Building a Smart Home for $500, $2,500 & $10,000

Written By Cubed

Disclosure: some of the products in this build were provided by their manufacturers. I reached out and asked for each one specifically, so everything here is gear I'd choose either way. Any affiliate links are marked, the rest are just plain. My full sponsorship policy is here.

Smart homes have a reputation for getting expensive fast, and they absolutely can. But some of the most useful automations in my parents' place cost almost nothing. They just needed the right brain tying everything together. This is the companion to the video: a plain rundown of every product we used at each budget, roughly what it costs, and why it earned its spot. Every product links out to somewhere you can grab it.

Couple of ground rules, same as the video. We're not counting electrician costs, because rates vary wildly depending on where you are, and we're not counting gear you might already own. Prices are in Aussie dollars with a rough US conversion in brackets, they're approximate, and they're accurate as of August 2026.

The starting point

Everything here is going into my parents' place. It's a fairly typical 20 year old four bedroom home in the Melbourne suburbs, with solar on the roof, a spa in the yard, and the usual smattering of disconnected 'smart-ish' gear: some Google hubs, a couple of smart lights, a UniFi setup running the wifi and cameras. Basically a pretty good stand-in for a tech enthusiast's house. Bits and pieces of cool stuff that don't actually talk to each other yet. That's what we're fixing.

Tier 1: the $500 foundation

$500 doesn't buy much hardware. What it buys is a solid foundation: one good brain, plus a handful of cheap devices aimed at the highest value problems. Honestly, most of the wins in this tier came from just connecting gear the house already had.

We also moved an unused Samsung Frame TV onto the main living room wall in place of a tired old LCD. Didn't cost a cent, and it made the whole space tidier and more usable. The Frame is a terrible TV, but a good option for a room like the one it’s in, so it works alright.

Tier 2: $2,500, lighting, comfort and the first big time savers

With the foundation down, the next $2,000 or so goes on the stuff you actually touch every day. Lighting you can properly control, sensors to make it all smart, better sound, and the single best time saver in the whole build.

Tier 3: $10,000, the nice to haves

We're well into diminishing returns here, but everything in this tier still earns its keep if you're spending the money. The last $7,500 or so goes on polish, insight, and two more big time savers.

Which tier should you stop at?

Honest takeaway? The biggest jump in wow factor happened way before the expensive stuff. That first $500 barely bought any gear, but connecting what was already in the house started saving money and hassle straight away. Everything after that was genuinely nice, but it wasn't necessary.

So don't pick a number and blow it all in one weekend. Start with a good brain, connect what you've already got, and let your own habits tell you what's actually worth buying next. That's exactly how I built my own place, and it's why I still don't own half the things on other people's smart home lists. Wherever your budget lands, hopefully this gives you a bit of a roadmap. If you grab anything here the links are above, and let me know in the comments which tier you'd stop at.


Cubed
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