Rachio is a US maker of smart irrigation products, best known for the Rachio 3 sprinkler controller and the Smart Hose Timer, alongside a lighting controller and accessories such as flow meters and weather stations. Everything is managed from the Rachio app, with Weather Intelligence adjusting watering to the local forecast.
Rachio devices connect through Rachio's own cloud. The Rachio 3 joins your home Wi-Fi directly with no hub, while the Smart Hose Timer uses a Wi-Fi hub that talks to the valves over Bluetooth. Rachio's integrations with Alexa, Google, IFTTT, SmartThings and others go through that same cloud, and Rachio says the controller must stay online to process commands.
That suits a yard where the main goal is automatic, weather-aware watering plus a voice command or two. It is weaker for fully local control: Home Assistant, Homey and other platforms depend on Rachio's cloud API, which Rachio caps at 1,700 calls a day per account. We found no Matter support, and Apple Home support is documented only for the Rachio 3.
Connection
Wi-Fi; Bluetooth from hose-timer valves to their hub
Voice assistants
Alexa and Google Assistant; Apple Home on Rachio 3
Matter
Not found
Open platforms
Public API, Home Assistant, Homey and IFTTT
What can be connected
Sprinklers Rachio 3 controllers (8 and 16 zone) for in-ground irrigation
Hose watering Smart Hose Timer valves with a Wi-Fi hub
Lighting and accessories Smart Lighting Controller and fixtures, flow meter, Tempest weather station and MySoil kits
The single app for the Rachio 3 sprinkler controller, the Smart Hose Timer and a linked Tempest weather station, with schedules, weather adjustments and Wi-Fi setup. Rachio's support page says it needs iOS 16.0 or later or Android 8.0 or later, though the App Store listing states iOS 14.0. Published by Rachio, Inc.
A browser version of the account, where Rachio says an API key can also be generated. We did not open it, so its feature set against the phone app is unconfirmed.
Official supported by the brandCommunity built by someone elseNot found searched, nothing foundUnconfirmed sources conflict or could not be opened
Platform
Status
What it means
Sources
Connection
Wi-Fi
Yes
Rachio's FAQ says the Rachio 3 relies on Wi-Fi at 2.4 or 5 GHz and cannot be wired. The Smart Hose Timer hub supports 2.4 GHz only. If the connection drops, the Rachio 3 retries every 30 seconds for 24 hours and keeps running its saved schedules.
Used inside the Smart Hose Timer: each valve talks to the Wi-Fi hub over Bluetooth, up to about 200 ft in the open, and up to 8 valves pair to a hub per Rachio. The Rachio 3 FAQ does not mention Bluetooth.
Not mentioned on Rachio's Rachio 3 product page, FAQ, smart home integrations article or the app listing. We found no Rachio Matter announcement when we searched.
Rachio documents Alexa for the sprinkler controller and the Smart Hose Timer with a setup article. Its product page says Alexa can turn the controller on and off, run zones and set rain skips through more than 100 commands. The controller must be on your primary account, since shared-access devices are not supported for third-party integrations.
Rachio documents Google Assistant for the sprinkler controller and Google Home for the Smart Hose Timer, with a shared setup article. The Rachio 3 product page lists Google Assistant as a supported integration.
Rachio announced HomeKit support for the Rachio 3 in September 2018, covering control through Siri and the Home app on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. Rachio's current smart home integrations article lists Apple Shortcuts instead and does not list Apple Home, so we could not confirm the present state. The Smart Hose Timer FAQ does not mention Apple Home.
A built-in Rachio integration, classed Cloud Push, which Rachio does not maintain. It needs the API key from the Rachio account and creates switches for zones, hose-timer valves and schedules, standby and rain-delay switches, a calendar and a status sensor. Home Assistant must be reachable from the internet for controller updates, while hose timers are polled every 2 minutes with one base station.
