Tool

Labstack Fit

Pick the job first. We score the catalog against that job using the same fields we already normalize — RAM ceiling, NICs, storage lanes, estimated always-on idle / kWh, use-case tags. No synthetic benchmarks.

Annual cost is estimated idle kWh × your price. Spinning disks and real load sit on top. Nothing is stored.

RAM ceiling and storage lanes first. iGPU is secondary unless you also transcode.

100
Minisforum NAB6
Intel i5-12450H / i7-12650H class mini-PC with dual LAN options for mixed HA and light hypervisor duty.

~16 W est. idle · 140.2 kWh/year always-on
- 64 GB RAM ceiling
- Dual NVMe path
- Dual NIC
- CPU class suits a hypervisor
98
GMKtec NucBox M7 Pro
Ryzen 9 class GMKtec box aimed at dense Proxmox stacks and iGPU transcode without a full tower.

~22 W est. idle · 192.7 kWh/year always-on
- 96 GB RAM ceiling
- Dual NVMe path
- CPU class suits a hypervisor
98
Minisforum UM790 Pro
Ryzen 9 barebone mini-PC with OCulink option for GPU passthrough experiments and dense VMs.

~22 W est. idle · 192.7 kWh/year always-on
- 96 GB RAM ceiling
- Dual NVMe path
- CPU class suits a hypervisor
92
Beelink SER8
Newer Ryzen 7 mini-PC aimed at heavier VM stacks and iGPU media duties in a dense chassis.

~22 W est. idle · 192.7 kWh/year always-on
- 64 GB RAM ceiling
- Dual NVMe path
- CPU class suits a hypervisor
92
Geekom Mini IT13
13th-gen Intel mini-PC often shortlisted for Quick Sync Plex/Jellyfin and multi-VM Proxmox labs.

~16 W est. idle · 140.2 kWh/year always-on
- 64 GB RAM ceiling
- Dual NVMe path
- CPU class suits a hypervisor
90
Minisforum MS-A1
AMD AM5 mini workstation-style box popular in expandable Proxmox and TrueNAS Scale builds.

~18 W est. idle · 157.7 kWh/year always-on
- 96 GB RAM ceiling
- Extra SATA lane helps local disks
- CPU class suits a hypervisor
84
Beelink SER5
Compact AMD Ryzen mini-PC often used for Proxmox and Home Assistant with upgradeable SODIMM.

~18 W est. idle · 157.7 kWh/year always-on
- 64 GB RAM ceiling
- Extra SATA lane helps local disks
- CPU class suits a hypervisor
78
Geekom A8
Ryzen AI mini-PC candidate for quiet always-on homelab nodes with modern iGPU media assist.

~18 W est. idle · 157.7 kWh/year always-on
- 64 GB RAM ceiling
- CPU class suits a hypervisor
68
Geekom N305 Entry
Intel N305 mini-PC when Home Assistant or Plex needs more than an N100. Confirm RAM ceiling and the 2.5-inch bay on the exact SKU.

~10 W est. idle · 87.6 kWh/year always-on
- 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
- Extra SATA lane helps local disks
- N305 is fine for a light node
62
Aoostar A5 N100
Intel N100 mini-PC with dual LAN for a Home Assistant-only node. Confirm both ports are 2.5GbE on the exact SKU.

~8 W est. idle · 70.1 kWh/year always-on
- 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
- Dual NIC
- N100 is a light node only
62
Beelink EQ12
Low-power Intel N100 box suited to quiet Home Assistant and light Proxmox nodes with dual 2.5GbE.

~8 W est. idle · 70.1 kWh/year always-on
- 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
- Dual NIC
- N100 is a light node only
62
Beelink EQ14
Twin-LAN Intel N305/N100 family box for quiet always-on labs that outgrow a single N100 node.

~8 W est. idle · 70.1 kWh/year always-on
- 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
- Dual NIC
- N100 is a light node only
60
Geekom AE8 N100
Geekom N100 mini-PC for low-power Home Assistant, with room to add storage. Confirm SODIMM ceiling on the exact SKU.

~8 W est. idle · 70.1 kWh/year always-on
- 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
- Extra SATA lane helps local disks
- N100 is a light node only
54
GMKtec G3 N100
Budget Intel N100 mini-PC for a quiet always-on Home Assistant host. Confirm RAM ceiling and the NIC on the exact SKU.

~8 W est. idle · 70.1 kWh/year always-on
- 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
- Extra SATA lane helps local disks
- N100 is a light node only
48
Beelink EQ2 N100
Beelink EQ2 with an Intel N100 for a small Home Assistant node. Confirm RAM ceiling and whether the NIC is 2.5GbE.

~8 W est. idle · 70.1 kWh/year always-on
- 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
- N100 is a light node only
48
Minisforum N100 Mini
Minisforum N100 mini-PC for quiet Home Assistant — Intel N100, check max RAM and 2.5GbE on the exact SKU, then score it in Labstack Fit against Beelink EQ12.

~8 W est. idle · 70.1 kWh/year always-on
- 32 GB RAM ceiling — tight for many VMs
- N100 is a light node only
40
Beelink Mini S12 Pro
Popular budget N100 mini for Home Assistant and light Proxmox — cheap and quiet, but confirm RAM ceiling and that you get 1GbE (not dual 2.5GbE) on the exact SKU.

~8 W est. idle · 70.1 kWh/year always-on
- Low RAM ceiling for Proxmox
- Extra SATA lane helps local disks
- N100 is a light node only
34
Aoostar R1
Compact NAS-adjacent mini PC with multiple drive bays popular for Jellyfin libraries plus light VMs.

~8 W est. idle · 70.1 kWh/year always-on
- Low RAM ceiling for Proxmox
- Extra SATA lane helps local disks
- N100 is a light node only

How the score is built

Each job starts around 40 and moves up or down from public specs. Caps at 100. It is an editorial ranking, not a lab result — if a vendor page disagrees with our normalized fields, trust the vendor and tell us.

Proxmox — RAM ceiling, dual NVMe / SATA headroom, CPU class, dual NIC.
Home Assistant — estimated idle watts / kWh-year, dual LAN, N-series preference, HA use-case tag.
Plex / Jellyfin — iGPU / Quick Sync class, RAM for Arr stack, local cache lanes.
NAS — bay count hints, 10GbE vs 2.5GbE, storage-oriented tags.

Weights live in code (app/fit_score.py) so we cannot quietly change them per product.

What we would buy first Full mini-PC matrix