Guide · Smart Home
Home Assistant vs Control4 vs Savant
Direct answer
Comparing the three main smart home platforms: Home Assistant, Control4, and Savant. Ownership models, ongoing costs, dealer lock-in, and what happens when the company changes ownership.
The three main platforms used in premium Australian residential smart home installs are Home Assistant, Control4, and Savant. They look similar on the surface: wall-mounted touch panels, mobile dashboards, voice control. They’re radically different underneath in three areas that matter: ownership, ongoing cost, and what happens to your system when something changes outside your control.
The short version
| Home Assistant | Control4 | Savant | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership model | Open source, you own the software and config | Proprietary, you license access to a system | Proprietary, you license access to a system |
| Hardware | Off-the-shelf, swappable | Vendor-locked, dealer-installed | Vendor-locked, dealer-installed |
| Ongoing fees | Optional cloud add-on (~US$8/month) | Annual dealer fees ~US$300+/year | Annual dealer fees ~US$400+/year |
| Programmable by | You, an integrator, or another integrator | Authorised Control4 dealers only | Authorised Savant dealers only |
| Internet required | No | Partially. Many features cloud-dependent. | Partially. Many features cloud-dependent. |
| Works if vendor disappears | Yes | Limited | Limited |
| Compatible devices | 3,000+ brands and growing | Vendor-approved list | Vendor-approved list |
| Initial install cost | Lower, hardware is consumer-grade | Higher, proprietary hardware plus dealer margin | Highest, premium hardware plus dealer margin |
Ownership and lock-in
This is the defining difference, and it’s the reason Iron and Air builds on Home Assistant.
Home Assistant
You own the software. You own the configuration. You own the hardware. The platform is open source, which means the source code is publicly available and the project is governed by a foundation, not a company that can be sold. Your configuration lives on your hardware in your house, typically a small dedicated server (Home Assistant Yellow, Green, or a NUC).
If Iron and Air goes away, your system keeps working. If you want a different integrator next year, they take over the configuration without rebuilding it. If the project itself ever shut down (it won’t, it’s run by a non-profit foundation in the Netherlands and has thousands of contributors worldwide), the last release would still keep working indefinitely on your existing hardware.
Control4
You license access to the Control4 system. The hardware is proprietary, a Control4-branded controller, sourced through a Control4 authorised dealer. The configuration is created in Control4’s “Composer” software, which is dealer-only. You cannot edit your own system without dealer involvement.
Control4 was acquired by SnapAV in 2019 (now Snap One). Snap One was acquired by Resideo in 2024. Each ownership change has come with adjustments to dealer terms, hardware lifecycle policies, and the developer roadmap. Owners with Control4 systems installed before 2019 have generally retained functionality, but the platform’s direction is set by the parent company, not by users.
If your Control4 dealer disappears (retirement, business closure, bankruptcy), you need to find another Control4 dealer to take over. Their willingness to do so depends on their workload, their relationship with Snap One, and what state the previous dealer left the system in.
Savant
Same architecture as Control4: proprietary hardware, dealer-only programming, vendor-controlled lifecycle. Savant is positioned as the higher-end alternative to Control4, with more polished UI design and tighter integration with Apple ecosystem hardware. Same lock-in dynamics apply.
Savant was acquired by GE in 2017 for what was widely reported to be a substantial premium. As of 2026 it operates as a GE Lighting subsidiary.
Ongoing cost
Home Assistant
The base platform is free. There’s an optional cloud add-on called Nabu Casa at around US$8/month that provides remote access and voice integration if you don’t want to set up your own VPN. Most owners run it for the convenience.
Beyond that, there are no ongoing platform fees. No dealer maintenance contract is required to use the system.
Control4
Annual dealer fees vary by dealer but typically run US$300–$600/year for ongoing software updates and support (Australian dealer pricing may differ). Some features (cloud-dependent integrations, remote access, voice control) require an active dealer subscription on your account.
