If you have different smart tech brands in your home, you may find cross-platform compatibility to be a frustrating issue. But with a smart home bridge, you’re able to overcome many of these obstacles. So, what is a smart home bridge, and do you need one?

How Do Smart Home Bridges Work?

As the name suggests, smart home bridges act as a bridge between one platform and another. For instance, if you use bothAlexa and Apple HomeKitdevices in your home, you won’t be able to link them natively as Apple HomeKit cannot be connected to Alexa via its app. But with a bridge, these two platforms can communicate with each other, making your smart home a seamless machine.

Think of this like a translator. One smart device speaks French, and the other speaks Spanish, so one cannot understand the other. But with the help of a bridge, this barrier can be overcome, allowing the two to communicate. Now, your incompatible speaker can connect with your hub, or your smart lock can connect with your smart assistant.

google nest speaker with apple homekit logo in front

Some smart home bridges emulate smart platforms for cross-communication. For instance, Homebridge emulates the Apple HomeKit API so that HomeKit devices can work with other smart home tech, like Echo speakers or Nest hubs.

Be sure not to confuse smart bridges withsmart home hubs. While smart hubs allow various devices to take part in automated tasks triggered by a central system, bridges allow different smart home platforms to work together.

woman using smartphone at home

It’s also worth noting that smart home bridges are also referred to as devices that link a smart device to a Wi-Fi network. For instance, a bridge can provide a connection between your smart doorbell and your Wi-Fi network. But we’ll be focusing on bridges that allow cross-platform communication here.

Types of Smart Home Bridges

Smart home bridges are not all one and the same. There are two main types of smart home bridges: software-based and hardware-based. Some popular software smart home bridges are Homebridge, IFTTT, and Scrypted. These all work a little differently and require different levels of technical skill, but they are all entirely free to use.

If you’re pretty familiar with JavaScript, you’ll likely be able to set up Homebridge on your computer, so long as your operating system is compatible. However, the Homebridge software has to be active at all times to work, meaning you’ll have to leave your computer running around the clock. Similarly, Scrypted also requires a constant operation.

IFTTT, on the other hand, doesn’t require coding and can be used by tech novices. you’re able to use IFTTT via the smartphone app, which is available for Android and iOS.

Download:IFTTT forAndroid|iOS(Free, premium version available)

When it comes to hardware-based smart home bridges, HOOBs is the most popular option. HOOBs (Homebridge Out Of the Box) look like small Wi-Fi routers. This small device eliminates the need for complex coding as it runs Homebridge directly.

HOOBs supports over 3,000 plugins for all kinds of smart home functions and integrations, giving you a huge amount of choice between a long list of smart devices. you’re able to also flash the HOOBs image onto a Raspberry Pi computer, meaning you won’t have to buy a device.

This image can bedownloaded for free, though you can also donate a small amount to HOOBs as a gesture of goodwill. However,flashing an image onto a Raspberry Pirequires a higher level of technical knowledge.

You May Benefit From a Smart Home Bridge

If you’ve got various kinds of smart devices in your smart home and are struggling with compatibility issues, you may enjoy the added functionality offered by a smart home bridge. Whether you’re a tech novice or an expert, there’s a smart home bridge out there for you.