Samsung Charging for SmartThings

Could your custom smart home setup suddenly start costing you a monthly fee just to keep running? Samsung has announced a major shift for its SmartThings API, disclosing that it will roll out a variety of new paid tiers starting in October this year.

While these plans are aimed at developers, observers point out that the change will also catch advanced smart home enthusiasts who rely on custom controls. Among the new tiers is a $4.99 monthly plan designed for non-commercial individual developers.

But by the company's own count, many regular users who directly access the API for flexible automation are going to be swept into these paid developer fees. This shift is set to directly impact popular third-party tools that integrate with Samsung's ecosystem to manage smart devices.

Paulus Schoutsen, the founder of the open-source platform Home Assistant, logged this concern in a recent blog post. He outlined that use of the Home Assistant integration will be affected by their changes and will fall under their new personal plans.

Samsung has defended the decision, stating that the new pricing is necessary to support the platform's long-term growth. The company observed that this revenue will allow it to invest heavily in the enterprise-grade features partners and users have been asking for.

These promised upgrades include general stability improvements, brand-new integrations, and a complete refresh of its developer center hub. Ultimately, users who built their smart homes on open, free integrations now face a permanent monthly cost just to keep their existing devices connected.