Home Assistant Green vs Yellow vs Mini PC
Yellow is discontinued. Green is the easy plug-and-play default. An N100 mini PC is the power-user alternative. Here's how to choose.
Last updated: “2026-03-22”
Important: Home Assistant Yellow was discontinued in October 2025. Nabu Casa is no longer manufacturing it. If you see one for sale on eBay or similar, it still works and will receive software updates, but it’s no longer a recommended purchase for new buyers.
The real decision in 2026 is Green vs a mini PC.
The quick answer
- Buy Home Assistant Green (~$99) if you want the easiest path into Home Assistant. Plug it in, connect Ethernet, and you’re running in minutes.
- Buy an Intel N100 mini PC (~$100–$180) if you want more headroom for cameras, NVR, or other services alongside Home Assistant.
Why Green wins for most buyers
Lowest friction
Green is the official Nabu Casa plug-and-play box. No OS installation, no BIOS menus, no terminal commands. You’re running Home Assistant within minutes of unboxing.
Enough for a lot of homes
Rockchip RK3566, 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC. Plenty for dozens of devices, complex automations, and most integrations. A surprising number of households don’t need more than this.
Better beginner value
If you’re still figuring out your devices, protocols, and automations, Green gets you into a serious Home Assistant environment without pushing you toward premature complexity.
When a mini PC makes more sense
An N100-based mini PC (Beelink EQ13, GMKtec G3, etc.) gives you dramatically more headroom for a similar price: 8–16GB RAM, 128–500GB SSD, and enough CPU for Frigate NVR with camera AI.
Choose a mini PC if you:
- plan to run Frigate, Node-RED, Grafana, or other services
- want processing power that won’t need upgrading for years
- are comfortable flashing HAOS to a USB stick (it’s not hard, but it’s one more step)
What about Yellow?
Yellow had a built-in Zigbee/Thread radio (Silicon Labs chip soldered on the board), NVMe expansion, and PoE support. It was the enthusiast’s choice before Nabu Casa discontinued it.
If you find a used Yellow at a reasonable price, it’s still a solid piece of hardware. The software will keep getting updates. But don’t pay a premium for old stock. A mini PC with a USB coordinator gives you more power for less money.
Verdict
For most readers: buy Home Assistant Green.
If you want more power and don’t mind a quick OS flash: buy an N100 mini PC.
If you find a used Yellow at a fair price: it still works great, but don’t overpay.
Related:
