proper hardware).

The Real Question: Who Is Each Platform For?

Choose SmartThings if:

• You want something working tonight with minimal effort
• Your automation needs are basic (lights, locks, thermostat schedules)
• You don’t want to maintain a server
• You’re comfortable depending on cloud services
• You have Samsung devices that integrate natively

Choose Home Assistant if:

• You want full control over your smart home
• Privacy matters to you (local processing, no cloud)
• You plan to grow beyond basic automations
• You enjoy tinkering (or are willing to learn)
• You want to integrate non-standard devices (ESPHome sensors, local AI, etc.)
• You want it to keep working when the internet goes down

Can You Use Both?

Yes, actually. Home Assistant has a SmartThings integration. You can start with SmartThings, then add Home Assistant later and pull your SmartThings devices into HA. This is a valid migration path if you want to start simple and grow.

My Recommendation

If you’re reading a site called “AutomateMyHome,” you’re probably the kind of person who will outgrow SmartThings in a few months. Start with Home Assistant. The initial learning curve is steeper, but the ceiling is infinitely higher.

Buy a Home Assistant Green ($99), spend a weekend setting it up, and you’ll have a smart home platform that can grow with you for years. No subscriptions, no cloud dependency, no arbitrary limitations.

SmartThings is fine for basic use. Home Assistant is for people who want their smart home to actually be smart.