When considering the costs involved in setting up a home automation system, you can break it down into two main categories: the start-up cost and the additions. When you consider the start-up amount you're willing to put into your smart home, you're really talking about what will get you going and that it will likely determine what smart devices you can add down the line. Start-up costTo start, think of the cost of a hub or server, typically $100-$200, plus what the basics you want to start your home on: if that's a video doorbell, some smart lights, a security system, cameras, you name it. The startup cost will be determined by these variants. When I decided to make my home smarter, I went with the HomePod mini from Apple, which was about $100, a security system, video doorbell, smart lock, a couple of smart bulbs, and three cameras. This start-up cost was about $900 total, which isn't cheap but definitely isn't as expensive as what all those items would have cost me just three or four years ago.Cost of additionsAfter you determine what your home automation system basics are, you should to picture what you'll probably add down the line, in 1-3 years time, so you can see if the cost of that matches up to your budget. Let's say you choose Home Assistant for your home automation system, and you bought a Raspberry Pi to run it on. Choosing HA means you'll have pretty much your pick of the litter in what smart devices you can buy down the line, since you can add anything from Philips Hue to Ecobee to IKEA and Lutron. Being able to choose from expensive or inexpensive devices means your cost of additions down the line won't be as high as with other systems.On the other end, let's say you chose Apple HomeKit for your home automation system. While Apple has committed to expanding support for other brands in the future, HomeKit is still notoriously tough to work with due to lack of compatibility. This means that you don't get to choose from as many devices to add natively to your home system, unless you also add a bridge for HomeKit.