Homey Professional 2026 vs Aeotec Sensible Dwelling Hub

Unifying your sensible dwelling all beneath one app with one hub to do the heavy lifting makes plenty of sense. In the case of the widest gadget assist, there are two hubs that stand out, the Homey Professional 2026 and the Aeotec Sensible Dwelling Hub (beforehand known as the Samsung SmartThings Hub).

The Aeotec is sensible in case you already use Samsung SmartThings and need an reasonably priced, reliable manner so as to add Zigbee and Z-Wave units. The Homey Professional 2026 is for lovers who need extra protocols, deeper automations and a hub that isn’t tied to at least one platform. We’ve reviewed each, and right here’s how they evaluate.

Design

• The Aeotec Sensible Dwelling Hub has a built-in Ethernet port; the Homey Professional 2026 wants an non-obligatory adaptor for a wired connection.
• The Homey Professional 2026 seems to be precisely the identical because the Homey Professional Early 2023.
• The Aeotec hub is bodily equivalent to the Samsung SmartThings Hub V3, other than the branding.

Neither hub stands out for its seems to be, however the Aeotec has one sensible benefit: a built-in Ethernet port.

The Homey Professional 2026 has dual-band Wi-Fi 5, and you’ll want to purchase a separate adaptor in order for you a wired connection. That’s an odd omission on such an costly hub, notably because the cheaper Homey Professional mini has Ethernet. The Aeotec plugs straight into your router, with Wi-Fi as a fallback.

The Homey Professional 2026 can be equivalent on the skin to the Early 2023 mannequin, which looks like a missed probability for a refresh. The Aeotec isn’t any extra authentic, because it’s a SmartThings Hub V3 with a brand new badge, however a minimum of it offers you the wired possibility.

Winner: Aeotec Sensible Dwelling Hub

Protocol Help

• The Homey Professional 2026 helps Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, Matter, 433MHz and IR. The Aeotec handles Zigbee and Z-Wave, plus Thread and Matter following a firmware replace.
• The Homey Professional 2026 has 4GB of RAM, double that of the Early 2023 mannequin, which raises the app restrict from 60 to greater than 100.
• The Homey Professional 2026 can’t be part of an current Thread community, which may restrict vary.

The Homey Professional 2026 covers extra floor right here. It helps Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, Matter, 433MHz and infrared in a single field, with cloud connections for something that may’t join straight. And, Homey Professional helps group integrations. For instance, my Ring Alarm is related by way of a third-party integration.

The Aeotec Sensible Dwelling Hub covers Zigbee and Z-Wave, and there’s now Thread and Matter assist by way of a firmware replace. Past that, it depends on cloud accounts for giant names corresponding to Nest, Ring and Arlo. That works, however a part of your private home then is dependent upon different corporations’ servers.

Homey has its personal Thread issues. Zigbee and Thread share one radio, and the hub can’t be part of an current Thread community, so vary can endure: I couldn’t get my Ultion Nuki sensible lock to attach straight. Even so, 433MHz and IR assist, plus a a lot greater app library, give Homey the sting.

Winner: Homey Professional 2026

Options

• The Homey Professional 2026 works with Ring Alarm by way of a group app. SmartThings has a third-party Ring integration, however it isn’t simple to put in.
• Homey’s superior Stream editor makes use of flowcharts, with a number of triggers, waits and customized variables.
• On the Aeotec the superior options are not out there

Each hubs can run advanced automations, however they get there in a different way. The Aeotec Sensible Dwelling Hub depends on SmartThings, which handles the fundamentals effectively: grouping units into rooms, controlling lights and triggering actions from movement or door sensors. You used to have the ability to add the highly effective WebCORE plug-in for superior, script-based automations, however the replace to SmartThings signifies that possibility is not out there. Follow the fundamentals and also you’re superb, however SmartThings has misplaced some energy in an effort to turn out to be simpler to make use of.

On the Homey Professional 2026, the ability is constructed into Flows. These might be fundamental (unlocking the entrance door turns off an alarm, for instance), however Flows are very highly effective because of And situations. For instance, the backyard lights solely come on when the backyard workplace door locks after sundown. The superior Stream editor goes additional, with flowcharts, a number of triggers, waits and customized variables, and no plugins required.

Winner: Homey Professional 2026

System Compatibility

• Homey’s official and group apps lined each gadget in our reviewer’s dwelling, together with a second-generation Ring Alarm.
• With the Aeotec, SmartThings assist is nice however not as intensive

The Homey Professional 2026 works with a variety of units by way of its official and group apps, sufficient me to retire a Raspberry Pi working Homebridge to be used with Apple Dwelling. It additionally exposes extra gadget triggers than different platforms. A Tado X sensor in Homey affords temperature, heating and humidity triggers, the place as Apple Dwelling affords both temperature or heating standing.

The Aeotec Sensible Dwelling Hub is extra patchy. Massive-brand corporations are usually effectively supported, however there are gaps, corresponding to no Ring Alarm assist, and third-party assist is virtually non existent now.

Winner: Homey Professional 2026

Improve Path

• The Homey Professional 2026 can restore from a cloud backup of an older Homey hub, and your units reconnect routinely.
• SmartThings V1 hub homeowners need to delete and re-add each gadget to maneuver to the Aeotec.
• There’s an computerized migration instrument for SmartThings V2 and V3 hubs.

Shifting to the Homey Professional 2026 is straightforward. Again up your previous hub (Homey’s cloud backup is an affordable paid month-to-month service), restore it to the brand new one and provides your units a couple of minutes to reconnect. Shifting to the Aeotec is more durable. SmartThings V1 homeowners need to take away each gadget and pair it once more, separately. V2 and V3 homeowners get an computerized migration instrument. The Aeotec additionally provides no new options over a V2 or V3 hub, so current SmartThings customers have little motive to change.

Winner: Homey Professional 2026

Worth

• Homey additionally sells the cheaper Homey Professional mini for houses with fewer units.
• Many new units join over Wi-Fi or by way of their very own hubs, so you could not want the Aeotec in any respect.
• SmartThings has misplaced options for the reason that swap from its Traditional app.

Neither hub is an computerized purchase. The Homey Professional 2026 is price it when you’ve got a lot of units or have outgrown an older Homey hub. For smaller setups, the Homey Professional mini is cheaper and a greater place to begin.

The Aeotec Sensible Dwelling Hub is more durable to guage. SmartThings remains to be a succesful platform, but when your units join over Wi-Fi or the cloud, you’ll be able to skip the hub solely. It’s price shopping for in case you use Zigbee or Z-Wave sensors, or sure sensible locks. The options SmartThings misplaced when it retired the Traditional app rely towards it.

Winner: Homey Professional 2026

Specs comparability

Remaining Ideas

If you’d like one hub to run a fancy sensible dwelling, purchase the Homey Professional 2026. It wins 5 of our six rounds: protocol assist, options, gadget compatibility, improve path and worth. You get each main sensible dwelling protocol in a single field, an enormous app library and simple migration once you improve. It prices greater than the Aeotec, however you make far fewer compromises.

The Aeotec Sensible Dwelling Hub fits somebody already dedicated to SmartThings who needs a wired hub for Zigbee and Z-Wave units and isn’t planning an enormous overhaul. You quit flexibility and a straightforward improve path, but when your setup already works and also you simply want a reliable hub to run it, the Aeotec does the job.