This year, I've been trying to purge subscriptions that I don't really need. I've managed to replace a lot of my paid subscriptions with free alternatives that can do the same job. I've kept hold of my Home Assistant Cloud subscription, however, and there are plenty of good reasons why.

Amazon upgrades Alexa+ with new shopping tools, turning Echo screens into hubs for orders, deals, and gift buying.

Home Assistant is, in my opinion, the best smart home software available. It's free, open-source, privacy-focused, works with a huge number of devices, and can make your smart home do almost anything you can think of. Despite all that, Home Assistant definitely has its faor share of problems.

Google and Amazon are particularly good at selling the smart home vision, but these platforms have some big drawbacks, too. Consider switching to or starting out with a more capable and reliable alternative, which will save you money and frustration in the long run.

Home Assistant includes a large number of native integrations that can do everything from allowing you to connect specific smart home devices to tracking daylight hours from sunrise to sunset, so your lighting automations know when to turn on and off. Here are some lesser-known Home Assistant integrations that are worth exploring if you're not already using them.