NetBird
A free managed private network to your Home Assistant, with routes and access rules instead of port forwarding.
Technical Profile & Specs
verified 2026-08-10
- Cost
- $0 / forever (Open Source)
- License
- BSD-3-Clause
- Hosting Model
- Local or hosted (your machine or their cloud)
- Platforms
- desktopmobileself-hostedthey host it
- Installation
- Hosted signup plus a client on each device, or the official Docker-based self-hosting quickstart
- Operational Setup
- The managed free service installs cleanly; self-hosting adds a public domain, TLS, identity/authentication, open ports, relay configuration, a management database, and upgrades.
- Where Your Data Lives
- WireGuard keys are generated and kept on peers; device inventory, users, routes, groups, and access policies live in NetBird Cloud or the self-hosted management database, while payload traffic normally travels peer-to-peer and may traverse NetBird relay infrastructure when direct connectivity fails.
- The Catch / Trade-off
- NetBird gives enrolled devices a private route home, but guests, webhooks, and voice assistants cannot use it like a public Nabu Casa endpoint and the user must manage network policy.
Replaces 3 paid apps
up to $27.19/mo ($326/yr) in subscriptions
NetBird FAQ
Common questions
Is NetBird free and open source?+
NetBird is an open-source tool licensed under BSD-3-Clause that runs on local or hosted. A free managed private network to your Home Assistant, with routes and access rules instead of port forwarding.
What paid software does NetBird replace?+
NetBird serves as a free replacement for 3 paid SaaS applications: Home Assistant Cloud, NordVPN, Tailscale, saving up to $27.19/month ($326/year) in subscription bills.
How do you install and set up NetBird?+
Installation: Hosted signup plus a client on each device, or the official Docker-based self-hosting quickstart. Setup notes: The managed free service installs cleanly; self-hosting adds a public domain, TLS, identity/authentication, open ports, relay configuration, a management database, and upgrades.
What is the catch or trade-off with NetBird?+
NetBird gives enrolled devices a private route home, but guests, webhooks, and voice assistants cannot use it like a public Nabu Casa endpoint and the user must manage network policy.