GlassHome vs the default Home Assistant dashboard

At a glance

The honest part first

The default Home Assistant dashboard got a lot better. Since 2024.3 the Sections view gives you a real drag-and-drop grid with a visual editor, and the Areas dashboard can auto-generate a clean starting point. You do not need YAML to build a dashboard in HA anymore. If that already gives you what you want, you do not need GlassHome, and we would rather tell you that than waste your install.

GlassHome is also a separate application you install, and the dashboard app itself is closed-source (the widget SDK, CLI, UI library, and widget collection are open). HA's dashboard is built in, free, and fully open. Those are real reasons to stay on native. We are not going to pretend otherwise.

Where GlassHome is actually different

It looks finished, not assembled

Native HA gives you a tidy grid. Making it genuinely beautiful still means picking a theme, installing card collections like Mushroom or Bubble Card from HACS, and tuning spacing and colors until it feels right. That is assembly, and the result is only as consistent as your patience. GlassHome ships as one designed product: a single visual language (glass surfaces, depth, motion), dark and light both first-class, no theme hunting. You get the finished look without doing design work.

It is built for the wall and the whole house

HA's dashboard is built for the person configuring HA. GlassHome is built for the tablet on the kitchen wall and the people who never open Settings. Kiosk devices pair with a code and auto-load one dashboard with no login screen. Family members get their own theme and last-viewed dashboard. Guests can be scoped to one room. Room-by-room bottom navigation swaps the whole layout with one tap. This is a household product, not a config surface.

Widgets are a store, not a scavenger hunt

On native HA, adding capability means finding a HACS repository, trusting it, installing it, and wiring it in. GlassHome has a widget registry with an SDK and CLI: browse, install, done. Developers publish to one place; you install from one place.

Setup is a shortcut, not a project

Connect in about 30 seconds: open GlassHome, paste your HA URL, approve via OAuth. Everything stays on your network (direct OAuth/WebSocket, nothing routed through us). You are not learning the Sections grid or reading card documentation to get something that looks good.

Pricing, honestly

HA's dashboard is free. So is GlassHome's Free tier: connect HA, use the official widgets, default theme, no account needed for local use. You only pay if you want more: PRO unlocks community widgets and custom theming for a one-time $19.99 during the early-bird window ($39.99 after launch). PRO is a one-time purchase, not a subscription.

Who should use which

Stay on the native HA dashboard if: it already looks the way you want, you enjoy assembling and theming your own cards, you want everything built in and fully open-source, or you are a YAML/templating enthusiast.

Switch to GlassHome if: you keep fighting HA to make it look good, you run wall tablets or share the home with family, you want a finished product instead of parts, or you would rather install a widget than vet a HACS repo.

Migration (it is not a migration)

You do not move anything. GlassHome runs alongside your existing HA dashboard on its own port and connects to the same instance. Your automations, entities, and default dashboard are untouched. Try GlassHome, keep the native dashboard, use whichever you prefer. Nothing to undo.

FAQ