Smart homes are affordable—as long as you set a budget before venturing into the world of home automation. As a general rule, the home automation cost for a simpler setup will be substantially less than a complex setup.
Not all smart homes are the same. Some include automation for nearly every electronic device, while others focus on addressing the basics. Neither way is necessarily better.
Your smart home price can be whatever you want it to be.
If you’d rather spend less, opt for a few small smart gadgets. If you have a relatively large budget, you can find more than enough gadgets to bring on board.
How Much Will It Cost to Make My Home Smart?
You can spend as little or as much money as you want to make your home smart. To keep home automation costs in check, we recommend determining your spending allowance beforehand and prioritizing the technology you really care about. For some homeowners, this might mean starting small, with something like a smart thermostat, smart lights, or a smart camera. Those types of devices will run a few hundred dollars or less.
Other homeowners go big. They want the full experience, so they bring in renovation crews and add home automation wiring and Cat 6 cables. Those home automation price tags will differ greatly from the person who only wants to control when the lights turn on and off—by several thousand dollars, in some cases.
If you use CNET’s demo smart home as a benchmark, the total home automation price comes to $26,450. You, of course, can add or subtract from that number based on your home and its needs. Also remember to add in renovation and installation costs. The sum may convince you to work in stages—which is fine. You should do whatever works best for your own circumstances and lifestyle.
Whatever your budget, you can find “just right” devices to keep your smart home costs manageable with help from our resources page.
