What hardware do I need to get started with Home Assistant?
You can start with a single hub and add radios or voice hardware only when your devices require them. Home Assistant itself is software, so "hardware" means the machine that runs it plus any adapters needed to talk to your devices. The site lists four first-party hardware options: Home Assistant Green (the general-purpose hub), Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 (Zigbee/Thread), Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2 (Z-Wave), and Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition (voice control).
The core decision: what runs Home Assistant
Home Assistant Green is described as "the easy-to-use, versatile, and trustworthy smart home hub for everyone." If your goal is to get running without assembling a server, this is the entry point the site positions for a general audience.
The alternative is running Home Assistant on your own hardware. The site's description frames the software as "open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first," and notes it is "perfect to run on a..." (the excerpt is truncated), so the site does not spell out a full self-hosted hardware list on this page. If you already own a suitable always-on machine, that path avoids buying a dedicated hub — but you take on setup and maintenance yourself.
Radios: only if your devices need them
Home Assistant scans your network for known devices and lets you set them up, so Wi-Fi and IP-based devices may need no extra adapter. Add a radio when you have devices that use Zigbee, Thread, or Z-Wave.
| Hardware | What it connects | When you need it |
|---|---|---|
| Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 | Zigbee or Thread | You have Zigbee or Thread devices and want "the easiest way to start" with either |
| Home Assistant Connect ZWA-2 | Z-Wave | You have Z-Wave devices; described as "the ultimate way to connect Z-Wave devices" |
Both are optional relative to the hub — they solve a protocol problem, not a "getting started" problem, unless your devices already use those protocols.
Voice control: two different routes
There are two distinct ways to get voice control, and they are not the same purchase:
- Cloud assistants you may already own. The site shows Alexa and Google Assistant integrations ("Alexa, turn on the lights" / "Ok Google, turn off the AC"), which let you control Home Assistant through those existing assistants. This needs no first-party voice hardware.
- Local voice. Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition is described as bringing "choice to voice" and "the best way to get started with voice," with Assist described as a "private, insanely fast, voice assistant running on affordable hardware" that now supports wake words. Choose this if local/private voice is the point for you.
A practical starting set
- Hub: Home Assistant Green if you want the ready-to-use option.
- Radio: add Connect ZBT-2 or Connect ZWA-2 only if your devices use Zigbee/Thread or Z-Wave.
- Voice: skip first-party voice hardware if Alexa or Google Assistant already covers you; add Voice Preview Edition if you want local voice.
- Devices: once the hub is running, it scans your network for known devices and lets you set them up, then you can build automations — for example, turning on a light when the sun sets or when you come home.
What the page does not tell you
The page does not list prices, so treat all four items as purchases to verify on the shop rather than assuming any tier is free. It also does not give a full compatibility list here; it states Home Assistant "integrates with over a thousand different devices and services," with integrations to explore separately. Check your specific devices against that integrations list before buying a radio.