Homelab

Which hardware fits?

All devices hubklar recommends for the use cases, with datasheets and what they are suitable for.

Manufacturer details, as of 11 Oct 2026.

All devices

Ready-made smart home hub

Home Assistant Green

Nabu Casa Home Assistant Green

Processor: Rockchip RK3566, 4 × 1.8 GHz
Memory: 4 GB LPDDR4X
Storage: 32 GB eMMC
Network: Gigabit Ethernet
Power: approx. 1.7 W idle, 3 W under load
Zigbee/Thread: not built in, ZBT-2 required
RRP (manufacturer): €179

Strength: Unbox, plug in, done. Home Assistant comes preinstalled.
Limitation: Meant for Home Assistant only, not for media or photos.
Suitable for: Run your smart home locally

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Manufacturer details

Zigbee or Thread stick

Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2

Nabu Casa Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2

Radio: Zigbee 3.0 or Thread, not both at once
Chip: Silicon Labs MG24
Connection: USB-C, 1.5 m cable included
Compatible: Home Assistant, Zigbee2MQTT
RRP (manufacturer): €45

Strength: Official stick, with wizards for migrating existing Zigbee networks.
Limitation: Zigbee or Thread, not both at the same time.
Suitable for: Run your smart home locally

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Manufacturer details

Single-board computer

Raspberry Pi 5

Raspberry Pi Raspberry Pi 5

Processor: Broadcom BCM2712, 4 × 2.4 GHz Cortex-A76
Memory: 1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 GB LPDDR4X
Network: Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0
PCIe: PCIe 2.0 x1, M.2 only with an add-on board
Power supply: 5 V / 5 A via USB-C recommended
Price: Price to follow

Strength: Efficient and affordable for light services like ad blocking or passwords.
Limitation: Too slow for a media server according to Jellyfin. Power supply, case and storage cost extra.
Suitable for: Run your smart home locally, Block ads across your network, Manage your own passwords

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Manufacturer details

Mini PC with Intel N150

Beelink EQ14

Processor: Intel N150, 4 cores, up to 3.6 GHz
Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics, 24 EU
Memory: 16 GB DDR4, 1 slot
Storage: 500 GB SSD, 2 × M.2 2280
Network: 2 LAN ports, 1 or 2.5 Gbit/s depending on version
Price: Price to follow

Strength: Enough power for several services at once, with Intel graphics for Jellyfin and Frigate.
Limitation: No room for large hard drives. For lots of photos or films, a NAS is better.
Suitable for: Run your smart home locally, Back up photos and videos yourself, Stream films and series, Your own cloud for files, Block ads across your network, Manage your own passwords, Paperless office, Analyse cameras locally

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Manufacturer details

2-bay NAS

UGREEN NASync DXP2800

Processor: Intel N100, 4 cores
Memory: 8 GB DDR5, up to 16 GB
Drives: 2 × 3.5/2.5-inch SATA, 2 × M.2 NVMe
Network: 1 × 2.5 GbE
In the box: diskless
Price: Price to follow

Strength: Storage and computing power in one device. According to Jellyfin, the N100 also handles video well.
Limitation: Hard drives are sold separately. Two bays are enough for mirroring, not more.
Suitable for: Back up photos and videos yourself, Stream films and series, Your own cloud for files, Manage your own passwords, Paperless office

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Also available at UGREEN

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Manufacturer details

4-bay NAS

UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Plus

Processor: Intel Pentium Gold 8505, 5 cores
Memory: 8 GB DDR5, up to 64 GB
Drives: 4 bays, diskless
Network: 1 × 10 GbE, 1 × 2.5 GbE
Capacity: up to 144 TB according to the manufacturer
Price: Price to follow

Strength: Headroom for photos, films and cloud at once, with a 10 GbE port.
Limitation: More expensive and larger. Oversized for smart home use alone.
Suitable for: Back up photos and videos yourself, Stream films and series, Your own cloud for files

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Also available at UGREEN

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Manufacturer details