Best presence sensors for Home Assistant: mmWave and motion picks

Traditional motion sensors (PIR) detect movement. That is fine for hallways and doorways, but terrible for rooms where you sit still: offices, living rooms, bathrooms. You stop moving for a few minutes, the lights turn off, and you wave your arms like a fool.

mmWave presence sensors solve this. They detect the presence of a person in a room, even when they’re sitting perfectly still, by sensing micro-movements like breathing, typing, even slight posture shifts. For Home Assistant, that means presence automations that behave.

Short version: the Aqara FP2 is the best overall: up to 30 zones, solid local integration, USB-powered, with the one caveat that it needs the Aqara app for setup. The budget pick is the Aqara FP1E, Zigbee, single-area, and the one I run. For wire-free or Matter, the Aqara FP300 runs on battery, speaks Thread/Matter out of the box or Zigbee after switching its protocol in Aqara Home, and carries a full sensor suite. Tinkerers who want turnkey ESPHome should look at the Everything Presence One, local out of the box with rich data, and the Everything Presence Lite gets you multi-target tracking and HA-configured zones for GBP 28 (about $39). The cheapest per room, if you build it, is the HiLink LD2450, the same tracking radar the Presence Lite uses, wired to your own ESP32 under ESPHome. For a wired or PoE install, the Everything Presence Pro has Ethernet with 802.3af PoE and both radars fitted as standard. For hallways and doorways, a battery Zigbee PIR is the right, cheaper tool.

The picks at a glance

Prices and stock as I read them on October 26, 2026: Amazon through Amazon’s product data, everything else on the maker’s own store. Presence sensors go on sale often, so check the current price before you buy.

The Everything Presence shop prices in pounds; the dollar figures are its own conversion on Oct 26. I read the FP2’s Amazon listing by hand on Oct 26, since Amazon’s product data wouldn’t return it.

mmWave vs PIR

PIR sensors detect infrared radiation changes caused by movement: heat moving across their field of view. They are cheap, reliable for what they do, and perfectly fine for triggering lights when you walk into a room.

But PIR can’t tell the difference between an empty room and a room with someone sitting still in it. That is a fundamental limitation, not a product flaw. Sit still for a minute and your bathroom light turns off. You’ve probably worked around this with long timeouts or motion-boost buttons, but that’s a hack, not a fix.

mmWave radar sends out radio waves and detects reflections from objects, including the tiny movements of a breathing human. It reads presence through distance, velocity, and micro-movements, so it holds “occupied” while you’re stationary. This means:

• lights stay on while you’re reading in a chair
• bathroom fans keep running while you’re in the shower
• office automations stay active during focused work
• rooms can know whether they’re occupied

The tradeoffs are price (the finished mmWave sensors on this page ran $37.99-$92 on October 26, against $14.99-$48.99 for the PIR sensors) and tuning: mmWave can be triggered by fans, moving curtains, HVAC airflow and sometimes pets, and it can see through thin walls if you over-crank sensitivity. Placement and tuning matter more than with PIR. A common and reliable approach is to combine both, which I cover in how to add presence detection to every room. When dialed in properly, mmWave is transformative for room-aware automation.

Best overall: Aqara FP2

The Aqara FP2 is the best mmWave presence sensor for most Home Assistant users right now, with one caveat worth stating up front: it is a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi device (not Zigbee, not Matter) that needs the Aqara app for setup, so it is a practical compromise pick rather than a fully local-first one. It integrates with Home Assistant locally over your network via HomeKit Controller, so no Aqara hub or Zigbee coordinator is needed. I haven’t run the FP2 myself; the pick rests on the spec sheet and what people running it in Home Assistant report.

What puts it on top:

• zone-based detection: you can define up to 30 separate zones in the Aqara app and Home Assistant tracks occupancy per zone, which is unusual at this price
• local Home Assistant integration via HomeKit Controller, no hub required
• reasonable false positive behavior once configured
• presence, motion, and light level sensing in one device
• USB-powered (no battery option)
• $82.99 at Aqara’s US store on Oct 26, in stock; the Amazon prices I recorded between August 28 and October 8 ran from $57.99 to $82.99

The zone detection is the standout feature. You can set up zones for different areas of a room (desk, couch, doorway) and trigger different automations based on which zone is occupied. Few sensors at this price offer zone tracking at all, though the cheaper ESPHome-based Everything Presence Lite does, with zones configured in Home Assistant instead of a vendor app.

