# Samsung SmartThings

5 Hacker News commenters recommended Samsung SmartThings and 7 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 4 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as the best off-the-shelf smart home platform, especially inside its own ecosystem. Critics mainly object to new API fees and missing local control.

## Why people recommend it

- Best off-the-shelf smart home platform (1 comments): "Samsung probably has the best "off-the-shelf"" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50071628))
- Works best within SmartThings ecosystem (1 comments): "Hybrid approach; still best when used inside SmartThings" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45838857))
- TV can act as home hub (1 comments): "Use the TV as a HUB for all IOT" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50223090))

## What people warn about

- Paid subscription and API fees (4 comments): "Imagine paying a Korean company five bucks a months so you can get a notification on your phone" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49505266)) "upcoming Samsung SmartThings API pricing means things will have to change soon" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49432675)) "now charging $5/month to use smarthings with no local control" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49004507))
- Limited features and lost local control (2 comments): "certain things I want to do are just not possible with SmartThings" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46170381)) "now charging $5/month to use smarthings with no local control" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49004507))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Home Assistant](https://hackerapproved.com/p/home-assistant.md): 298 recommend
- [Apple HomeView](https://hackerapproved.com/p/apple-homeview.md): 95 recommend
- [Zigbee2MQTT](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zigbee2mqtt.md): 16 recommend
- [Homebridge](https://hackerapproved.com/p/homebridge.md): 13 recommend
- [Home Assistant Green](https://hackerapproved.com/p/home-assistant-green.md): 6 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Samsung+SmartThings+hub&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://www.samsung.com/us/smartthings/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Samsung SmartThings", https://hackerapproved.com/p/smartthings/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).