Anyone who has run Home Assistant for more than a year has a list of things they’d do differently. XDA published one recently, and it lined up with our own scars: entity names that will not scale, a Zigbee stick tucked directly into a Raspberry Pi, no offsite backup until it was too late. If you are starting fresh, or planning a migration to a Home Assistant Yellow / Green / new Intel N100 mini-PC, here are the seven apps we install on day one.
What we would do differently
The list below reflects three real regrets from the last five years of Home Assistant use:
- Name entities like a database schema, not a marketing brochure.
light.living_room_ceiling, notlight.the_big_one - Put the Zigbee/Z-Wave stick on a USB extension cable. Coexistence with USB 3 is fine only with distance
- Backups off the same box. A snapshot on the same SSD does not survive a corrupted SSD
- A dedicated LAN VLAN for smart-home devices. Some vendors phone home aggressively
- Not switching to HAOS from Container/Core after six months of pain
The apps below make each of those cheaper on the second try.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Cost | Ships with HAOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home Assistant OS | Base install | Free | N/A |
| ESPHome | DIY ESP32/ESP8266 devices | Free, add-on | Add-on |
| Zigbee2MQTT | Vendor-neutral Zigbee stack | Free, add-on | Add-on |
| Frigate NVR | Local camera AI | Free (add-on) or $50/yr Plus | Add-on |
| Nabu Casa | Remote access + Cloud voice | $6.50/mo | Integration |
| Node-RED | Visual automation editor | Free, add-on | Add-on |
| Music Assistant | Whole-home music server | Free, add-on | Add-on |
| Studio Code Server | Edit YAML in a browser | Free, add-on | Add-on |
1. Home Assistant Operating System – Best foundation, no exceptions
Home Assistant OS (HAOS) is the appliance-grade Home Assistant install. It runs on a Raspberry Pi, an Intel NUC / N100 mini-PC, Home Assistant Yellow, or Home Assistant Green. Add-ons are installed with a click, backups are one-tap, and the OS updates itself.
Where it falls short: Not what you want if you already run 20 other Docker containers on the same host; the Supervised install exists for that, but HAOS is the answer for anyone else.
Pricing:
- Free, open source
- Home Assistant Green hardware $99 - $150
- Home Assistant Yellow (higher-end) $149 - $200
Platforms: x86-64, ARM64, Raspberry Pi 3/4/5, Home Assistant Yellow/Green
Download: Home Assistant | GitHub
Bottom line: Install HAOS. Skip every other install method unless you have a specific reason.
2. ESPHome – Best for DIY sensors
ESPHome turns ESP32 and ESP8266 boards into first-class Home Assistant devices via YAML config. Flash from the browser (via ESP Web Tools), then let HA auto-discover. Perfect for CO2 sensors, water leak detectors, garage door openers, and mmWave presence sensors that cost 20 percent of a name-brand equivalent.
Where it falls short: YAML is unforgiving for absolute beginners. Some sensors need a datasheet reading before they work.
Pricing:
- Free, MIT license
- Boards cost $3-$15 each
Platforms: Runs as a HA add-on; devices are ESP32 / ESP8266 based
Download: Add-on Store inside Home Assistant | ESPHome docs
Bottom line: Install day one if you plan to build any custom sensors.
3. Zigbee2MQTT – Best Zigbee stack
Zigbee2MQTT is the vendor-neutral Zigbee coordinator that supports thousands of devices from Aqara, Ikea, Sonoff, Third Reality, and more. Unlike the ZHA integration, it exposes lower-level tuning (transmit power, network scan, OTA updates) and has a stronger community for device compatibility.
Where it falls short: Setup is more involved than ZHA. Requires an MQTT broker (Mosquitto is one click).
Pricing:
- Free, MIT license
- Zigbee coordinator stick $15-$40
Platforms: Runs as a HA add-on
Download: Add-on Store | Zigbee2MQTT | GitHub
Bottom line: Install on day one, put the coordinator on a USB extension cable at least a meter from the host, and never look back.
4. Frigate NVR – Best local camera AI
Frigate is a local Network Video Recorder with real-time object detection. Runs on CPU or a Coral USB accelerator, detects people, packages, cars, and pets locally, and pushes rich notifications with cropped snapshots to your Home Assistant mobile app.