The caveat is that initial setup and zone calibration takes patience. The Aqara app is required for configuration, and the detection zones need real-world tuning. Setup also needs an Aqara account, even though the sensor then talks to Home Assistant locally. There is no subscription, but this is not an account-free device. After zone setup you can uninstall the app and it keeps working. Like most mmWave sensors it needs careful placement to avoid false triggers from fans or vents. Being Wi-Fi, it also does not join your Zigbee mesh or act as a repeater. It isn’t plug-and-play, but the result is worth the setup time.

Best budget option: Aqara FP1E

The Aqara FP1E is the simpler, cheaper single-area option, and the globally available successor to the original China-only FP1. It does basic mmWave presence detection without the multi-zone features of the FP2. This is the mmWave sensor I run in my own house. On October 26 it was $39.99 on Amazon as a Prime-exclusive price and $49.99 at Aqara’s US store, in stock at both.

Why it makes sense:

• lower price point for rooms where zone detection isn’t needed
• Zigbee-based, which means it integrates directly with your Zigbee coordinator, with no Aqara hub and no Aqara account
• clean presence/absence detection
• good Home Assistant support via ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT

The FP1E is the right pick for rooms where you just need to know “is someone in here or not” without caring about where exactly they’re sitting. Bathrooms, small offices, and utility rooms are good candidates.

The downside compared to the FP2 is no zone support, less configurability, and a narrower detection field. For simple presence detection in smaller rooms, that’s fine. For larger rooms or complex automation, spend up for the FP2. One mesh note: like many Aqara sensors, the FP1E may report as a Zigbee end device rather than a routing repeater, so don’t count on it to extend your mesh.

Best wire-free: Aqara FP300

The Aqara FP300 suits rooms where running a USB cable is awkward. I run one and rate it 4.5/5 in my FP300 review: it just works, and price is the only downside. On October 26 it was $46.99 on Amazon as a Prime-exclusive price and $49.99 at Aqara’s US store, in stock at both. The connection and settings comparison below comes from documentation, rather than a test of every connection in my house.

For Home Assistant, Zigbee2MQTT offers the most documented tuning controls. Matter over Thread is another local connection, with a smaller settings selection. Choose the route before buying another hub.

The readings and settings follow Aqara’s protocol comparison and Zigbee2MQTT’s FP300 documentation. Aqara does not identify the minimum firmware and Home Assistant versions for its Matter settings claims, so check your installed controls.

Neither direct route requires an Aqara hub. Thread requires a border router; Zigbee2MQTT requires a Zigbee coordinator. An Ethernet or Wi-Fi Matter bridge does not need a Thread border router for its Zigbee child device. See Home Assistant’s Matter requirements and Zigbee2MQTT’s setup requirements. If a Thread border router is new spend rather than something you already run, the Matter devices worth buying lists what else is worth putting on it.

On October 4, 2026, both FP300 ZHA handler proposals remained open. Custom handlers exist, but they do not establish support in an ordinary released installation. Verify a working presence entity and the settings you need. See the original proposal and successor proposal.

To change from Thread to Zigbee, use Aqara Home’s phone setup, then pair with the Zigbee coordinator. If Bluetooth discovery fails after prior Thread use, Zigbee2MQTT distinguishes a five-second network reset from ten quick presses for a full factory reset. The latter requires setup again; follow that recovery sequence only when needed. See the protocol-switching instructions.

Best for Home Assistant tinkerers: Everything Presence One

Everything Presence One is a community-designed sensor built specifically for the Home Assistant ecosystem. It ships with ESPHome pre-installed, so it’s local out of the box with no flashing required (you can still customize the YAML), and it speaks directly to Home Assistant without any vendor cloud or app. It pairs a 24GHz mmWave radar with an industrial PIR plus light and temperature sensors, and exposes rich data for nuanced automations. GBP 47 direct from the vendor on October 26, which the shop converted to about $64, in stock.

What it offers:

• ESPHome-based, fully local, no cloud, no vendor app
• completely open and customizable, with more tuning flexibility than consumer sensors
• combines mmWave with PIR, temperature, humidity, and light sensors
• designed by and for the Home Assistant community

Along with the other ESPHome picks here - the Presence Lite, the Presence Pro, the Apollo MSR-2 and the LD2450 you wire up yourself - this is as local-first as the list gets. There is no vendor cloud involved at any point. Configuration happens in ESPHome YAML, and everything runs locally.

The tradeoff is that it requires more setup effort than the Aqara sensors. You need to be comfortable with ESPHome, and tuning the mmWave sensitivity takes experimentation. The detection quality is good, but the out-of-box experience isn’t as polished as the FP2. Those setup and tuning notes come from the spec sheet and other Home Assistant users. In my own Everything Presence One review I rate it 4.5/5; cost is the only downside, because my long rooms often need two of them for full coverage.

