Raspberry Pi SD cards corrupting. Docker on a repurposed laptop. That old NUC collecting dust. If any of this sounds familiar, you're ready for a mini PC. These tiny machines cost less than two smart speakers, sip power like a phone charger, and give Home Assistant room to breathe. Here's every option worth your money in 2026.
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The Home Assistant community went through phases. First it was Raspberry Pi (cheap but fragile). Then old laptops (free but clunky). Then NUCs (great but Intel killed them). In 2026, mini PCs are the clear winner, and here's why.
An Intel N100 scores roughly 5,500 on PassMark. A Raspberry Pi 4? About 500. That's the difference between "sluggish dashboard loads" and "everything just works." Add-ons like Frigate, Node-RED, and Zigbee2MQTT all run simultaneously without breaking a sweat.
SD card corruption is the #1 cause of Home Assistant data loss. Mini PCs use NVMe SSDs that are 50x faster and last 10x longer under constant read/write cycles. Your database, backups, and recorder history stay safe.
A mini PC draws about the same power as an LED light bulb. That's roughly $15-25 per year in electricity. Compare that to a full server at $100-200/year, and the math is obvious.
A Raspberry Pi 4 kit (board, case, PSU, SD card) runs $80-100. For $40-100 more, you get a mini PC with 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and Intel QuickSync for camera transcoding. The price gap barely exists anymore.
| Feature | Mini PC (N100) | Raspberry Pi 5 | Old Laptop |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU Performance | ★★★★★ | ★★☆☆☆ | ★★★☆☆ |
| RAM | 16GB DDR4/5 | 4-8GB | 8-16GB |
| Storage | NVMe SSD | microSD / NVMe HAT | SATA SSD/HDD |
| Idle Power | 10-15W | 3-5W | 20-40W |
| QuickSync (Frigate) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | Maybe |
| USB Ports | 3-4 | 2-4 | 2-3 |
| Price (ready to run) | $100-200 | $80-120 | Free (if you have one) |
Not every mini PC is a good fit. Here's what actually matters for a Home Assistant build, and what's just marketing fluff.
The Intel N100 is the sweet spot. 4 cores, 3.4GHz boost, 6W TDP, and Intel UHD Graphics for QuickSync video transcoding (required for Frigate). The N97 is nearly identical, just slightly lower clocks.
If you need more power (Proxmox with multiple VMs, 6+ Frigate cameras), look at the N305 (8 cores) or i5-1235U (10 cores).
Home Assistant alone needs 2-3GB. Add Zigbee2MQTT, Node-RED, Mosquitto, and a few other add-ons and you're at 6-8GB. Frigate pushes you to 10-12GB. Get 16GB and stop worrying.
Most N100 mini PCs now ship with 16GB DDR4 or DDR5. Avoid the 8GB models unless you're on a very tight budget.
Home Assistant's recorder database grows over time. With default settings, expect 5-15GB of database after a year. Add backups, Frigate clips, and you'll want at least 256GB. Most mini PCs include a 512GB NVMe, which is plenty.
Bonus: look for models with a second M.2 or 2.5" SATA bay for expansion.
You'll need USB ports for your Zigbee coordinator (SkyConnect, Sonoff, SMLIGHT), Z-Wave stick, or Coral TPU. Two USB 3.0 ports minimum, three or four is better.
Gigabit Ethernet is critical. Wi-Fi is fine as backup but your home automation hub should always be hardwired. Some models offer dual Ethernet for advanced networking.
If you run Frigate NVR (and you probably should), Intel QuickSync makes a massive difference. It offloads video decoding to the GPU, so your CPU stays cool while processing multiple camera streams. Without it, each 1080p camera eats a full CPU core.
All Intel N100/N97/N305/i5 chips include QuickSync. AMD mini PCs generally do not, which is why Intel dominates for Home Assistant.
N100 mini PCs run cool enough that many models are fanless or have a tiny fan that rarely spins up. If you're putting this in a living room or bedroom, look for fanless models specifically.
Even fanned models are whisper-quiet compared to a laptop. Most sit at 25-35 dB under load, and you'd struggle to hear them from a meter away.
We've narrowed it down to five categories based on what you're running and how much you want to spend. Every pick has been validated against community builds and real-world Home Assistant deployments.
Intel N95, 8GB DDR4, 256GB SSD. The cheapest way to get off a Raspberry Pi. It handles Home Assistant OS with a dozen add-ons without breaking a sweat. The N95 is slightly slower than the N100 but you won't notice the difference for home automation. Only downside: 8GB RAM means you'll max out if you add Frigate.