Where it falls short: Requires modest hardware (a Coral USB accelerator makes a big difference). Config learning curve is real.
Pricing:
- Free add-on
- Frigate+ subscription $50/yr adds ML model retraining on your own clips
Platforms: Runs as HA add-on or standalone Docker
Download: Add-on Store | Frigate | GitHub
Bottom line: Best pick to replace a cloud NVR service.
5. Nabu Casa – Best for remote access without a VPN
Nabu Casa is the paid cloud service from the Home Assistant founders. It handles remote access, Alexa/Google Assistant integration, and cloud-based text-to-speech in your voice assistants without opening ports on your router.
Where it falls short: Not free; the fee funds Home Assistant development. Feature parity with a self-hosted setup requires learning WireGuard, mTLS, or Tailscale.
Pricing:
- $6.50/mo or $65/yr
Platforms: Integrated with HAOS
Download: Nabu Casa
Bottom line: Best pick if you would rather pay than run your own reverse proxy.
6. Node-RED – Best visual automation editor
Node-RED is a flow-based programming environment ported to Home Assistant as an add-on. Automations that are hard to express in the built-in editor become drag-and-drop flows: “when door opens between 10pm and 6am, and no one is home, and porch light is off, then flash porch light red for 5 seconds and send a notification.”
Where it falls short: Some purists prefer to keep automations in YAML for git-tracking. Node-RED flows are less diff-friendly.
Pricing:
- Free, Apache-2 license
Platforms: Runs as HA add-on
Download: Add-on Store | Node-RED
Bottom line: Install if you find the built-in automation editor limiting.
7. Music Assistant – Best whole-home music server
Music Assistant turns Home Assistant into a whole-home music brain. Connect Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, YouTube Music, and Radio Browser, then send audio to any Chromecast, Sonos, DLNA, Squeezebox, or ESPHome media player. Automations can trigger a playlist at wake-up on the bedroom speaker.
Where it falls short: Newer than the rest of this list. Some streaming services still require a specific plugin architecture.
Pricing:
- Free, Apache-2 license
- Streaming service subscriptions passed through (Spotify Premium, Apple Music, etc.)
Platforms: Runs as HA add-on
Download: Add-on Store | Music Assistant
Bottom line: Best pick if you want automations to control music, not just lights.
8. Studio Code Server – Best final pick for YAML edits
Studio Code Server is a browser-based VS Code that opens directly against your Home Assistant config folder. Syntax highlighting, YAML linting, and integrated docs. Beats editing YAML in the built-in File Editor add-on for anything longer than 30 lines.
Where it falls short: Loads slowly on a Raspberry Pi 3.
Pricing:
- Free add-on
Platforms: Runs as HA add-on, accessed via browser
Download: Add-on Store | Studio Code Server add-on
Bottom line: The right editor for anyone customizing more than a couple of packages.
How to pick the right one
- First install: HAOS + Studio Code Server + a Zigbee coordinator + Zigbee2MQTT + Nabu Casa if you can afford it
- Adding DIY sensors: ESPHome
- Adding cameras: Frigate NVR + a Coral USB accelerator
- Complex automations: Node-RED
- Whole-home audio: Music Assistant
- Skip: Home Assistant Core / Container / Supervised installs unless you already know why you need them
FAQ
What is the best Home Assistant install method for a beginner? Home Assistant Operating System (HAOS), full stop. Every other install method is for edge cases.
Do I need a Raspberry Pi for Home Assistant? No. An Intel N100 mini-PC ($150 range) is faster, cheaper per year of ownership, and less prone to SD card failure. Home Assistant Green ($99-150) is the plug-and-play option.
Which Zigbee stick should I buy? Sonoff Zigbee 3.0 USB Dongle Plus (ZBDongle-P) or the SkyConnect (now Home Assistant Connect ZBT-1) are the current picks. Always add a USB extension cable to move the stick at least a meter from a USB 3 host.
How do I back up Home Assistant off-site? Install the Google Drive Backup or Home Assistant Cloud Backup add-on, schedule nightly, and enable notifications on failure. Alternatively use a Nextcloud, S3, or SFTP backup add-on.
Should I use Alexa/Google or a local voice assistant? Both work. Nabu Casa is the easiest bridge to Alexa/Google. For local voice, the Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition hardware pairs with the Whisper add-on and runs entirely on your LAN.
