Replaces Google Home

European alternatives to Google Home

European smart home platforms and devices

Browse the category: Home automation platforms

Google Home is Google's smart home platform: an app and a voice assistant that pull speakers, displays, lights, cameras, thermostats and plugs into one system. People use it to control devices by voice, to group them by room and to build routines that run at a set time or on a spoken command. It ships on Google's own speakers and displays.

Home automation gathers an unusually intimate record: when you get up, when the house is empty, which rooms are occupied and what is said near a microphone. Keeping that inside the EU, and preferably inside your own network, is a reasonable position to take. A European alternative to Google Home covers both the hub and the devices. Homey and Home Assistant act as central platforms, while Shelly and FIBARO supply hardware to control from them.

European options

5
service Country Hosting Open source Free plan Status
Shelly Bulgaria — ✓ EU controlled
Homematic IP Germany — ✓ EU controlled
Bosch Smart Home Germany — ✓ EU controlled
FIBARO Poland — — EU controlled
Home Assistant Open source Self-hosted ✓ —
Our pick

Shelly

Smart relays and sensors from Bulgaria

Shelly is a Bulgarian home automation manufacturer, the Shelly Group in Sofia, making Wi-Fi and Bluetooth smart relays, plugs, dimmers and sensors. The devices work locally and expose an open API, so they can be driven from your own network as well as through the free Shelly Smart Control app and cloud.

BulgariaFree planEU controlled

Self-hosted and open source

Open source projects you can run yourself. Not necessarily made in Europe, but nobody else holds your data.

Questions

Can automations keep running without an internet connection?

Local control is a design goal for Home Assistant and Homey, so many automations continue when the connection drops. How much works offline still depends on the individual devices you use.

Will my existing smart devices still work?

These platforms support a wide range of brands and wireless protocols, so much of an existing setup can usually be adopted. Check the compatibility lists from Homey or Home Assistant for the devices you own.

Is there voice control?

Voice is not the centre of gravity for these platforms the way it is for Google Home. Look at what Homey and Home Assistant currently support before assuming a spoken command will replace an app.