Home Assistant Assist
Don’t want to install Home Assistant Assist? Drop the file here.
The first 20 minutes of any recording are transcribed free: a recording up to 20 minutes transcribes in full, a longer one is previewed, and a pack from $6 (500 minutes) transcribes the rest and opens every export, and credits never expire.
Home Assistant's first-party voice surface — Rhasspy's successor, integrated into HA core.
Best for anyone running Home Assistant who wants voice control without renting an Echo from Amazon. Pricing: free · Nabu Casa cloud $6.50/mo optional.
What it is
Assist is Home Assistant's native voice pipeline. It chains an STT engine (Whisper-cpp default), an intent matcher, and a TTS engine. The Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition hardware is the reference satellite.
Watch out for: Best paired with a dedicated voice satellite (HA Voice PE, M5Stack Atom Echo); on-board mics are often inadequate.
Install / use
home-assistant.io/voice — built into Home Assistant 2023.5+
What people actually do with Home Assistant Assist-style transcription
The tool is the means. These are the jobs — each one priced at published rates, each one wired up on its own page.
Features
| Speaker diarization | No |
| Word-level timestamps | No |
| Streaming / real-time | Yes |
| Languages supported | 50 |
| HIPAA eligible | No |
Links
Home Assistant Assist vs Whipscribe
| Feature | Home Assistant Assist | Whipscribe |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Open source | Transcription APIs |
| Pricing | free · Nabu Casa cloud $6.50/mo optional | $6–$24 one-time packs (credits never expire) · first 20 minutes free |
| Speaker identification | — | Named in the summary, key quotes and chapters |
| Word timestamps | — | Yes |
| Streaming | Yes | No |
| Languages | 50 | 99 |
| Platforms | Linux, Docker, Hardware | Web, API, MCP |
Alternatives to Home Assistant Assist
Frequently asked about Home Assistant Assist
Is Home Assistant Assist free?
Partly. Home Assistant Assist has a free tier with paid plans above it — published pricing: free · Nabu Casa cloud $6.50/mo optional. Free-tier limits change more often than this page does; verify on the vendor's pricing page.
Does Home Assistant Assist work on Mac, Windows and Linux?
Home Assistant Assist runs on Linux, Docker and Hardware.
How do I get started with Home Assistant Assist?
There is nothing to install — Home Assistant Assist is used in the browser. Create an account on the vendor's site and upload or connect your audio.
How many languages does Home Assistant Assist support?
Home Assistant Assist lists 50 languages.
Does Home Assistant Assist identify different speakers?
No. Home Assistant Assist does not label speakers; a conversation comes back as one continuous text. If you need speaker labels, that is a separate tool or a different service.
Does Home Assistant Assist give word-level timestamps?
No — Home Assistant Assist produces segment or sentence timing only, so subtitle cues can land mid-word.
Can Home Assistant Assist transcribe live audio?
Yes — Home Assistant Assist supports streaming / live input, not just finished files.
Is Home Assistant Assist HIPAA compliant?
Home Assistant Assist does not claim HIPAA compliance. For PHI, run it on infrastructure you control or choose a service that will sign a BAA.
What are the limitations of Home Assistant Assist?
Best paired with a dedicated voice satellite (HA Voice PE, M5Stack Atom Echo); on-board mics are often inadequate.
Who is Home Assistant Assist best for?
Anyone running Home Assistant who wants voice control without renting an Echo from Amazon.
Does Home Assistant Assist run offline?
Home Assistant Assist runs on your own machine — it is open source, so nothing leaves the computer unless you configure it to.
Can I use Home Assistant Assist in the browser?
No — Home Assistant Assist is a Linux, Docker and Hardware application, not a web app. You install it rather than sign in to it.
Where is the Home Assistant Assist source code?
On GitHub at github.com/home-assistant/core. It is maintained by Nabu Casa.
What kind of tool is Home Assistant Assist?
In this directory Home Assistant Assist is filed under voice assistant, self hosted, smart home as a open-source tool.
What are the alternatives to Home Assistant Assist?
There is a side-by-side page at /tools/home-assistant-assist-alternatives comparing Home Assistant Assist with the closest tools in the same category on price, platform and features.
Whipscribe is a hosted transcription service. If you want transcripts without running infrastructure, paste a URL or drop a file in the form below — you'll have a transcript in seconds.
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