Smart home FAQ

It means the device responds to commands over your own network (Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, Matter, or a local Wi-Fi API) without a round trip to the manufacturer's cloud. Local control keeps working during internet outages, responds faster, and keeps your usage data at home.

A few reasons. It keeps working when your internet or the vendor's cloud goes down, so your lights and locks don't depend on someone else's servers. It is faster, because commands and automations run in milliseconds instead of bouncing to the cloud and back. It is more private, since your activity data stays in your home. And it lasts longer: cloud-only gadgets can be bricked when a company shuts down a service or drops support, while local devices keep working for years. The tradeoff is usually a bit more setup up front.

Every rating reflects how good the local integration is, not just whether a device "works with Home Assistant." Roughly: excellent means full local control with no cloud; good means reliable local control with a minor caveat such as a hub or manual setup; fair means it works but needs the cloud for some features; okay means it is cloud-dependent for core features; and poor means it is cloud-only. Each rating names the actual integration we verified.

Not necessarily. Wi-Fi is just how a device connects to your router. Some Wi-Fi devices expose a local API (for example Shelly or ESPHome) and are fully local, while many others route every command through the vendor's cloud. We rate them case by case.

Matter control runs locally on your network once a device is paired, which is why we treat it as a local-first protocol. The caveats: some products still need the maker's app or cloud for setup or extra features, and Matter-over-Thread devices need a Thread border router.

Yes. Both are local mesh protocols, so they run entirely on your network. They do need a coordinator or stick (or a compatible hub) for Home Assistant to talk to them.

Both are low-power wireless mesh networks and even share similar radio roots (IEEE 802.15.4). The key difference is that Thread is the newer of the two and is internet-protocol (IP) based, which is why it is the transport behind most Matter devices; Zigbee is older and is not IP-based, so it needs a coordinator to bridge into your network. In practice, Thread needs a border router and Zigbee needs a coordinator or stick.

For Thread (and Matter-over-Thread) you need a Thread border router, such as a HomePod, Apple TV, Nest Hub, or a Home Assistant-connected radio. Matter also needs a controller, which Home Assistant can be. Matter-over-Wi-Fi devices skip the border router.

Because that badge often means cloud-based integration. A hub with a built-in Zigbee or Z-Wave radio (such as some all-in-one or alarm hubs) may only expose its devices through its own cloud, not as a local controller for Home Assistant. We rate by what actually works locally.

Some are. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and as an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. It never affects our ratings, which always follow our published rubric.