Looking for a Homey alternative?
Homey made the smart home friendly. Gladys Assistant keeps it friendly, and makes it free, open source and yours, on the hardware you choose.
Homey is one of the nicest smart home hubs out there: a polished app, easy Flows and lots of radios in one box. It also comes with a price tag (the Homey Pro is now $449), a proprietary platform, and a company that has been owned by LG since 2024.
Gladys Assistant is a free and open-source alternative with the same focus on simplicity. It runs on your own mini-PC or Raspberry Pi, pairs your Zigbee, Z-Wave and Matter devices directly, and lets you build scenes in a visual editor. No hub to buy, no mandatory subscription.
Why people look for an alternative to Homey
Homey is well made, but a few things make people look elsewhere:
- The hardware is expensive: $449 for the Homey Pro and $249 for the Homey Pro mini since June 2026.
- The platform is proprietary. Apps can be open source, but Homey itself is not.
- Homey is 80% owned by LG since July 2024: the product's direction now depends on a large electronics group's strategy.
- Homey Self-Hosted Server runs on your own machine, but it's a paid license and Zigbee or Z-Wave need a Homey Bridge.
If you like Homey's simplicity but want to own your platform, there is a free way to get there.
Gladys Assistant vs Homey
How the two compare:
| Gladys Assistant | Homey Pro / Self-Hosted Server | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware | Your own mini-PC, Raspberry Pi or NAS | Homey Pro ($449), Pro mini ($249), or your server with Self-Hosted Server |
| Software price | Free | Included with the hub; Self-Hosted Server $4.99/month or $149 lifetime |
| Zigbee and Z-Wave | USB dongles (Zigbee2MQTT, Z-Wave JS UI) | Built into Homey Pro; Homey Bridge needed for Self-Hosted Server |
| Matter | Yes, as a Matter controller | Yes, and Homey Pro is also a Thread border router |
| Infrared and 433 MHz | Through Broadlink and RFLink | Built into Homey Pro (433 MHz outside North America) |
| Source code | Open source (Apache 2.0) | Proprietary |
| AI | AI assistant with Gladys Plus, free MCP server | Depends on the plan and apps |
Homey wins on the all-in-one box with every radio built in. Gladys wins on price, openness and hardware freedom.
Why Gladys is a good Homey alternative
What you get with Gladys:
An old laptop, a mini-PC, a Raspberry Pi or your NAS: Gladys runs anywhere Docker does.
Like Homey, Gladys is built for people who want a smart home that works, not a hobby that eats their weekends.
Triggers, conditions, if/then/else and delays, in an editor as friendly as Homey Flows.
Plus Philips Hue, Tapo, Shelly, Sonos, Tuya, Netatmo and a growing catalog of community integrations.
Talk to your home in plain language with Gladys Plus, or connect Claude through the MCP server.
Apache 2.0 and developed in the open: no acquisition can take your platform away.
How to move from Homey to Gladys
Move at your own pace, room by room:
- Install Gladys on a mini-PC or a Raspberry Pi, and list your Homey devices by protocol.
- Zigbee devices: add a Zigbee USB dongle, remove each device from Homey and pair it with Zigbee2MQTT.
- Z-Wave devices: add a Z-Wave USB stick, exclude each device from Homey and include it in Z-Wave JS UI.
- Matter devices: share them with Gladys as a second controller, then remove them from Homey.
- Wi-Fi and cloud devices: connect them through their Gladys integration.
- Rebuild your Flows as Gladys scenes, then sell or retire the hub.
Thread devices need a Thread border router, which Gladys is not: keep one in the home (Apple TV, HomePod, Nest Hub…) for those.
Homey's simplicity, without the price tag
Gladys shares Homey's belief that a smart home should be easy. The difference is ownership: Gladys is free, open source and runs on hardware you choose, so your home doesn't depend on a product line's prices or a company's strategy.
Gladys Plus is an optional subscription for encrypted remote access, backups, Alexa and Google Home, and the AI assistant, with a one-month free trial.
Go further
More ways to build a local smart home:
Building your own local hub with a mini-PC.
Another local hub, and why people move away from it.
Controller, Thread border router, bridge: what you really need.
Local Zigbee with a managed setup and dashboards.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Homey Pro?
Yes. Gladys Assistant is free and open source, and runs on your own mini-PC, Raspberry Pi or NAS. Add a Zigbee dongle and a Z-Wave stick if you use those protocols, and you get local control, dashboards and visual scenes without buying a hub.
How much does Homey cost in 2026?
Since June 1, 2026, the Homey Pro costs $449 (€449) and the Homey Pro mini $249 (€279). Homey Self-Hosted Server costs $4.99 per month or $149 for a lifetime license, with a Homey Bridge needed for Zigbee and Z-Wave.
Is Homey open source?
No. Homey's platform is proprietary; developers can choose to publish their Homey apps as open source. Gladys Assistant is fully open source under Apache 2.0.
Who owns Homey?
LG Electronics acquired 80% of Athom, the company behind Homey, in July 2024, with a plan to acquire the rest later. The Homey brand and team stayed in place.
Can Gladys replace Homey's infrared and 433 MHz radios?
Partly. Gladys controls infrared devices through Broadlink blasters and 433 MHz devices through RFLink. Homey Pro has more radios built into one box, so check your devices on the Works with Gladys page first.
A friendly smart home, free and open source
Gladys installs with a single Docker command on the hardware you choose. Try it next to your Homey and move at your own pace.