Local-first smart home guides
A smart home that answers to you.
Guides to sensors, lighting, plugs, locks and hubs, built around what decides a purchase: the protocol, whether it works locally, and how it fits with Home Assistant and Matter.
By the Smart Home Gear HQ Team
Built for local control
A device that only works through a cloud app can stop working when the app does. Smart Home Gear HQ favours gear you can run locally (Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread and Matter) and tells you plainly when a device needs an account or a cloud connection.
What we cover
- 01Motion, presence and door sensors
- 02Smart lighting, plugs and switches
- 03Locks, cameras and thermostats
- 04Hubs, bridges and Home Assistant setups
How a guide is built
Our guides start from manufacturer specifications, protocol certifications and integration documentation, then the Home Assistant and smart home communities where compatibility problems show up. When a guide is based on our own time with a product, the article says so plainly. Every pick says who it is not for.
No scores, no printed prices
A score hides the trade-off that matters to you, and prices change, so every product link points to the live listing instead.
Where the money comes from
Smart Home Gear HQ is reader-supported. When you buy through one of our links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Brands cannot pay for a recommendation or a placement, and if a manufacturer ever sends us a product, the article will say so. Read our affiliate disclosure.
Start here
Spotted something out of date?
Firmware updates change what devices support, and integrations change with them. If a compatibility note or a link is wrong, tell us and we will check it and fix the page. Contact us.