Smart home hubs: what they are and why you need one (2024)

I’ve spent 10 years living in a smart home, and I’m here to tell you that if you want yours to be fast and reliable, you need a smart home hub. You might be able to get by without one if you’ve got just a few smart lights or a very simple setup, but if you have more than a handful of connected devices and they’re from multiple manufacturers, you will need a system to manage them. This is where a hub comes in.

Many of the frustrations you may have encountered with a smart home — laggy lights, multiple apps to control your devices, this gadget not working with that gadget — can be solved with a good smart home hub with robust local control.

Asmart homehub is a brain for yoursmart home. When it isn’t contained within another device (such as an Apple TV or anEchosmart speaker), it usually comes in the form of a small puck that you connect to your internet router. It provides one central place to send commands to multiple devices so that you now only need to use its one app to manage all of your gadgets and routines.

Together, these two features take care of most of the hard work of home automation: getting multiple platforms and devices to work together; creating routines; processing more advanced features; and being a gatekeeper so your gadgets can stay smart while avoiding a direct connection to the internet. In some cases, hubs can facilitate machine learning to make things smarter.

Most hubs can use a combination of local and cloud control. Local control is a key feature of many smart home hubs. This means your devices and your data stay on your local network, which is more secure and faster than relying solely on the cloud. Local control also means your routines and automations continue to function even if the internet is down (as long as the hub is powered).

A hub can also help incorporate devices that don’t rely on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth into your smart home. These include locks, lights, plugs, and sensors that use low-powered, low-bandwidth protocols like Zigbee, Z-Wave, and a newer option, Thread. (Cameras and streaming devices still need Wi-Fi for high-bandwidth data transfer.) These protocols use mesh networks, so the more devices you have, the stronger the connection between them will be. Additionally, a hub can provide a more stable internet connection for your smart home via ethernet.

What follows is an explanation of the main types of hubs that you can choose to run your smart home and, after that, a rundown of some of the best hubs to get started with.

Two types of hubs

The smart home hub has gone through a few iterations over the last decade, and today, there are (speaking broadly) two types of hubs to choose from: the multi-protocol hub and the platform / ecosystem hub. (There are also bridges and gateways, which serve a slightly different purpose — we’ll touch on those in a minute.)

The biggest difference between the two is that with the multi-protocol hub, your smart home can work with multiple platforms / ecosystems and all the major protocols. On the other hand, with the ecosystem hub, you are largely locked into that ecosystem (usually Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, or Google Home) and the radios that it supports. In other words, a multi-protocol hub can (hopefully) handle any smart bulb you’ve got, while an ecosystem hub may not directly support every bulb. (Although, with the new smart home standard Matter, that is beginning to change.)

Here’s a more complete description of each:

Multi-protocol hubs have been around for a while and are designed to centralize control of the smart home. They use multiple radios (such as Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Thread) and work locally in your home. As mentioned before, many can avoid the cloud entirely if you choose. Early players in this space — including Revolv, Iris, Wink, and the original SmartThings hub — failed to take off largely because they didn’t deliver on the promise to connect all of your devices to any ecosystem.

The arrival of Matter brings a potential solution, albeit one that may take a while to fully materialize. Matter’s promise of interoperability and its option of local control means that multi-protocol hubs may finally be able to offer something they never could before: support for every smart home device and every smart home platform that supports Matter. (More on this later.)

Platform / ecosystem hubs are newer entries in the smart home and are based around smart home ecosystems (also known as platforms) such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home. These all started as software-based systems, relying mainly on your phone, but many are now leaning into hardware hubs — incorporating one or two radios (such as Zigbee and Thread) in their smart speakers (Echo and Echo Shows) and streaming devices (Apple TV) to add local control. Plus, since Matter requires a physical device in the home (called a Matter controller), the hardware-based ecosystem hub is becoming a bigger player.

What about Matter?

Ostensibly, Matter should do away with the need for a multi-protocol hub. However, Matter uses Thread and Wi-Fi / ethernet; it doesn’t directly support Z-Wave or Zigbee, so you still need a hub or bridge (see below) to use these devices with Matter.

This is why if you want fast, reliable lights, locks, and sensors today, you will want to consider Zigbee and Z-Wave devices alongside Thread, Matter, and Wi-Fi. By choosing devices with different protocols to best fit your needs now, you can be prepared for the stable, secure, interoperable smart home Matter has promised to deliver in the future.

What about bridges and gateways?

The main difference between a hub and a bridge / gateway is that the latter supports a single platform / manufacturer and a single radio / protocol.

These are just a few examples. There are many more manufacturers that use bridges / gateways for their products. Generally, a bridge or gateway can be added to a multi-protocol or platform / ecosystem hub so you can control the devices attached to it through that hub’s app.

Today, most bridges aren’t capable of running devices outside of their manufacturer’s ecosystem. While some can run devices from different manufacturers that use the same protocol (including the Hue Bridge and the Ikea Dirigera), they don’t function as multi-protocol hubs.

