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Should I use Gladys Assistant?

Free, open-source smart home software that runs on your own hardware, even offline. Works with Zigbee, Matter, Hue and SmartThings. A simpler Home Assistant alternative. - gladysassistant.com

Depends. Buy if you self-host, value privacy, and accept a one-person project with community-only support; the core is free and capable. Skip it if you want plug-and-play, vendor support, or the broadest ecosystem — Home Assistant or a consumer hub fits better.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 14 public sources reviewed; Reddit snippets were truncated, limiting verbatim quote depth.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support quality
  • Security posture

Pricing

Free

Gladys Assistant (core)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Gladys PlusPaid subscription (price not in sources)

Best for

  • Privacy-focused self-hosters
  • Raspberry Pi and NAS tinkerers
  • Households with Zigbee or Matter gear
  • Home Assistant users wanting a simpler UI

Not for

  • Anyone wanting plug-and-play consumer setup
  • Non-technical users unwilling to maintain a server
  • Buyers needing vendor support or SLAs
  • US users expecting broad device coverage

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

One-person project: real bus-factor and long-term support risk

high

Keep updated: versions below 5.1.0 have a known password-reset flaw

medium

Remote access and encrypted backups need paid Gladys Plus; exact price unstated in reviewed sources

medium

Popular Home Assistant integrations not all available; community tracking which to port

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free, open-source, runs offline on your own hardware
  • Privacy-first positioning; data stays local
  • Matter support added in v4.58
  • AI control via OpenAI integration and Matterbridge
  • Installs on Raspberry Pi, mini PC, Synology NAS, and Unraid

Cons

  • One-employee company; roadmap and support rest on one founder
  • Recent CVEs, including password-reset poisoning (CVSS 7.4)
  • Many popular Home Assistant integrations still missing
  • Low awareness; even Redditors ask if anyone has used it
  • US users report gaps; founder asks what's missing for them

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/30/2026 - 14 sources - advisories exist; run the latest 5.x release and keep it patched.

official x6review x3security x2news x3
  • CVE-2026-93340 — password reset link poisoning (CVSS 7.4), Affects Gladys Assistant below 5.1.0 via the forgot-password endpoint; fixed in 5.1.0.
  • CVE-2023-47440 — path traversal, Path traversal vulnerability in Gladys Assistant v4.26.1 and below.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • Free

    Starting price

  • 14

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Core free; only Plus costs money
  • Ease of use: 3/5. Self-described simpler than Home Assistant
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Matter, Zigbee, Hue, scenes, AI control
  • Support quality: 2/5. One-person team, community forum only
  • Security posture: 2/5. Recent CVEs incl. password-reset poisoning
  • Free Core price Open-source, self-hosted
  • Yes Free tier Gladys Plus remote access is paid
  • 1 employee Team size Per Prospeo company data
  • 990 upvotes Reddit traction r/raspberry_pi launch thread, 111 comments

Pricing

Gladys Assistant (core)

Free

  • Open-source, self-hosted
  • Runs offline on your hardware

Gladys Plus

Paid subscription (price not in sources)

  • Secure remote access
  • Encrypted backups

Security

advisories exist; run the latest 5.x release and keep it patched.

  • CVE-2026-93340 — password reset link poisoning (CVSS 7.4)Affects Gladys Assistant below 5.1.0 via the forgot-password endpoint; fixed in 5.1.0.⁷
  • CVE-2023-47440 — path traversalPath traversal vulnerability in Gladys Assistant v4.26.1 and below.⁸

What users say

Reddit threads position Gladys as a privacy-first, simpler Home Assistant alternative, though many users haven't heard of it.

“Has anyone heard and used Gladys assistant?”
Reddit, r/homeassistant
“Homeassistant vs Gladysassistant vs Tuya Devices”
Reddit, r/smarthome
Full analysis

Based on 14 public sources reviewed; Reddit snippets were truncated, limiting verbatim quote depth.

Free, privacy-first Home Assistant rival — great for tinkerers, wrong for plug-and-play buyers; solo maintainer and recent CVEs.

Methodology

Based on 14 public sources reviewed; Reddit snippets were truncated, limiting verbatim quote depth.

Sources

  1. Gladys Assistant official sitegladysassistant.com
    official
  2. Gladys Assistant GitHub repositorygithub.com
    official
  3. Gladys Plus: secure remote accessgladysassistant.com
    official
  4. Home Assistant vs Gladys Assistant comparisongladysassistant.com
    official
  5. Gladys Assistant adds Matter supportmatteralpha.com
    news
  6. Gladys Assistant 4.58 opens the door wide to Mattermaison-et-domotique.com
    news
  7. Gladys Assistant password reset link poisoning advisoryvulncheck.com
    security
  8. CVE-2023-47440 — NVD detailnvd.nist.gov
    security
  9. Frame This Revenue, Funding & Valuationprospeo.io
    news
  10. Reddit r/homeautomation — Gladys Assistant 4 launchreddit.com
    review
  11. Reddit r/raspberry_pi — Gladys Assistant thread (990 upvotes)reddit.com
    review
  12. Reddit r/homeassistant — Has anyone used Gladys?reddit.com
    review
  13. Community — popular Home Assistant integrations as Gladys candidatescommunity.gladysassistant.com
    official
  14. Gladys Assistant — Using AI to control your connected homegladysassistant.com
    official

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