SMARTER HOME TECHNOLOGY
Spend smarter.Automate more.
Practical smart home technology, Home Assistant and self-hosting without wasting money on bad hardware or unnecessary subscriptions.
We judge home technology on value, reliability, subscriptions, privacy and how useful it actually is.
Latest Articles
Practical guides for building a smarter home without wasting money on hardware or subscriptions you don't need.
Zigbee vs. Z-Wave vs. Matter & Thread: What to Use With Home Assistant
A Home Assistant protocol decision guide: when Zigbee, Z-Wave, Matter over Thread, and Matter over Wi-Fi each make sense, and why working devices are usually worth keeping.
Read article →Home AssistantHome Assistant Backups: How to Protect Your Smart Home Before Something Fails
A practical Home Assistant backup plan: automatic backups, off-host storage, the emergency kit, restore testing, and safe migration to new hardware.
Read article →Home AssistantHome Assistant Green vs Raspberry Pi 5 vs Mini PC: Which Is Best?
Compare Home Assistant Green, Raspberry Pi 5 and an N100 mini PC for Home Assistant, including cost, reliability, power use, setup and long-term value.
Read article →START HERE
Technology should earn its place in your home.
We focus on useful technology that saves money, reduces repetitive work, improves your home or gives you more control over your data.
Smart Home
Lighting, sensors, security, energy monitoring and automations worth building.
⚙️Home Assistant
Local control, integrations and automations without being trapped in one ecosystem.
💵Save Money
Find technology that lowers bills, avoids subscriptions and delivers genuine value.
🖥️Self Hosting
NAS, home servers and software you can run yourself instead of paying forever.
THE HOME TECH PAYOFF
Not every smart gadget is actually smart.
Products should be judged on more than features. We care about purchase price, ongoing subscription costs, reliability, local control, compatibility and whether the device solves a real problem.