If you let the dealer relationship lapse, the system keeps working, but updates, new device integrations, and remote access stop. Resuming requires the dealer to re-enable your account.
Savant
Similar to Control4. Annual dealer fees in the US$400–$800/year range (Australian dealer pricing may differ), with similar lapse implications.
What you can do yourself
Home Assistant
Anything. You have full root access to your own system. You can write automations, add new devices, change the dashboard, integrate any of the 3,000+ supported platforms, and modify the configuration files directly. The community has documented every common automation pattern publicly.
This is the platform’s greatest strength and greatest weakness. If you’re technically inclined and willing to spend time on it, you’ll get exactly the system you want. If you’re not, you’ll need an integrator. But you can choose any integrator, including doing some of the work yourself and contracting out the rest.
Control4 / Savant
Almost nothing. These platforms are designed so that all configuration goes through dealer software. You can adjust scenes through the touch panel, but adding a new device, changing automation logic, or modifying the dashboard layout all require a dealer service call.
This is sold as a feature (“we handle everything for you”) and it’s true that for many owners it works that way. But it means you cannot move quickly, you pay a dealer rate for changes that take minutes, and you cannot leave easily.
What happens if your dealer disappears
The dealer model is the central risk on Control4 and Savant. The Australian smart home dealer market is small. Bankruptcies, retirements, and business closures happen. When they do:
- Control4: Find another Control4 dealer in your region. They will need to reset your account at their cost, which they may pass on. They may not be willing to take on a system installed by another dealer if it’s old, unusual, or under-documented.
- Savant: Same dynamic. The Australian dealer base is smaller than Control4, which makes the risk slightly higher.
- Home Assistant: No dealer required. Any integrator who knows Home Assistant (or you yourself) can take over without rebuilding.
This isn’t a hypothetical. Every smart home integrator on the Gold Coast has at least one client whose original dealer went bankrupt and whose system has been “limping along” for years.
When Control4 or Savant might still be the right choice
Honest answer: there are scenarios where the proprietary platforms make sense.
- If you already have an established relationship with a Control4 or Savant dealer you trust, and they’re young enough to be around for the lifetime of the install
- If your install includes specific high-end audio/video products that have first-class Control4 or Savant integration but limited Home Assistant support (rare, getting rarer)
- If you genuinely want the system handled entirely by a single dealer relationship and you’re willing to pay the lock-in premium for that
For most Gold Coast residential clients, the Home Assistant approach delivers the same outcome at lower long-term cost and with materially less risk.
How Iron and Air builds Home Assistant systems
The Home Assistant platform is open source, but the engineering judgement that goes into a properly-installed system isn’t. A typical Iron and Air install includes:
- Home Assistant Yellow or Green hardware in a dedicated location (usually the comms cabinet)
- Configuration version-controlled and backed up off-site
- Matter and Thread compatible devices preferred over older protocols
- Physical wall switches behind every smart switch (the fail-safe rule)
- Remote VPN access via WireGuard or Tailscale
- Documented system map handed over at completion
You own the hardware, the software, and the configuration. If you ever want to take it over yourself, the documentation is yours and the system is editable.
Common questions
Can Home Assistant control my existing Control4 or Savant system? Sometimes, partially. There are community-maintained integrations for both, but they’re limited and unofficial. The cleaner path is usually to move off the proprietary platform onto Home Assistant directly, especially for systems already past their original install warranty.
Is Home Assistant secure? Yes, provided it’s set up properly. The platform itself is heavily reviewed because it’s open source. The risk is in remote access configuration: an exposed Home Assistant instance with a weak password is a target. Done correctly (VPN access, no cloud port-forwarding), it’s at least as secure as any proprietary system.
What about Crestron? Crestron sits in the same category as Control4 and Savant: proprietary, dealer-only, lock-in risk. It’s more common in commercial AV than premium residential, but exists in a few high-end Gold Coast estates. Same trade-offs apply.