Best home automation systems 2025: I'm a smart home reviewer and these are the top ones

When considering the costs involved in setting up a home automation system, you can divide them into two main categories — the startup cost and the ongoing costs. When you consider the startup amount, you’re willing to put into your smart home, you’re really talking about what will get you going. That will likely determine what smart devices you can add down the line. 

Startup cost

To start, think of the cost of a hub or server, typically $50 to $200, plus what the basics you want to start your home on. Do you want a video doorbell, some smart lights, a security system, or cameras? The startup cost will be determined by these variants. 

When I decided to make my home smarter, I started with a $100 HomePod Mini, a security system, a video doorbell, a smart lock, a couple of smart bulbs, and three cameras. This startup cost was about $900 total, which isn’t cheap but definitely isn’t as expensive as what all those items would have cost me just 5-10 years ago.

Cost of additions

After you determine the basics of your smart home automation system, you should picture what you’ll probably add down the line, in one to three years’ time, so you can see if the cost matches your budget. 

Let’s say you choose Home Assistant for your home automation system and buy a Raspberry Pi or HA Green to run it on. Choosing Home Assistant means you’ll have pretty much your pick of the litter in what smart devices you can buy down the line, since you can add anything from Philips Hue to Ecobee to IKEA and Lutron. Being able to choose from expensive or inexpensive devices means your cost of additions down the line won’t be as high as with other systems.

Matter has made this even easier than ever before. Now, you don’t have to be locked down into a set of brands for your smart home, you can just have a Matter controller, a hub, and Works with Matter devices.