If you’re the kind of person who reads ESPHome documentation for fun, this is your sensor. If you want something that works well with less fiddling, start with the Aqara FP2. For a direct head-to-head of those two, see Everything Presence One vs Aqara FP2.

Best local zones on a budget: Everything Presence Lite

The Everything Presence Lite is the smaller, cheaper ESP32 + ESPHome sibling of the Presence One (GBP 28, about $39, in stock at the vendor on October 26), built on the HLK-LD2450 radar. It tracks up to 3 targets simultaneously with X/Y coordinates and supports customizable detection zones configured directly from Home Assistant (no separate app). If you want zone positioning on a fully local, open ESPHome device, this is the one to look at. I haven’t run the Lite myself; the pick rests on the ESPHome local story and reports from the Home Assistant forums.

Best wired / PoE: Everything Presence Pro

The Everything Presence Pro is the wired member of the family: Ethernet with 802.3af PoE alongside Wi-Fi, so a single cable can carry power and data and the sensor never has to join your Wi-Fi at all (12-24V DC and USB-C 5V also work). It fits both radars as standard - a 25m mmWave sensor plus a 6m target-tracking radar - where the rest of the line fits one. It runs the same ESPHome firmware, so Home Assistant discovers it locally and the zones stay editable. GBP 67 direct from the vendor, which the shop converted to about $92 on October 26. That day it was a back-order item with an estimated ship date of November 11, 2026, so order it knowing it won’t arrive straight away. The CO2 module is sold separately, and like the rest of the family it is Home Assistant only, with no Apple Home, Google Home, or Alexa support. It does not replace the Presence One, which the vendor still sells alongside it. Pick the Pro when you can run Ethernet to the spot you want covered; pick a USB-powered model when you cannot.

Rolling your own: the HLK-LD2450 module

The radar inside the Presence Lite is sold on its own. The HiLink LD2450 is a bare 24GHz module that tracks up to three targets and reports X/Y position, and ESPHome has an LD2450 component for it, so wiring one to an ESP32 gets you coordinate-based zone presence in Home Assistant at module prices. It is a weekend project rather than a product: you supply the board, the power and the enclosure, and you tune the zones yourself. If what you want is reliable stationary presence in a finished box, buy one of the sensors above. If you want to cover several rooms cheaply and you already run ESPHome, this is where the Presence Lite’s own radar comes from. The Amazon listing I link was $13.98 on October 26 and orderable, but showed a later delivery date rather than stock on hand.

Rich-sensor choice for advanced users: Apollo MSR-2

The Apollo MSR-2 makes sense when you want a sensor that can support more ambitious room logic instead of just “someone moved, flip the light.” It brings Home Assistant support, local-first behavior and richer telemetry for more nuanced automations. The downside is obvious: more capability also means more ways to overcomplicate your setup. I haven’t run the MSR-2; the pick is based on the spec sheet and what other Home Assistant users report. Buy it from Apollo: on October 26 the Amazon listing was out of stock, as it has been since early October, while Apollo’s own store had it in stock at $37.99, or $57.99 for the version with CO2.

PIR motion sensors for hallways and doorways

For a hallway or doorway, you usually do not need radar. You just need fast motion detection for “walk in, lights on,” and a battery Zigbee PIR is the right tool.

Philips Hue Motion Sensor

This is the least nerdy recommendation on the page, and that’s useful. The Philips Hue Motion Sensor isn’t true mmWave presence sensing, but it’s still a very practical answer for people who want dependable automations, good Zigbee reliability, less tuning drama and reasonable mainstream ecosystem compatibility.

One buying note the packaging does not make obvious: Philips sells it as a Hue-Bridge accessory, and pairing it to the Philips Hue Bridge does give the snappiest response (about a 10-second no-motion cooldown). It is a standard Zigbee sensor, though, so it also joins ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT directly with no bridge in the path - there the firmware default cooldown is closer to 5 minutes. It was $48.99 at both Amazon and the Philips Hue store on October 26, in stock.

If you want lights to turn on when people walk into a room, this is still a good product. If you want a room to understand someone sitting still at a desk, it isn’t enough.

Cheaper battery Zigbee PIR sensors

The SONOFF SNZB-03P and the Third Reality motion sensor are cheap, reliable battery Zigbee PIR sensors that do this well. The Frient Motion Sensor Pro is a pricier Danish alternative that adds light and temperature sensing to the same job. (Note: the SONOFF SNZB-01P is a wireless button, not a motion sensor - it is often miscredited as one.) If you want a hardwired hallway sensor regardless, an ESPHome board with a small PIR module on USB power is the DIY answer. The battery Zigbee options get more room in best Zigbee sensors for Home Assistant.

