Samsung will soon start charging to access its smart home API

From October this year Samsung will roll out a variety of new paid tiers for access to its SmartThings API, including a $4.99 monthly plan for “non-commercial, individual developers.”

It won’t just be developers that pay the price though. Some more advanced smart home users are likely to fall afoul of the rule change if they directly access the SmartThings API for more flexible smart home controls, or use third-party tools that do the same. “Use of the Home Assistant integration will be affected by their changes and will fall under their new ‘personal plans,’” wrote Paulus Schoutsen, founder of open-source smart home platform Home Assistant, in a blog post.

Samsung says the new pricing will allow it to “invest heavily in the enterprise-grade features our partners and users have been asking for,” including stability improvements, new integrations, and a refresh of its Developer Center hub.