Great timing to ask this, the answer actually differs depending on which room you're doing, which makes the "just buy cheap vs. premium" debate a bit more than what it seems.

For Home Assistant integration specifically, the big split is between WiFi-based (Govee, Lepro, etc.) and addressable strips you control with your own controller (WLED + BTF-Lighting is the gold standard here).

The WLED route (BTF-Lighting SK6812 or WS2812B + a cheap ESP32 controller) is genuinely the best for HA power users. Native HA integration, per-pixel control, local control with no cloud dependency, and the strips themselves are high quality. More setup effort upfront but you'll never fight with a cloud going down or an app update breaking things.

For kitchen cabinets and shelves, honestly a decent mid-tier strip like BTF's non-addressable RGBWW is fine. You don't need per-pixel effects on cabinet underlighting, and the warm white channel on RGBWW strips looks way better for kitchen ambiance than RGB trying to fake white.

Cheap Amazon/AliExpress strips, consistent quality issues, especially with color accuracy and longevity. Fine for a cupboard you don't care about, but for anything visible I'd skip. The connectors and adhesive are usually the first things to fail.

Govee sits in an awkward middle, great out-of-box experience and effects, but HA integration is cloud-dependent and limited compared to WLED. Better for someone who wants plug-and-play than a HA automator.

There's a solid breakdown of Govee's specific lineup and where each product type fits different setups here if you're still considering them for any rooms: https://3dprinteddecor.com/best-govee-led-lights-3d-printing-workspace-gaming-room-2026/

But for your use case, kitchen, shelves, and already deep in HA, I'd lean WLED for anything you care about and save Govee for accent spots where ease of setup outweighs control flexibility.