Intel N100, 16GB DDR4, 500GB SSD. This is the one most people should buy. The N100 handles everything from basic automations to Frigate with 2-3 cameras using QuickSync. 16GB of RAM means Proxmox is on the table if you want it. Both Beelink and TRIGKEY have solid track records in the HA community.
Intel N305, 16GB DDR5, 512GB SSD. The N305 has 8 efficiency cores (double the N100) and DDR5 memory. This matters when you're running Proxmox with multiple VMs, Frigate processing 4+ camera streams, or hosting additional services alongside HA. Dual Ethernet on some models is a nice bonus for VLAN setups.
Intel i5-1235U or AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, 32GB RAM, 500GB+ SSD. For the person who wants their mini PC to be a full home server: Proxmox with HA, Plex/Jellyfin, Pi-hole, Frigate with 8+ cameras, and still have headroom. The i5-1235U is preferred for QuickSync, but the AMD 5800H has better raw multi-core performance.
Intel N100, 16GB, fanless design. Zero noise. Perfect if your home automation hub sits in the living room or next to the TV. Fanless N100 models can sustain full load without thermal throttling thanks to the chip's tiny 6W TDP. Trade-off: slightly higher price ($20-40 more) for the fanless chassis engineering.
Match your use case to the right hardware. Over-speccing wastes money. Under-speccing creates headaches.
| Your Setup | Recommended CPU | Min RAM | Budget |
|---|---|---|---|
| HA OS + basic add-ons (Z2M, MQTT) | N95 / N100 | 8GB | $80-130 |
| HA OS + Frigate (1-3 cameras) | N100 | 16GB | $130-160 |
| Proxmox + HA VM + containers | N100 / N305 | 16GB | $150-250 |
| Proxmox + HA + Frigate (4-8 cams) | N305 / i5 | 16-32GB | $200-350 |
| Full home server (HA + Plex + NAS) | i5 / Ryzen 7 | 32GB | $300-400 |
Got your mini PC? Here's the fastest path from unboxing to running automations. The whole process takes about 20 minutes.
Home Assistant OS (recommended for most people): Flash the HA OS image to a USB drive using Balena Etcher, boot the mini PC from USB, and HA installs itself to the internal SSD. Done in 10 minutes. You get the full Supervisor with add-on support.
Proxmox + HA VM (power users): Install Proxmox VE first, then create a VM for Home Assistant OS. This gives you the flexibility to run other services alongside HA without Docker containers competing for resources. See our Proxmox guide for the full walkthrough.
Docker (advanced): Install your preferred Linux distro, then run HA Container via Docker Compose. Maximum control but no Supervisor or add-on store. Check our Docker guide for details.
Before installing, tweak a few BIOS settings for reliability:
Once Home Assistant is running, plug your Zigbee coordinator or Z-Wave stick into a USB port. Use a short USB extension cable (6-12 inches) to move the dongle away from the mini PC. USB 3.0 ports generate interference on the 2.4GHz band that Zigbee uses. This one trick solves 90% of "devices keep dropping" complaints.
http://homeassistant.local:8123A small UPS ($30-50) keeps your mini PC running during brief power outages and prevents database corruption from sudden shutdowns. The APC BE425M or a USB-C PD power bank with pass-through charging both work well. Your smart home stays online when the lights flicker.
Put the mini PC centrally in your home if your Zigbee coordinator is plugged directly into it. Zigbee signal strength drops with distance and walls. A network closet is fine if you're using a remote Zigbee coordinator like SMLIGHT SLZB-06.
Install the System Monitor integration to track CPU temperature from your dashboard. N100 chips throttle at 100°C. If you're consistently above 80°C, improve airflow or add a small fan. Most setups sit at 40-55°C under normal load.
Beelink, TRIGKEY, and ACEMAGIC all release BIOS updates that improve stability and power management. Check the manufacturer's website or support Discord every few months. A bad BIOS can cause random reboots that look like hardware failure.
We said it in the setup section and we'll say it again: use a USB extension cable for your Zigbee/Z-Wave dongles. USB 3.0 interference on 2.4GHz is real and well documented. A $3 cable prevents hours of troubleshooting.
Create a full backup on your Raspberry Pi, install HA OS on the mini PC, then restore the backup during onboarding. All your entities, automations, dashboards, and history transfer automatically. The whole migration takes under 30 minutes.
Migrating from a Raspberry Pi or starting fresh? A mini PC gives Home Assistant the hardware it deserves. Run our free compatibility scan to see which of your devices are already supported.