# SmartThings sets a December 15 cutoff for free API integrations Samsung's October 30 post says paid SmartThings API plans open November 4, and integrations whose owners skip a plan may be paused from December 15. The app, routines and local hub integrations stay free, and Matter devices can be shared to Home Assistant or another app without the API. Canonical page: https://matterhome.io/news/smartthings-api-paid-plans-december-cutoff Markdown page: https://matterhome.io/news/smartthings-api-paid-plans-december-cutoff.md Author: Matterhome Editorial Team Author profile: https://matterhome.io/authors/matterhome-editorial-team Editorial lead: JC Martinez Editor profile: https://matterhome.io/authors/jc-martinez Published: 2026-11-02T04:00:00.000Z Category: Platform update Tags: SmartThings, Home Assistant, Matter, Multi-admin, Smart home platforms ## Feature Image - Origin: sourced - Image: https://assets.matterhome.io/content/news/2026-11-02-smartthings-api-paid-plans/feature.b0d76c5acb7fa2fbe6f0/source.webp - Alt text: Illustration of a padlock and key linked to cloud, code, settings and API icons on a lavender background - Caption: Official SmartThings blog graphic used on Samsung's SmartThings API announcements. - Source: https://blog.smartthings.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/STAPI-Blog-1200pxX720px.png ## Sources - https://blog.smartthings.com/smartthings-updates/smartthings-api-additional-details-for-developers-and-business-partners/ - https://community.smartthings.com/t/a-new-enhanced-smartthings-api-experience/309947 - https://newsletter.openhomefoundation.org/breaking-free-from-the-disposable-smart-home/ - https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/smartthings/ - https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-us/articles/11219700390804-SmartThings-x-Matter-Integration - https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/matter/ - https://rc.home-assistant.io/blog/2026/10/28/release-202611/ - https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/samsungtv/ Samsung has set the dates for ending free access to the SmartThings API. In an [October 30, 2026 post](https://blog.smartthings.com/smartthings-updates/smartthings-api-additional-details-for-developers-and-business-partners/), SmartThings says paid plans open on November 4. From that day, the owner of an API Access App, the OAuth connection that links SmartThings to an outside dashboard, automation platform or script, cannot create or edit apps without a plan. Integrations that are already installed keep running in the meantime. From December 15, access for apps whose owners have not chosen a paid plan "may be limited, paused, or discontinued": Samsung says it will deactivate their API keys and pause their calls at its gateway, and users in other locations the app was shared with may also be affected. The SmartThings app, routines and local hub integrations stay free. Samsung [first announced the change on June 23](https://community.smartthings.com/t/a-new-enhanced-smartthings-api-experience/309947), saying paid tiers would arrive in October and individual developers would pay $4.99 a month. The October 30 post adds the dates and the limits. The individual Developer Plan is a flat monthly rate per developer account and covers up to 100,000 cloud API calls a month and up to 10 active app installs, counted across all of the account's locations. The post gives no price, and Samsung says plan details, pricing and availability are subject to change. The Developer Plan will also launch only in some countries, which Samsung will name when the plan becomes available. The November 4 and December 15 dates apply to every API Access App, including those owned by developers in countries where the plan is not sold. An app owner outside the launch countries could reach December 15 with no plan to buy, and Samsung's post tells them to contact developer support. ## Who needs a plan The paid side covers direct OAuth calls to Samsung's cloud. Samsung lists two groups. Individual developers need the Developer Plan if they use their own OAuth apps for custom dashboards, external automation platforms or scripts. Businesses need a Business Plan priced by usage, which covers enterprise platforms, short-term rental services and energy management services. Samsung does not name any partner service or say whether businesses will pass the cost on to their customers. If you use a third-party SmartThings dashboard or automation service, that company has to answer the question. SmartThings lists these as free: the mobile app, routines, automations and scenes inside the app, and local Edge drivers and hub integrations. If you only use the SmartThings app, nothing changes. Rules run through OAuth need a paid plan, although Rules remain available in the app, the command-line tool and the Advanced Web App. Personal access tokens are not on Samsung's paid list and still work with Rules, but Samsung says they are meant for temporary testing and lightweight scripts, and it will announce any change to token policy. That makes them a weak base for anything you need after December 15. ## Home Assistant's warning predates the new dates Home Assistant's SmartThings integration is in scope. In a [June 25 newsletter](https://newsletter.openhomefoundation.org/breaking-free-from-the-disposable-smart-home/), the Open Home Foundation said use of the integration "will fall under their new 'personal plans.'" The [integration's documentation](https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/smartthings/) still carries a warning added in June: free access ends "starting in October 2026," a Personal Plan costs $4.99 a month, and users should either subscribe or move devices such as local Zigbee and Z-Wave hardware to another controller. Samsung's Developer Plan is tied to the developer account that owns an app, and neither company has explained how a Home Assistant user signs up or what the integration does on December 15. Home Assistant 2026.11 is due on November 4, the day Samsung's plans open, and its [beta release notes](https://rc.home-assistant.io/blog/2026/10/28/release-202611/) do not mention SmartThings. ## Matter devices have a free route The useful exception for Matter owners is multi-admin sharing. SmartThings [documents](https://support.smartthings.com/hc/en-us/articles/11219700390804-SmartThings-x-Matter-Integration) a sharing flow for any Matter device it controls. Open the device, tap More (⋮), choose Share with other services, then Share device, and the app shows a QR code and setup code made for sharing. In Home Assistant, with the Matter integration installed and IPv6 enabled, add a Matter device from the Companion app, answer that it is already in use, and enter the code; the [Matter integration docs](https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/matter/) cover the steps. The device stays in SmartThings, and Home Assistant becomes a second Matter controller that talks to it directly on your network rather than through Samsung's cloud API. The same flow can add the device to other Matter platforms. SmartThings allows each device to be connected to five services, so a device that is already shared widely may need a connection removed first. Matterhome's [setup checklist](/guides/matter-device-setup-checklist) covers the order: confirm the device works in its first app, then share it. That route only covers Matter devices. Zigbee and Z-Wave devices on a SmartThings hub, whether a Zigbee-only [Aeotec Smart Home Hub 2](/devices/aeotec-smart-home-hub-2) or an older hub with a Z-Wave radio, have no documented equivalent, which leaves Home Assistant's two options: subscribe, or migrate them away from SmartThings. Samsung appliances that are not Matter devices themselves have no equivalent either. Samsung TVs have a separate route: Home Assistant's [Samsung Smart TV integration](https://www.home-assistant.io/integrations/samsungtv/) controls Tizen models from 2016 onward over the local network. For a SmartThings home that also runs another platform, the gap makes Matter the better choice for new plugs, sensors and lights, because those devices can appear in both apps at no cost. If you own an API Access App and need to change it, November 3 is the last day you can edit it without a plan. For everyone else, December 15 is the date to plan around. Share your Matter devices with the other app now, then point Home Assistant automations and dashboards at the new Matter entities before December 15, in case the SmartThings integration's copies stop updating. Samsung says Developer Plan sign-up and fuller plan details open in the SmartThings Developer Center on November 4; the price and the launch countries are the details to check there.