New check

Comparison

Insteon vs Thesmartesthouse

Insteon lands on Depends, and Thesmartesthouse lands on Worth it.

Insteon

Depends

Confidence: Medium

Buy only if you are already invested in Insteon and want to expand a proven, reliable setup; the ecosystem shut down abruptly once in 2022.

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Thesmartesthouse

thesmartesthouse.com

Worth it

Confidence: Medium

A well-regarded specialty store for Z-Wave, Zigbee, and Zooz gear, with strong hobbyist community praise and discounted pro pricing.

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Insteon versus Thesmartesthouse
Compare	Insteon	Thesmartesthouse
Verdict	Depends	Worth it
Best for	Existing Insteon homeowners expanding setups	Z-Wave and Zigbee DIYers
Who it's not for	New smart home buyers . proprietary protocol, real lock-in	Non-US buyers . free shipping is US-only
Privacy	Known hub vulnerabilities from 2013-2018; company relaunched in 2022 and current posture is unclear.^⁵	No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.
Support quality	2022 shutdown left users stranded for months	Active on Hubitat, SmartThings, own support KB
Public sentiment	Users praise Insteon device reliability and scenes but many left over the 2022 shutdown, hardware scarcity, and app clunkiness.^¹	Hobbyist communities repeatedly call TheSmartestHouse their go-to Z-Wave source, citing good prices and responsive Zooz support.¹⁴
Biggest gotcha	Lock-in: switching to Z-Wave or Lutron later means a full hardware swap-out	Writing a product review earns a 5% off coupon . expect incentivized reviews.

Pick Insteon when

Existing Insteon homeowners expanding setups
DIYers wanting dual-mesh lighting reliability
Home Assistant tinkerers

When Insteon is not a fit

New smart home buyers . proprietary protocol, real lock-in
Anyone wary of vendor shutdown risk . this hub died once already
Security-conscious buyers avoiding CVE-heavy hub history
Renters wanting renter-friendly, portable devices

Pick Thesmartesthouse when

Z-Wave and Zigbee DIYers
Home Assistant and Hubitat users
US buyers hitting the $99 threshold
Installers and alarm pros

When Thesmartesthouse is not a fit

Non-US buyers . free shipping is US-only
Plug-and-play WiFi gadget shoppers
Anyone wanting big-box same-day convenience

Sources

Insteon devices most reliable in smart home setupfacebook.com
review
This automation old dog needs some new tricks - CNETcnet.com
review
I Dumped Insteonreddit.com
review
It's been a great ride, Insteon. My story.reddit.com
review
Multiple Remote Vulnerabilities In Insteon Hub PubNub - Cisco Talosblog.talosintelligence.com
security
Multiple Vulnerabilities in Wink & Insteon Smart Home Systems - Rapid7rapid7.com
security
CVE-2017-14445 - NIST NVDnvd.nist.gov
security
Insteon customers forced to rely on open source fixes - ITProitpro.com
news
Case Study: Insteon's Abrupt Shutdown - Embedded Artistryembeddedartistry.com
news
Insteon Gets Another Chance - Hackadayhackaday.com
news
Insteon's subscription plans - Stacey on IoTstaceyoniot.com
news
Insteon revenue and competitors - Owlerowler.com
news
Insteon Smart Home Subscription - Connected Home Accessinsteon.com
official
The Smartest House Reviews . Trustpilottrustpilot.com
review
The Smartest House Reviews . ResellerRatingsresellerratings.com
review
Your Smart Home Store . official sitethesmartesthouse.com
official