However, with Matter, that may change. Aqara recently announced plans to expand its flagship Zigbee bridge, the Hub M3, to add Thread, work with Matter, and allow devices from other manufacturers onto the bridge, turning it into a bona fide hub.It's possible we’ll see more manufacturers do the same as Matter matures.

The best smart home hubs to buy right now

Here is a look at hubs I recommend for those getting started with the smart home. Depending on which hub you go with, you may eventually find that you need a second hub to add a missing function, such as Z-Wave support, or that you want to upgrade to a more powerful system like Home Assistant. But to begin with, start with one hub and add another if and when you feel it’s necessary.

Note: If you have time, patience, and more advanced tech skills, there are hubs / systems like Home Assistant and Hubitat (and, to some extent, Homebridge for Apple HomeKit users) that offer even broader interoperability and work with Matter. These are excellent options if you want to push your smart home to do more and better things. But for most people, the following plug-and-play solutions are the best way to start.

Home Assistant is a favorite of many Verge writers and is a powerful platform with unmatched flexibility. While it has grown significantly more user-friendly over the years and is rapidly outpacing many other options, it can still be complicated to set up and use and is not ideal for beginners. You can read more about setting up Home Assistant here.

Multi-protocol hubs

As mentioned, multi-protocol hardware hubs are designed to centralize control of your smart home and make it easier to use a variety of products from a variety of manufacturers. It is generally a platform-agnostic device with an app that allows you to set up automations and connect to other ecosystems for features such as voice control.

Multi-protocol hubs have multiple radios built in (Zigbee / Z-Wave / Wi-Fi / BLE / Thread / Matter) and support multiple ecosystems (Alexa / Google / Apple Home).My current top picks for multi-protocol hubs are the Homey Pro and the Aeotec Smart Home Hub (which runs on SmartThings but works with other platforms, too).

The Homey Pro is among the more impressive of the new breed of multi-protocol hubs. Offering support for Zigbee, Z-Wave, 433Mhz, Infrared, and Thread along with Wi-Fi and BLE, it’s also a Matter controller and Thread border router, supports Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home (sort of), and has cloud connections for more integrations.

This is my top choice because it packs everything into one sleek-looking device, and its app is very intuitive for such a powerful platform. As mentioned, Home Assistant and Hubitat are both excellent options, too, but require more advanced technical knowledge and more time reading forums and watching YouTube videos. However, if you want to really stretch your smart home, you should consider either of these options.

The latest Homey hub is the company’s fifth version; the first arrived in 2016. It’s a powerful device with a high price tag. For $400, you’re getting a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 with a quad-core processor, 2GB of random access memory, 8GB of flash storage, and USB-C power. (You can also buy an adaptor for ethernet power.)Plus, RGB lights!

The Homey Pro has a huge list of integrations covering most of the major (and minor) brands, including Nest, Sonos, Lutron, Eufy, Aqara, Philips Hue, Ikea, and TP-Link, alongside Z-Wave devices from Fibaro, Aeotec, Shelly, Yale, Schlage, and more.

It can also connect to Zigbee devices from Philips Hue, Aqara, and Ikea without needing those companies’ bridges, helping cut down on hub clutter. However, some of its integrations are limited, and others rely on community-created “apps” (Homey’s word for integrations), which can be less reliable.

Homey’s own app is easy to use, and its Flows (automations) are simple to set up for beginners, with the option for much deeper dives using HomeyScript and a Web API for advanced users.

Homey also has beta support for Apple HomeKit, so you can bring devices connected to Homey into Apple Home. The company says it’s working on making the Homey Pro a Matter device as well as a Matter controller. This would mean it could expose all the devices connected to Homey to Apple Home and other Matter platforms through Matter. This includes all connected Zigbee and Z-Wave devices and is something few other hubs offer — yet.

The hub works with Z-Wave, Zigbee, Thread, Wi-Fi, and BLE. It’s also a SmartThings Matter controller and a Thread border router and can connect over ethernet or Wi-Fi. In many ways, it’s less powerful than the Homey Pro, but at only $99, it’s much more affordable.

The Aeotec uses the SmartThings app, which is one of the more intuitive interfaces on a multi-protocol hub. SmartThings has been at this for over a decade, and while the app has gone through some bumpy patches over the last few years, it’s now well laid out and easy to use.

SmartThings has a huge list of compatible devices, some of which are cloud-connected but many of which can run automations locally. (Bear in mind that not all Zigbee and Z-Wave devices work with the hub, so you should check compatibility before purchasing.)

While SmartThings is more reliant on the cloud than Homey, Home Assistant, and Hubitat, it has been enhancing its local control with a new architecture called SmartThings Edge. This bypasses the cloud, allowing for faster, more reliable automations with devices that use Edge.

