What is Reddit's opinion of
SmartThings?
From 3.5 billion Reddit comments
3 reviews of this app found across Reddit:
The Vera website (and their app UIs) are often criticized. A number of former Vera users have switched over to the SmartThings platform.
Some of the SmartThings community members there are even working on Amazon Echo integration as well.
The Revolv is also trying to aggregate the IoT in your house. According to the website it has "7 wireless radios speaking 10 different wireless languages. [...] we’re on track to support hundreds of devices in the next year."
SmartThings is also compatible with a lot of devices.
Nest was just bought by Google with the intention of taking over home automation.
I've also seen a lot of similar projects on kickstarter.
So there is a lot of competition in this space, but there is also a lot of consumer interest. If you find it interesting and fun maybe you should go for it.
If you do go with a hub solution, both Vera and SmartThings are well regarded as consumer IoT solutions and both have Tasker plugins.
Late last year, I switched from the Vera to SmartThings upon recommendation from a friend. When I found out that they didn't already have a Tasker plugin, I wrote my own set of plugins called SharpTools which is now used by a few thousand people.
As others have mentioned, you might be able to get away with something like the Wemo series of devices which are IP addressable. But if you think you might want to add other devices in the future, you might consider going the Z-wave and/or Zigbee route today to give yourself room to grow and flexibility.