While consumer hardware has never been more capable, it’s also never been more closed off. Walled gardens of accounts, companion apps and subscription fees, and cloud servers make that capability come with a bad aftertaste. As someone who’s looking for ways to get out from underneath the thumb of big-tech, these 5 relatively inexpensive, completely open-source projects do a great job of doing just that.

DIY smart display

The ESP32 will be a recurring theme

One of the first devices I ditched was my Google Nest Hub. I didn’t need a voice assistant or YouTube on my nightstand, as I use my phone primarily for those things. I just wanted a simple dashboard that could show time, weather, and a few smart-home controls. The ESP32 is the perfect starting point for a lot of these projects, but the smart display especially fits well here. A 3.2 inch touchscreen with a simple enclosure can make for a perfect dashboard when you pair ESPHome with Home Assistant. Control automations, check the weather and time, or control the rest of your automations.

When it comes down to price, a whole build for something like this should run you under $50, but it could potentially creep above that, depending on what kind of display you choose.

E-Paper status board

A minimalist smart display

Image Credit: EnriqueN01

If you like the idea of something like Tidbyt but hate the price tag, an e-paper status board is a perfect alternative. It’s really simple, quite elegant, and can run off of very few components. Building one is quite simple, and while it can be done with a Raspberry Pi or another full-size SBC, you can get away with using an ESP32, albeit with slightly more setup.

Smart speaker

Smart speakers are convenient, but it’s hard to ignore how invasive they’ve become. Between always-on microphones and the constant stream of data going back to the cloud, I wanted something that didn’t feel like a trade-off.

Using a microcontroller or SBC, a USB microphone, and a small powered speaker, you can build your own smart assistant without much hassle at all. Everything runs locally, including wake-word detection, command parsing, and even text-to-speech. You can connect it to your Home Assistant setup so you can still control lights and music with your voice, just without sending anything to Amazon or Google.

This might be a little more expensive than $50, but I think it’s worthy of a spot on the list anyway because of just how useful it can be. Depending on the smart speaker equivalent, there’s likely some savings in it for you as well.

Raspberry Pi networking

Replace your router, VPN, and ad-blocker

The Raspberry Pi (or any capable SBC for that matter) can be a full-on replacement for many things in your networking cupboard but the three biggest ones are your router, VPN, and ad-blocker.

With OpenWrt, you can turn a Pi into a fully configurable home router, and even if you can’t use it to replace your ISP-provided unit, you can still use it in bridge mode to take back a bit of control over your network. The same can be done for your VPN, as Wireguard can replace comercial remote-access services you might be paying for. Add Pi-hole for whole-home ad-blocking, and your $40-$50 Pi can easily be the core of your home network.

ESP32 sensor nodes

A great way to replace sensors in your Smart Home

ESP32s are so cheap, it’s difficult to stop finding ways to use them. This is especially true when it comes to sensors of any kind, as the board and sensor should run you well under $50, and they can be used for so many different things. Want a humidity sensor connected to Home Assistant? Pair one with ESPHome and a BME680. You can make motion sensors and trigger automations with them with a HC-SR501, or even monitor the soil in your garden with a moisture sensor.

Having all of these connected to Home Assistant, without ever needing to ping the cloud or pay a subscription, can be invaluable.

Take ownership of your devices

While none of these are drop-in, plug and play replacements for the devices you own, with a little bit of patience and configuration, you can make them your own. When you replace a locked-down device with something you built yourself, you start to understand how much control you’ve quietly given away over the years. None of these projects are perfect, but that’s kind of the point. They’re totally adaptable and completely yours. When a commercial gadget stops working or becomes unsupported by the manufacturer, it ends up in a landfill, while these gadgets can be easily repaired or replaced.