Self-Hosted Alternatives to Google Home
Why Replace Google Home?
Privacy. Google Home devices send every voice command to Google’s servers. Your smart home activity — when you turn lights on, what temperature you set, when you’re home — is collected and used for advertising. Google’s privacy policy explicitly allows using this data to personalize ads.
Reliability. Google Home requires internet access. If your ISP goes down, your automations stop working. Google has also shut down products with minimal notice (Stadia, Google+, countless APIs). Your smart home shouldn’t depend on a company’s product roadmap.
Control. Google Home limits what devices work together and how automations can be configured. Self-hosted platforms give you full control over every rule, trigger, and device interaction. Complex automations that are impossible in Google Home become straightforward.
Cost. Google Home is “free” because you’re the product. Self-hosted automation runs on hardware you already own (or a $60 mini PC), with no subscriptions and no data collection.
Recent concerns: Google deprecated the Works with Nest program, forced migration to Google Home, and has increasingly pushed Nest Aware subscriptions for features that used to be free.
Best Alternatives
Home Assistant — Best Overall Replacement
Home Assistant is the clear #1 replacement for Google Home. With 2,000+ integrations, it supports virtually every smart home device Google Home does — plus hundreds more. The Lovelace dashboard gives you a customizable control panel. Native mobile apps provide push notifications and location-based automations. Home Assistant’s Assist feature provides local voice control without sending audio to the cloud.
Home Assistant can even integrate with Google Home if you want to keep using Google speakers for voice commands while running all automation logic locally.
[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Home Assistant]
openHAB — Best for Protocol Diversity
openHAB supports 400+ bindings and excels at integrating diverse protocols — KNX, Modbus, EnOcean, Z-Wave, Zigbee, MQTT, and more. If your smart home includes industrial or niche hardware that Google Home can’t control at all, openHAB likely has a binding for it. The Java-based rule engine is powerful for complex automation logic.
[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host openHAB]
Gladys Assistant — Best for Privacy Purists
Gladys Assistant is designed from the ground up with zero cloud connectivity. There’s no optional cloud sync, no telemetry, no account creation on external servers. If your primary reason for leaving Google Home is privacy, Gladys delivers the strongest guarantee. The UI is clean and modern, though the integration list (~30) is limited compared to Home Assistant.
[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Gladys Assistant]
Domoticz — Best Lightweight Option
If you want home automation on a Raspberry Pi Zero or similarly constrained hardware, Domoticz runs at 50 MB RAM. It supports Z-Wave, Zigbee, MQTT, and 433 MHz RF devices natively. The UI is dated but functional, and Lua scripting provides flexible automation. Not a feature-for-feature Google Home replacement, but a solid lightweight platform.
[Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Domoticz]
Migration Guide
What You Can Migrate
- Device control: All Zigbee, Z-Wave, and WiFi devices that work with Google Home also work with Home Assistant (and most work with openHAB/Domoticz). You don’t lose any devices — you gain more.
- Automations: Google Home routines translate directly to Home Assistant automations. Complex routines that were impossible in Google Home become easy.
- Scenes: Google Home scenes map to Home Assistant scenes.
What You Lose
- Voice control via Google speakers. You can still use Google Home speakers as TTS output devices with Home Assistant, but “Hey Google” commands would need Home Assistant Cloud or a custom setup.
- Google Nest integration. Some Nest devices (thermostats, cameras) have limited support in self-hosted platforms compared to the native Google Home app.
- Casting to Chromecast. Home Assistant supports Chromecast casting, so this is recoverable.
Migration Steps
- Set up Home Assistant on your server or Pi (guide)
- Add your Zigbee/Z-Wave coordinator — if you use a Zigbee stick, pair it with ZHA or Zigbee2MQTT
- Re-pair WiFi devices — most WiFi devices can be added via their native integration (Hue, TP-Link, Shelly, etc.)
- Recreate automations — convert Google Home routines to Home Assistant automations
- Set up dashboards — create Lovelace dashboards to replace the Google Home app
- Optional: Keep Google speakers — add Home Assistant Cloud ($6.50/month to Nabu Casa) or use the native Google integration to keep voice control
Cost Comparison
| Google Home | Self-Hosted (Home Assistant) | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform cost | Free (data-subsidized) | Free (open source) |
| Hardware | Google Nest Hub ~$100, speakers ~$30-100 each | Mini PC ~$60-150, or Raspberry Pi 4 ~$50 |
| Monthly subscription | Nest Aware $8-15/month for camera features | $0 (or $6.50/month for Nabu Casa cloud) |
| Annual cost | $96-180/year (Nest Aware) | $0-78/year |
| 3-year cost | $288-540 + speaker hardware | $60-150 (hardware only, one-time) |
| Privacy | All activity sent to Google | Fully local, no data leaves your network |
| Internet required | Yes, for all functions | No (except for external services) |
What You Give Up
Be honest about the trade-offs:
- Voice assistant quality. Google Assistant understands natural language better than any self-hosted alternative. Home Assistant’s Assist is improving rapidly but isn’t at Google’s level yet.
- Plug-and-play simplicity. Google Home auto-discovers most consumer devices. Self-hosted platforms require more manual configuration.
- Nest ecosystem. Deep Nest thermostat and camera integration is better in Google Home. Home Assistant supports Nest but some features are limited.
- Multi-user simplicity. Google Home makes it easy for family members to control things. Self-hosted platforms require more setup for multi-user access.
- Setup time. Google Home takes minutes. Home Assistant takes an afternoon. The payoff is worth it, but it’s not instant.
Related
Get self-hosting tips in your inbox
New guides, comparisons, and setup tutorials — delivered weekly. No spam.