Home Assistant Starter Guide (2026)

Quick picks

• Easiest way to start: Home Assistant Green
• Best for more power and room to grow: Beelink Mini S12 mini PC (Intel N100)
• Zigbee adapter sold on Amazon: SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus (ZBDongle-E)
• Z-Wave adapter: Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2

What Home Assistant is (and isn't)

Home Assistant connects lights, plugs, sensors, thermostats, locks and cameras from different brands, then lets you build automations, such as turning on lights when a door opens after sunset. It runs on a computer in your home, so your data stays local and many automations keep working if the internet goes down. It is more flexible than Apple Home, Google Home or Alexa, but it also asks more of you: expect some learning time. It can also work alongside those platforms, and it supports Matter. New to these terms? Start with our Matter vs. Thread explainer.

Hardware options

Home Assistant says Home Assistant OS is the recommended installation type for most people who bring their own hardware. Your main choices:

• Home Assistant Green: official hardware that comes ready to use out of the box. Best for beginners.
• Home Assistant Yellow: official hardware built around a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, with Zigbee built in. Home Assistant says it is no longer in production but continues to receive software updates, so we don't link to it.
• A mini PC: any 64-bit Intel or AMD computer that can boot in UEFI mode. You install Home Assistant OS yourself, which replaces whatever is on the drive. Good if you want more headroom.
• Raspberry Pi 4 or 5: Home Assistant supports both with at least 2GB of RAM, plus a microSD card and Ethernet. Buy from an official Raspberry Pi reseller; we don't link a listing here because Amazon offers come from many different sellers.

Home Assistant also offers Container and virtual machine installs for people who already run a home server; note that the Container install does not include apps (formerly called add-ons).

Zigbee, Thread and Z-Wave adapters

Home Assistant can control many Wi-Fi devices directly, but Zigbee, Thread and Z-Wave devices need a radio. Green has none built in, so you plug in a USB adapter. Home Assistant recommends a dedicated adapter for each protocol.

• Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2: the current official Zigbee and Thread adapter (model NC-ZBT-9741). It runs either Zigbee or Thread, not both at the same time, and works with ZHA, Zigbee2MQTT and the OpenThread Border Router. Home Assistant says it is about 4 times faster than the first-generation adapter. Its Amazon US listing showed "Currently unavailable" when we checked, so we don't link it; see home-assistant.io for current retailers.
• Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1 (formerly SkyConnect): the first-generation adapter. Home Assistant says it is no longer in production but continues to receive software updates. If you already have one, keep using it.
• Thread: Thread devices connect through a Thread border router; see our Thread border router guide. Home Assistant's Green page says Thread support for Green is still under development, so check the latest documentation before relying on it.

Getting started in five steps

1. Choose your hardware: Green for simplicity, a mini PC for headroom.
2. Connect it to your router with Ethernet. Home Assistant says an internet connection is needed for initial setup.
3. Open Home Assistant in a browser on your network and create your account.
4. Add the devices it discovers, then any others through integrations.
5. Add a Zigbee, Thread or Z-Wave adapter when you buy devices that need one. Plug it in with a USB extension cable to reduce interference from the computer.

How we chose

Product names, specs and production status come from home-assistant.io and the makers' official listings, and each linked pick was sold on Amazon in the US at the time of writing. Official hardware that Home Assistant has stopped making, or that Amazon showed as unavailable, is mentioned without a link. We have not tested this hardware ourselves.

Comparison at a glance

Easiest way to start: Home Assistant Green

Green is Nabu Casa's plug-and-play Home Assistant hub. Home Assistant OS is preinstalled, so setup is plugging in the included power supply and Ethernet cable, then opening Home Assistant in a browser. It is small, fanless and silent, and uses only a few watts.

• Specs: Rockchip RK3566 quad-core processor, 4GB LPDDR4X RAM, 32GB eMMC storage, Gigabit Ethernet and 2 USB 2.0 ports.
• Expand: add Zigbee, Thread or Z-Wave through USB adapters.
• Consider: no Wi-Fi, so it must be wired to your router. Remote access from outside your home needs Home Assistant Cloud or a setup of your own. Storage and memory are fixed, so heavy add-on or camera use may outgrow it.

View the Home Assistant Green on Amazon (affiliate link) →

We have not independently tested this product. Availability, specifications and platform support can change; confirm the details on the product listing and the manufacturer's site.

Best for more power: Beelink Mini S12 mini PC (Intel N100)

A small Intel mini PC gives Home Assistant more memory and storage than Green, which helps if you plan to run many add-ons, keep long history or add camera software later. Beelink's Amazon listing, sold by Beelink's own store, describes an Intel N100 quad-core processor, 16GB of DDR4 memory and a 500GB SSD.

