Feeling stuck with SmartThings? This guide explores user-friendly hub alternatives like Hubitat and Homey Pro for more power and local control.

It’s a familiar story for a lot of us who get into the smart home world. You start with something friendly and accessible, like the SmartThings hub. It’s a fantastic entry point. It connects to a bunch of devices, the app is pretty straightforward, and for a while, it does everything you need it to.

But then, you start to bump into its limits.

Maybe you want your automations to run instantly, without a trip to the cloud and back. Or perhaps the news that Samsung sold the hardware side of the business to Aeotec a while back has you feeling a little uncertain about the future. Or maybe, just maybe, you’ve collected a small army of devices—lights from Philips Hue, speakers from Sonos, maybe a few quirky gadgets from SwitchBot—and you feel like you need a more powerful conductor for your smart home orchestra.

If you’re nodding along, you’re in the right place. You’ve graduated from SmartThings 101, and you’re ready for the next level. The good news is, you don’t need to be a coder or a network engineer to make the leap.

Let’s talk about what’s next.

Why Even Bother Moving?

Before we get into the alternatives, let’s be clear: this isn’t about bashing SmartThings. It got millions of people started, and that’s a good thing. But the primary reason people look for an alternative comes down to one key concept: local control.

SmartThings relies heavily on the cloud. If your internet goes down, many of your automations might stop working. A hub with local control, on the other hand, does all the processing right inside your home. This means your lights will still turn on when you walk into a room, even if your Wi-Fi is on the fritz. It’s faster, more reliable, and more private.

So, what hubs give you that local power without asking you to get a degree in computer science?

Option 1: Hubitat Elevation — The Local Powerhouse

If you ask around about the most logical next step after SmartThings, you’ll hear one name over and over: Hubitat Elevation.

Think of Hubitat as SmartThings’ more powerful, slightly more technical cousin. It was actually created by a group of former SmartThings power users who wanted more control.

Why you might like it:

• Local Control is Everything: This is Hubitat’s core philosophy. Nearly everything runs locally. The speed difference is noticeable. Automations are immediate.
• Powerful Automations: The built-in automation tool, Rule Machine, is incredibly powerful. If you can dream it, you can probably build an automation for it without writing a single line of code.
• Great Device Support: Like SmartThings, it has both Z-Wave and Zigbee radios built-in, so it will work with the vast majority of your existing sensors and switches.

The Catch:
While it’s not “coding,” Hubitat does have a steeper learning curve. The interface is more functional than beautiful. You’ll spend a bit more time in menus and settings to get things just right. But for many, the trade-off for speed and reliability is well worth it. It’s the perfect choice for the enthusiast who wants to tinker a bit more without opening a command prompt.

Option 2: Homey Pro — The Beautiful All-in-One

If your priority is a beautiful user experience combined with broad device support, then the Homey Pro is worth a serious look.

Where Hubitat is purely functional, Homey Pro puts a lot of effort into design and user-friendliness. Its app is gorgeous, and its approach to automation, called “Flows,” is very visual and intuitive.

Why you might like it:

• Incredible Connectivity: Homey Pro is the Swiss Army knife of smart home hubs. It doesn’t just have Z-Wave and Zigbee; it also has built-in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Infrared, and 433MHz radios. That means it can control your Sonos speakers, your TV, your smart thermostat, and that random remote-controlled gadget you bought.
• Polished Experience: The mobile and web apps are slick. Creating automations is a simple drag-and-drop process that feels less intimidating than Hubitat’s Rule Machine.
• It Just Works: It’s designed to be a premium, plug-and-play experience. For many devices, the setup is incredibly simple.

The Catch:
The main drawback is the price. The Homey Pro is a premium product with a premium price tag. It’s a significant investment compared to other options. But if you value a seamless experience and want a single box to control almost everything, it’s a top contender.

A Quick Word on Home Assistant

You can’t talk about smart home hubs without mentioning Home Assistant. This is the ultimate DIY, open-source platform. The power and customization are practically infinite.

However, you mentioned you’re not a coder and want something plug-and-play. While Home Assistant has become MUCH more user-friendly over the years (especially with options like the Home Assistant Green hub), it still requires a willingness to learn, troubleshoot, and sometimes dive into configuration files.

Think of it this way: Hubitat and Homey are like buying a great, reliable car. Home Assistant is like being given a massive box of high-performance car parts and a detailed manual. You can build the car of your dreams, but you have to build it yourself.

Making the Move

Once you pick a new hub, the process isn’t just plugging it in. For your Z-Wave devices, you’ll need to “exclude” them from your SmartThings hub before you can “include” them on your new one. It’s like un-pairing a Bluetooth headphone before you can pair it to a new phone.

My advice? Don’t try to move everything at once. Start with one or two non-essential devices, like a lamp or a single motion sensor. Get a feel for the new system, learn how its automation tools work, and then slowly migrate everything else over.

Leaving the platform you started with can feel daunting, but it’s a natural step in the journey. You’re not just looking for a new hub; you’re building a smarter, more reliable, and more personal home. And that’s a pretty exciting upgrade.