Wired presence sensors room by room

“Wired” presence sensors - ones that run on constant USB or mains power instead of a coin cell - are worth seeking out for rooms where you want true presence detection running all day without a battery to babysit. The category is smaller than most lists pretend. A lot of “wired presence sensor” roundups are padded with battery PIR sensors, which are neither wired nor true presence sensors.

A few facts up front, because they get misreported constantly:

• mmWave/radar = presence (detects stillness). PIR = motion (only detects movement). They are different sensors for different jobs.
• The good wired radar options today are mostly USB-powered Wi-Fi (Aqara FP2), USB-powered ESPHome boards (the Everything Presence line), and a USB-powered Zigbee radar (Aqara FP1E). There is no large catalog of mains-wired radar sensors - so “wired” here usually means “plug it into a nearby USB charger.”

Living room and open-plan spaces

This is where true presence detection earns its keep, because people sit still. The FP2 is the standout: it supports multiple detection zones and works locally with Home Assistant (and HomeKit). Tradeoffs: it is Wi-Fi (one more device on your network, and it does not extend a Zigbee mesh), it needs a clear mounting spot, and zone setup takes some tuning.

If you want presence plus environmental data in one wired unit, the Everything Presence One combines mmWave presence with PIR, temperature, humidity, and light sensing, all over USB and adopted into Home Assistant via ESPHome.

Kitchen

Kitchens want reliable detection because a failed automation is obvious. The FP1E is a strong, affordable choice here: a USB-powered single-area mmWave presence sensor that connects over Zigbee rather than Wi-Fi, so unlike the FP2 it joins your Zigbee network. Good for catching someone standing at the counter or stove, rather than only someone walking through.

Bathroom

Privacy first - radar, not cameras. A wired mmWave sensor like the FP1E or FP2 detects that someone is present without any imaging, which is exactly what you want for fan and light automation in a bathroom. Pair presence with a humidity reading (the Everything Presence One reports humidity on the same board) so your exhaust fan reacts to steam rather than occupancy alone.

Home office and bedroom

For a desk, zone detection is the whole point: the FP2 can separate “at the desk” from “elsewhere in the room,” so the desk lamp follows you to the chair. In a bedroom, radar’s ability to detect a still body is a double-edged sword - you generally want to tune sensitivity and add time/lux conditions so rolling over at 3 a.m. does not trigger anything. Both the FP2 and the ESPHome-based sensors let you adjust detection thresholds; the ESPHome route gives you the finest control. For how those thresholds interact with a PIR covering the same room, see how to add presence detection to every room, and for the automation side of it, presence lights that don’t fight you.

Permanently-powered presence sensors are worth it where stillness matters and you don’t want to swap batteries. The wired options are mostly USB radar sensors, and for plain motion at a door, a battery PIR is still the sensible pick.

What about Hubitat and HomeKit?

In HomeKit, mmWave choices are still thin. The Aqara FP2 supports HomeKit directly over Wi-Fi, and the FP300 can be brought in via Matter/Thread, so Apple Home users do have real options now, but most other “motion” sensors in the HomeKit world (Eve Motion, etc.) are still PIR. If you’re all-in on Apple Home, the FP2 or FP300 are your best mmWave bets.

Hubitat works well with Zigbee and Z-Wave but has no native ESPHome support, so the Everything Presence sensors integrate most cleanly with Home Assistant. The Aqara FP300 in Zigbee mode is a reasonable Hubitat-friendly mmWave option, as long as you do the one-time Aqara-app cross-flash first, since it ships in Thread mode; the FP2 (Wi-Fi) is harder to integrate there.

Practical tips for mmWave sensors

• Mount them high and angled down for the best coverage pattern. Corner or ceiling mounts away from fans and vents usually work best.
• Keep them away from fans and HVAC vents because moving air can cause false triggers on some sensors.
• Start with conservative sensitivity and tune up if needed. False negatives are annoying. False positives that turn lights on at 3 AM are worse.
• Test with the room in real use before finalizing your automation. Sitting at your desk for 30 minutes is a better test than waving your hand in front of the sensor.
• Ignore marketing phrases like “AI presence”, “human detection magic” or “works with everything”. What counts is whether the sensor behaves well in your house, with your controller, during normal boring days.

If you’re tired of lights turning off while you read, mmWave is the fix - just plan placement carefully and budget time for tuning. To line the options up by spec, compare presence sensors side by side.

Waiting for Black Friday? My Black Friday smart home deals list shows the lowest Amazon price I’ve recorded for the Aqara FP300, FP1E and FP2, Prime Day included, so you can tell whether a November price is a real deal.