• Ports: one 2.5G Ethernet port, 4 USB 3.2 ports and 2 HDMI ports, plus Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.
• Setup: it ships with Windows. Following Home Assistant's generic x86-64 guide, you write Home Assistant OS to the internal drive, which erases Windows. Home Assistant says UEFI boot must be enabled and Secure Boot disabled in the BIOS.
• Consider: it has a fan, unlike Green. The Amazon page offers several configurations, including the N150-based Mini S13, so check which one is selected before you buy. Doing that install yourself is the biggest hurdle for beginners.

View the Beelink Mini S12 mini PC on Amazon (affiliate link) →

We have not independently tested this product. Availability, specifications and platform support can change; confirm the details on the product listing and the manufacturer's site.

Zigbee adapter sold on Amazon: SONOFF Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus (ZBDongle-E)

While the official ZBT-2 was unavailable on Amazon US, the SONOFF ZBDongle-E is a widely used alternative. Home Assistant's ZHA documentation lists it under other tested and compatible Zigbee adapters. It comes with Zigbee coordinator firmware installed and also works with Zigbee2MQTT.

• Specs: Silicon Labs EFR32MG21 chip, external antenna, aluminum housing.
• Best for: Zigbee sensors, plugs and bulbs from brands such as Aqara, IKEA, SONOFF and Third Reality.
• Consider: it is a Zigbee adapter out of the box; use the official ZBT-2 or a separate border router for Thread. Make sure the listing says ZBDongle-E, since SONOFF sells other dongle models.

View the SONOFF ZBDongle-E on Amazon (affiliate link) →

We have not independently tested this product. Availability, specifications and platform support can change; confirm the details on the product listing and the manufacturer's site.

Z-Wave adapter: Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2

If you own Z-Wave devices, common in locks, switches and sensors, the ZWA-2 is Home Assistant's official Z-Wave adapter. It uses the 800-series Z-Wave chip and supports Z-Wave Long Range, and Home Assistant says it can run a standard Z-Wave network and a Long Range network at the same time.

• Setup: plugs in by USB with the included cable and uses Home Assistant's Z-Wave JS integration with a start-up wizard.
• Model: NC-ZWA-9734, made by Nabu Casa.
• Consider: Z-Wave only; it does not handle Zigbee or Thread. Nabu Casa notes Z-Wave Long Range currently supports North American and European regions.

View the Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2 on Amazon (affiliate link) →

We have not independently tested this product. Availability, specifications and platform support can change; confirm the details on the product listing and the manufacturer's site.

Building out your setup? See our Matter and Thread sensors and check device support with our smart home compatibility checker.

Looking for devices to automate? Our smart blinds and shades guide covers Matter blind and curtain motors.

Adding the garage? Our smart garage door opener guide covers Matter controllers that work with Home Assistant, plus which openers block them.

Robot vacuums with Matter can join Home Assistant too, though usually with fewer controls than in the brand app; see our robot vacuums with Matter guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is Home Assistant?

Home Assistant is free, open-source smart home software that runs on a small computer in your home. It connects devices from many brands in one app and runs automations locally, so many of them keep working without the internet. It is developed by an open-source community with backing from Nabu Casa, the company that makes the official Home Assistant hardware.

Do I need a subscription to use Home Assistant?

No. The software is free and runs locally. Home Assistant Cloud is an optional paid service from Nabu Casa that adds easy remote access and simpler Alexa and Google Assistant voice integration. You can set up remote access yourself instead, but that takes more technical work.

Is Home Assistant Green or a mini PC better for beginners?

Home Assistant Green is the simpler choice: it ships with Home Assistant installed, so you plug in power and Ethernet and finish setup in a browser. A mini PC has more memory, storage and processing power for add-ons, cameras and future growth, but you install Home Assistant OS yourself, which erases the Windows install that came with it.

Do I need a Zigbee or Thread adapter?

Only if you have, or plan to buy, Zigbee or Thread devices. Many Wi-Fi and cloud-connected devices work with Home Assistant without extra hardware. Home Assistant Green has no Zigbee, Thread or Z-Wave radio built in, so you add a USB adapter for those. Home Assistant recommends a separate adapter for each protocol.

Can one Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 run Zigbee and Thread at the same time?

No. Home Assistant says the ZBT-2 runs either Zigbee or Thread, not both at once, and recommends a dedicated adapter for each protocol if you want both.

Is Home Assistant SkyConnect the same as the Connect ZBT-1?

Yes. Home Assistant says the Connect ZBT-1 was previously known as Home Assistant SkyConnect. It is no longer in production but continues to receive software updates. The current model is the Connect ZBT-2.

Is Home Assistant Yellow still available?

Home Assistant says Yellow is no longer in production but continues to receive software updates. If you already own one, it keeps working; for a new setup, Home Assistant points beginners to Green.