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Home Assistant is changing the name of its optional Home Assistant Cloud subscription to Home Assistant Link; the service’s main features and pricing remain the same. Founder Paulus Schoutsen says the change reflects the project’s preference for local smart-home control, as the team also works to make the platform easier for new users.
Home Assistant is renaming Home Assistant Cloud to Home Assistant Link, founder Paulus Schoutsen told The Verge ahead of the announcement. The change is mainly symbolic: the optional subscription’s features and price are staying the same, while the new name is meant to clarify that Home Assistant runs locally rather than in the cloud.
Home Assistant Link will continue to offer remote access to a user’s Home Assistant system, along with optional internet-dependent features such as Alexa and Google voice control, text-to-speech, speech-to-text and encrypted backups. The reported price remains $6.50 a month or $65 a year. Schoutsen said the service will also receive back-end improvements aimed at speed and reliability.
The service is run by Nabu Casa, Home Assistant’s commercial partner. Schoutsen told The Verge that Link traffic is encrypted and the service cannot see users’ data. He said Link is not required: users can use other methods to reproduce its functions. Home Assistant itself runs on local hardware and can control devices on the home network without Link, though remote access is unavailable once a user leaves that network.
The announcement sits within a broader effort to make Home Assistant easier to use. Schoutsen said the team is working on simpler dashboards and a more intuitive setup process, and plans a more user-friendly hub next year. The HACS community integration store is also scheduled to be incorporated into Home Assistant next month, which the team expects to make community-built integrations easier to find and set up.
A New Name, Same Optional Service
The name change addresses a potential mismatch: Home Assistant promotes local control and reduced dependence on proprietary services, while its subscription had “Cloud” in its name. Schoutsen said some prospective users took that to mean the platform itself ran in the cloud. Link’s new branding is intended to distinguish the remote-access service from Home Assistant’s local operation.
The practical distinction matters when a service or manufacturer’s servers stop working. Schoutsen pointed to past cases including Nest ending cloud support for early thermostats and Weber discontinuing servers for its June Oven. He argues that smart-home products should retain basic functions without an internet connection. Those examples are his rationale for the project’s position, not evidence that Link’s service or every cloud-connected product will fail.
Link also helps fund development. According to The Verge’s report, 60 percent of the service’s profit goes to the Open Home Foundation, the nonprofit that runs Home Assistant. The change therefore preserves a funding stream while allowing the project to emphasize its opposition to making essential device functions depend on a manufacturer’s cloud.
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Local Control and Home Assistant’s Growth
Home Assistant is an open-source smart-home platform that can connect devices from different manufacturers and control them locally. Schoutsen told The Verge that many users find it after reaching the limits of mainstream platforms such as Google Home, Amazon Alexa and Apple Home. Its flexibility, however, brings a steeper learning curve and more setup choices.
Schoutsen estimated that Home Assistant is installed in 2.7 million homes, while describing its reach as much smaller than that of major smart-home platforms. The figure is his estimate as reported by The Verge; the source does not provide an independent count or a comparison period. The team’s stated goal is to make the system approachable without removing its advanced options.
Schoutsen described that aim as “lower the floor without lowering the ceiling.” Alongside usability work, the project has discussed standards and technologies such as Matter, Zigbee, Z-Wave, MQTT and ESPHome as ways to support local operation. The Verge report also describes a planned “No Device Left Behind” program, but the available material does not set out its full scope or launch schedule.
“Big tech ruined the cloud, so we’re out.”
— Paulus Schoutsen, Home Assistant founder, speaking to The Verge
Details Still Awaited on Usability Plans
The report does not give a specific release date for the new hub beyond saying it is planned for next year, or detail its price, hardware or exact setup process. The planned HACS integration is described as coming next month, but the source does not specify which features will be included at launch.
It is also not clear how the reported back-end improvements will affect Link’s speed or reliability, or whether the service’s price could change later. Schoutsen’s statements about encrypted traffic and the service’s inability to access user data are attributed claims; the report does not provide a technical audit or independent verification. The scope and timing of the “No Device Left Behind” program remain unspecified in the supplied report.
Hub and Integration Changes Ahead
Home Assistant says it plans to bring the HACS community store into the platform next month, making third-party integrations easier to discover and configure. The team also plans to introduce a successor to the Home Assistant Green hub next year, with setup intended to be more accessible to nontechnical users.
For now, the rename is the immediate change: existing Link functions, optional status and reported subscription pricing carry over from Home Assistant Cloud. Users weighing the service can continue to run Home Assistant locally without subscribing, while those wanting remote access can use Link or another available method.
Key Questions
What is Home Assistant Link?
Home Assistant Link is the new name for Home Assistant Cloud, an optional service for remote access and related online features.
Did the service’s features or price change?
The report says the main features and price remain the same: $6.50 monthly or $65 annually. Back-end improvements for speed and reliability are also planned.
Does Home Assistant require a cloud subscription?
No. Home Assistant runs on local hardware, and Link is optional. Without Link or another remote-access method, users cannot control their setup from outside their home network.
Why is Home Assistant changing the name?
Founder Paulus Schoutsen said the word “Cloud” confused some prospective users about where Home Assistant runs. The project also wants to distinguish its local-control approach from products that depend on manufacturers’ online services.
What other changes are planned?
The team says HACS integration is planned for next month and a more user-friendly hub for next year. The report does not provide a release date or detailed specifications for the hub.
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