Home Assistant vs Hubitat Elevation
Both are free/open-source alternatives to Proprietary Smart-Home Hubs. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Home Assistant
TOP PICKLocal-first home automation on hardware you own.
Home Assistant is the open-source home-automation platform that runs entirely on your own device — a Raspberry Pi, a mini-PC, or the purpose-built Home Assistant Green/Yellow. It integrates thousands of devices locally, so your home keeps working with the internet down and nothing phones home unless you allow it.
Hubitat Elevation
A local-processing hub for people who don't want to tinker.
Hubitat Elevation is a commercial smart-home hub that processes automations locally on the device rather than in the cloud. It is not open-source, but it keeps your home running offline and free of subscriptions — a middle ground between a closed cloud ecosystem and full DIY.
Side by side
| Home Assistant | Hubitat Elevation | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 95 | 70 |
| Open source | Yes | No |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Proprietary (paid hardware) |
| Pricing | Free / open-source (runs on your own hardware) | One-time hardware purchase; no required subscription |
Home Assistant is Macrostack's recommended Proprietary Smart-Home Hubs alternative, so it's our pick here.
Home Assistant
Strengths
- +Local control — works offline
- +Integrates thousands of devices and brands
- +Huge, active community
Trade-offs
- −Initial setup takes some tinkering
- −You maintain your own hardware
Hubitat Elevation
Strengths
- +Local processing, works offline
- +No subscription
- +Easier setup than DIY
Trade-offs
- −Closed-source platform
- −Smaller integration ecosystem than Home Assistant
More Proprietary Smart-Home Hubs head-to-heads
Facts verified 2026-07-04. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.