Home Assistant Add-ons vs HAOS vs Docker

When you set up Home Assistant, one of the first decisions is how to run it. People often phrase this as “add-ons vs HAOS vs Docker,” but that comparison mixes up two different things. Let’s fix the framing first, because getting this right saves a lot of confusion.

Most people should run Home Assistant OS, which includes the add-on store and needs the least maintenance. If you already run a Docker server, the Container install slots into it, but you assemble the supporting tools yourself. If you want add-ons without dedicating a machine, run HAOS in a VM; Supervised used to fill that role and has been unsupported since release 2025.12.

Add-ons are not an install type

Add-ons are not an installation method. Add-ons are optional software packages (Zigbee2MQTT, ESPHome, Node-RED, Mosquitto, and so on) that the Home Assistant Supervisor installs and manages for you as extra containers. They are a feature of certain installations, not an alternative to them.

The actual installation methods are:

1. Home Assistant OS (HAOS) - a complete, dedicated appliance OS.
2. Home Assistant Container - the official Docker image, run yourself.
3. Home Assistant Supervised - Home Assistant plus the Supervisor running on your own Debian system. Deprecated in May 2025 and unsupported since release 2025.12, so it is not an option for a new build.

What follows from that: the Add-on Store is available on HAOS and on Supervised, but not on plain Container. On Docker Container you simply run those same tools as their own containers (via Docker Compose) instead of clicking “install” in an add-on store. So the real choice for a new build is HAOS vs Container - and add-on availability follows from that choice.

1. Home Assistant OS (HAOS): the recommended default

HAOS is a purpose-built Linux appliance that runs Home Assistant, the Supervisor, and your add-ons. It’s what the project officially recommends for most people. You flash it to a device and it manages itself.

Pros

The Add-on Store is included, with one-click installs of Zigbee2MQTT, ESPHome, Node-RED, Mosquitto and the rest (for a starting shortlist, see the Home Assistant add-ons worth installing). Updates and backups are managed and built in, and it is the lowest-maintenance option because it’s an appliance; you don’t manage the OS underneath.

Cons

It wants to own the device. HAOS is happiest as the only thing on the machine (or in a dedicated VM), and it’s not meant to share a general-purpose Linux box with other apps.

Runs well on

• Raspberry Pi 4 or 5
• A small x86 box like the Intel NUC 12 Pro (discontinued, so a used-market buy) or Lenovo ThinkCentre M75Q Gen5. Weighing a Pi against a mini PC? Raspberry Pi vs a mini PC compares them. Wondering which NUC is still worth buying? See the best NUC for Home Assistant.
• A VM on a NAS or hypervisor (Proxmox, ESXi, etc.) - see how to run Home Assistant on Proxmox for a step-by-step VM walkthrough

Choose it if

You want the full Home Assistant experience with add-ons and the least fuss. This is the right answer for the large majority of users.

2. Home Assistant Container (Docker): flexible, you manage the rest

This is the official Docker image. You run Home Assistant as one container alongside whatever else lives on your server. There is no Supervisor and no Add-on Store - so you run Zigbee2MQTT, Mosquitto, Node-RED, etc. as their own containers.

Pros

It fits an existing server, which makes it ideal if you already run a NAS or Docker host and want Home Assistant to be one service among many, and it gives you full control over networking, volumes, and versions via Docker Compose.

Cons

There is no add-on store, so you assemble the supporting services yourself, and it is more hands-on: you own updates, container orchestration, and troubleshooting.

Runs well on

• A NAS that runs Docker (Synology, Lenovo ThinkCentre M75Q Gen5, or similar), an Intel NUC 12 Pro you already own (ASUS discontinued that line in April 2024, so a new one is not an option), or any Linux server you already maintain. If that NAS is a Synology, Unraid, or TrueNAS box, Home Assistant on Synology vs Unraid vs TrueNAS covers whether you can get the add-on store on each one.

Choose it if

You’re comfortable with Docker, already run a server, and prefer to manage your own stack of containers.

3. Home Assistant Supervised: deprecated, not for new builds

Supervised installs Home Assistant and the Supervisor (so you keep the Add-on Store) on top of your own Debian system. It is no longer a supported choice. Home Assistant deprecated the Supervised (and Core) install methods on May 22, 2025, and both became unsupported with the 2025.12 release, which means the project no longer accepts issue reports for them. An existing Supervised install keeps working and can still be updated, but if you are standing up something new, pick HAOS or Container instead.

What it gave you

• Add-on Store on your own OS - the convenience of HAOS with a Debian base you control. That is still true of an install you already run.

Why not to start here

• Unsupported, and picky even when it was supported - it expects a clean, supported Debian setup, drift can break it, and the project no longer takes bug reports for it. If what you actually want is the add-on store without dedicating a whole machine to Home Assistant, run HAOS in a VM instead - that is a supported install type and it keeps the add-on store, one-click updates, and the built-in backup tool.

A note on HomeKit and Hubitat

None of these install methods change how Home Assistant talks to HomeKit or Hubitat - that’s handled by integrations regardless of how HA is installed. Home Assistant can expose its devices to Apple Home via the HomeKit Bridge integration, and it can integrate with a Hubitat hub via the Hubitat integration, on HAOS, Container, or Supervised alike. Don’t pick an install method for HomeKit/Hubitat reasons; pick it for how you want to run and maintain the server.

Quick verdict

Most people should run Home Assistant OS (HAOS): add-ons included, minimal maintenance, and it runs on a Pi, a mini PC, or a VM. If you already run a Docker server, Home Assistant Container has no add-on store but slots into your existing stack, with supporting tools as containers. If you want add-ons without dedicating the machine, run HAOS in a VM. Supervised used to be the answer here, but it has been unsupported since release 2025.12, and a HAOS VM on Proxmox or another hypervisor keeps the add-on store and the managed updates.