Matter vs Reality: What Home Assistant Users Should Know

You’ve probably heard of Matter — the new smart home standard backed by Apple, Google, Amazon, and others. It promises to fix compatibility headaches by letting all your devices talk to each other, regardless of brand or ecosystem.

Sounds great. But if you’re already deep into smart home setups — especially with Home Assistant and Zigbee/Z-Wave/etc. — you might be wondering: is Matter even relevant to me?

Short answer? Not really - at least not for most Home Assistant users

What Matter is actually trying to do

Matter’s goal is to make smart home stuff “just work.” You should be able to walk into a shop, buy a smart bulb, and use it with Alexa, Google Home, or Apple Home without checking logos or needing special hubs.

And for casual users who rely on those platforms, it’s great. Matter bulbs work across apps. Sensors can talk to different systems. It all runs locally over Wi-Fi or Thread, which is basically a Zigbee-style mesh network that’s IP-based.

Matter isn’t replacing Zigbee — they work together

It’s easy to assume Matter is here to take over from Zigbee, but that’s not really how it works.

Matter and Zigbee aren’t competitors — they’re working in parallel.

• Zigbee is the radio layer — how your devices talk.

• Matter is the control layer — how your devices behave across different platforms.

In fact, many devices still use Zigbee behind the scenes. For example, Philips Hue and Aqara both use Zigbee for their internal networks, and then use a hub to bridge those Zigbee devices into Matter. That way, you can control a Zigbee lightbulb through Apple Home or Google Home — even though it’s not a Matter device itself.

So if you already have a Zigbee setup, Matter isn't going to make it obsolete. It adds another layer of flexibility, especially when you want your Zigbee gear to show up in multiple ecosystems.

But if you use Home Assistant…

Matter is… underwhelming.

Home Assistant already does what Matter is trying to do — and more. It connects hundreds of brands, protocols, and devices (Zigbee, Z-Wave, Wi-Fi, you name it), and gives you full control over automation, dashboards, and integrations.

Matter is just another integration option — not a critical upgrade.

Not only this, but Matter doesn't always expose all device features. You often only get basic controls unless you use the manufacturer's own app or hub. Unfortunately, with Matter devices there is often a better and cheaper Zigbee alternative that has been tested and trialled with a lot more devices and has a much wider range of compatibility. 

Final thoughts

Matter is a great idea — especially for people using Alexa, Google, or Apple Home setups and just want things to work together.

But for Home Assistant enthusiasts? Right now it’s more of a curiosity than a must-have.

If your gear works now, you don’t need to switch. If you're buying something new, it doesn’t hurt to look for Matter compatibility — especially since it’s growing. But no, it’s not replacing Zigbee or killing off Home Assistant.