Rachio has a SmartThings support page, last updated 21 February 2022, saying the then-current SmartThings apps work with Rachio. The Rachio 3 product page also lists SmartThings. Rachio's current smart home integrations article does not list SmartThings, so how well it works today is unconfirmed.
A community Homey app by Martin Verbeek, not Athom, covers the controller, zones, the hose-timer base station and valves, with flow triggers, conditions and actions. The store page lists Homey Cloud, Homey Pro, Homey Pro mini and Self-Hosted Server and does not list Homey Bridge. It needs Homey 12.2.0 or newer.
An openHAB 2 binding by an independent developer exists on GitHub, using the Rachio cloud API. Its repository was archived and made read-only on 8 May 2020. We could not confirm that any current binding is in openHAB's official add-on list.
Both are listed by Rachio for the sprinkler controller, each with a setup article. Rachio also warns these integrations rely on third-party APIs, so platform updates may affect them.
The Rachio app has three direct partner integrations: a Tempest weather station as a weather source, MySoil soil test results, and the Davis AirLink air quality monitor. Tempest and Davis setup uses an integration code that comes with a purchase or costs $29.99 in the app.
Rachio offers a public API with an API key from the account settings in the web or phone app. Each account is limited to 1,700 calls a day, resetting at midnight UTC, and Rachio recommends webhooks over polling. Documentation is at rachio.readme.io. The API page does not say which devices are supported.
Checked 11 November 2026 against the brand's own pages, app store listings and each project's own page. “Not found” means we searched and found nothing, not that it is impossible. Compatibility changes often. Spot an error? Tell us and we will fix it.
Common questions about Rachio
Does Rachio support Matter?
Not that we could find. Not mentioned on Rachio's Rachio 3 product page, FAQ, smart home integrations article or the app listing. We found no Rachio Matter announcement when we searched.
Does Rachio work with Alexa?
Yes, officially. Rachio documents Alexa for the sprinkler controller and the Smart Hose Timer with a setup article. Its product page says Alexa can turn the controller on and off, run zones and set rain skips through more than 100 commands. The controller must be on your primary account, since shared-access devices are not supported for third-party integrations.
Does Rachio work with Google Home?
Yes, officially. Rachio documents Google Assistant for the sprinkler controller and Google Home for the Smart Hose Timer, with a shared setup article. The Rachio 3 product page lists Google Assistant as a supported integration.
Does Rachio work with Apple Home (HomeKit)?
Yes, officially. Rachio announced HomeKit support for the Rachio 3 in September 2018, covering control through Siri and the Home app on iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch. Rachio's current smart home integrations article lists Apple Shortcuts instead and does not list Apple Home, so we could not confirm the present state. The Smart Hose Timer FAQ does not mention Apple Home.
Does Rachio work with Home Assistant?
Yes. A built-in Rachio integration, classed Cloud Push, which Rachio does not maintain. It needs the API key from the Rachio account and creates switches for zones, hose-timer valves and schedules, standby and rain-delay switches, a calendar and a status sensor. Home Assistant must be reachable from the internet for controller updates, while hose timers are polled every 2 minutes with one base station.
Does Rachio work with SmartThings?
Yes, officially. Rachio has a SmartThings support page, last updated 21 February 2022, saying the then-current SmartThings apps work with Rachio. The Rachio 3 product page also lists SmartThings. Rachio's current smart home integrations article does not list SmartThings, so how well it works today is unconfirmed.
Does Rachio work with Homey?
Yes, through a community-built integration. A community Homey app by Martin Verbeek, not Athom, covers the controller, zones, the hose-timer base station and valves, with flow triggers, conditions and actions. The store page lists Homey Cloud, Homey Pro, Homey Pro mini and Self-Hosted Server and does not list Homey Bridge. It needs Homey 12.2.0 or newer.
Does Rachio work with Hubitat?
Unconfirmed. We searched for a Hubitat Rachio driver and found nothing we could verify. Rachio's integrations article does not list Hubitat.
Answers come from the sourced table above. See how Rachio compares with all brands on the smart home brand statistics page.