SmartThings has a powerful automation engine for creating complex IFTTT, or “if this, then that”-style, routines using multiple conditions (if) and actions (that).It can connect to Alexa and Google for voice control or use Samsung’s Bixby on Galaxy devices or even with your Samsung smart fridge.

SmartThings is a Matter platform, so you can bring Matter devices from other platforms (such as Apple Home) into the ecosystem. However, the Aeotec hub doesn’t expose the Z-Wave devices connected to it to other Matter platforms. Additionally, while a big selling point of SmartThings is that it can control Samsung appliances — like fridges, washing machines, and TVs — none of these devices work in Matter.

Platform / ecosystem hubs

An ecosystem hub is tied to a single ecosystem and its app. These include Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Samsung SmartThings (which offers both a multi-protocol hub and ecosystem hubs). Most of these systems largely work over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and rely on software integrations through a smart home platform’s Works With-type programs.

Some offer ethernet connectivity, and a few also incorporate additional radios for local control (Zigbee / Thread in some Amazon Echo devices, Thread in Apple and Google hubs, Zigbee / Thread in Samsung TVs) for local control. However, none — so far — support all protocols. (Notably, Z-Wave is absent.)

An ecosystem hub is the best option if you know you want to use a particular ecosystem. Most of these hubs can connect to multi-protocol hubs if you want to expand your smart home to Z-Wave and more powerful automation options.

A big benefit of ecosystem hubs is that most double as smart speakers or, in Samsung’s case, a fridge or TV. However, very few of these use ethernet (the Apple TV, Echo Hub, and Samsung TVs being some of the only ones), meaning your smart home is largely relying on Wi-Fi, which is less stable than ethernet.

None of these support Z-Wave, and those with Zigbee support are limited to certain approved devices, so your options may be fewer. Here is where Matter will boost these platforms, opening more options for local control of more devices.

Here are some of my recommendations, depending on which ecosystem you prefer.

The latest Apple TV includes Thread and Bluetooth 5.0 radios, along with Wi-Fi 6 and gigabit ethernet, making it the most capable smart home hub for running an Apple-based home. It’s also a Matter controller for Apple Home and has Siri voice control through the Siri Remote.

Using the Apple TV, you can connect any HomeKit Thread or Bluetooth device to Apple Home as well as any Matter device (Thread or Wi-Fi). There is no support for Zigbee or Z-Wave, so you need separate compatible hubs / bridges to run devices like Philips Hue lights and Aqara sensors. For Z-Wave devices, you will need a hub like the Homey Pro or Hubitat or set up a Home Assistant bridge.

Amazon’s new Echo Hub is the best hub for an Alexa smart home. It comes with Zigbee, Thread, and Matter built in as well as support for Amazon Sidewalk (handy if you use Ring devices). It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, too, but is the first Echo device capable of power over ethernet, offering a more stable connection.

The Echo Hub brings more local control to the Alexa platform, allowing for Zigbee and Thread devices to be controlled locally through touch on the Echo Hub’s smart home dashboard. There’s no Z-Wave radio, but the compatible Ring Alarm is a Z-Wave hub that can support select Z-Wave devices and bring them into Alexa.

The Google Nest Hub (second-gen) is the best hub if you use Google Home to run your smart home. It supports Thread and Matter alongside Wi-Fi, and unlike the Nest Hub Max, its bigger and more expensive sibling, it doesn’t have a camera on board.

This is also the newest Nest Hub hardware-wise and has a Soli radar sensor for gesture and motion detection. There is no support for Zigbee or Z-Wave, but you can bring these devices in using a separate hub.

If you have a Samsung TV, you may already have a fully capable SmartThings hub (minus Z-Wave), but if you don’t, the cheapest way to add local control to a SmartThings smart home is the SmartThings Station.

While the Aeotec hub is also a SmartThings hub, the Station does almost everything that one does minus Z-Wave, making it a good option if you don’t plan to use Z-Wave. It supports Zigbee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Thread, and Matter and is also a wireless charger for your smartphone and a hub for the SmartThings Find service. There’s no ethernet support, but there is a physical button for triggering automations.

Yes, it’s 2024, and you still need a hub

The new smart home standard Matter is moving the needle on interoperability in the smart home, but it still has a long way to go. Today, you need a hub to ensure all your devices can work smoothly and snappily together and to easily create smart home automations. Whether you need a powerful multi-protocol hub or a more straightforward ecosystem hub depends on how many devices you have and how advanced you want to get with your automations.

The good news is that Matter has propelled platform / ecosystem hubs to a much better place, bringing more and better local control to Apple Home, Google Home, and Amazon Alexa. While there have been some teething problems, the introduction of Thread (and Zigbee in Alexa and SmartThings) to ecosystem hubs has brought with it some real improvements in the speed and functionality of smart home devices.

We are now at the point where, whether it’s a multi-protocol hub for a bigger, more robust smart home or an ecosystem hub for a simpler, streamlined experience, your smart home is where the hub should be.