Home Assistant Green vs TP-Link Tapo H100

The TP-Link Tapo H100 comes out ahead on price and simplicity, since it is a small, inexpensive radio built for one job. Home Assistant Green is the far more capable box for local, multi-brand automation once you add its optional Zigbee/Thread dongle, so which one is better really depends on whether you want a cheap sensor gateway or a full smart home server.

The TP-Link Tapo H100 is a small plug-in radio that only talks to TP-Link's own Tapo sensors over Sub-1G. Home Assistant Green is a quad-core mini computer that runs the full Home Assistant platform locally, unifying devices from hundreds of brands, with ONVIF, RTSP, Node-RED and Tailscale support the Tapo H100 does not have.

Not on its own, and neither does Home Assistant Green without extra hardware. The Tapo H100 has no Zigbee or Thread radio at all. Home Assistant Green needs the separate Connect ZBT-1 dongle to add Zigbee, Thread and Matter-over-Thread support.

The TP-Link Tapo H100 works through the Tapo app without a required subscription. Home Assistant Green runs its automations locally without the internet, but remote access and cloud voice control typically use a paid Home Assistant Cloud subscription, though free DIY alternatives exist.

Anyone who only needs a cheap radio to connect TP-Link's own Tapo motion, contact or water sensors and wants a built-in siren for a simple DIY alarm, without any interest in running a broader smart home platform.

Anyone who wants to unify devices from many different brands under one local, private dashboard, is willing to add the Connect ZBT-1 dongle for Zigbee and Thread, and does not mind a learning curve to get the most out of the software.