Local vs cloud control
Local control means your hub talks to devices directly on your home network, so automations run with no internet — Matter, Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Thread are all local protocols. Cloud control means commands route through a vendor’s servers, adding latency and a dependency: if the service is down or discontinued, so is your smart home.
The protocol is only half the story; the platform decides where the logic runs. Home Assistant, Hubitat, and Homey Pro run automations on the hub itself, fully local. Apple Home runs Matter and HomeKit control locally through a home hub. Alexa, Google Home, and SmartThings are hybrids as of mid-2026 — device control may be local (SmartThings runs many automations on the hub; Alexa and Google control Matter devices locally) while voice processing and some routines still need the cloud. Wi-Fi devices tied to a vendor app, including much Tuya-based hardware, are often cloud-only unless rescued by a local integration.
Why it matters: latency (a local motion-to-light automation fires in tens of milliseconds; a cloud round-trip takes one to several seconds), resilience during internet outages, privacy, and longevity — cloud shutdowns have bricked entire product lines, while a local Zigbee sensor from 2015 still works today. Our hub pages note each platform’s local-control story.