head to head · open source
android vs ESPresense
android has 4,021 GitHub stars, 1,132 forks, 458 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. ESPresense has 1,502 stars, 190 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped yesterday. android leads on adoption by 168% (4,021 vs 1,502 stars). android is written in Kotlin under Apache-2.0; ESPresense is written in C under AGPL-3.0. android has attracted 28% as many forks as stars, ESPresense 13%. ESPresense was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (hacktoberfest, home-assistant, home-automation), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| android | ESPresense | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 4.0K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Kotlin | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.1K | ⑂ 190 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick android if
- You weight community size — 4.0K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Kotlin
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ESPresense if
- You want the ESPresense feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and ESPresense fits your workflow better
About android
Home Assistant Companion for Android Welcome to the Home Assistant Companion for Android ! This is the official Android app for Home Assistant, a powerful open source home automation platform. Join us in building an app used by millions of users worldwide. Features Control Your Smart Home : Seamlessly interact with your Home Assistant instance. Native Android Experience : Leverage Android specific features like widgets, notifications, and location tracking. Customizable : Tailor the app to your needs with themes, dashboards, and more. Open Source : Contribute to a project that empowers users to take control of…
read the full android overview →
About ESPresense
ESPresense An ESP32 based presence detection node for use with the Home Assistant mqtt room component or ESPresense companion for indoor positioning Documentation: Building: building. Release Notes: changelog. trigger CI
read the full ESPresense overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is android or ESPresense more popular?
android has 4,021 GitHub stars and ESPresense has 1,502. android has the larger community by that measure.
Are android and ESPresense free?
Both are open source. android is licensed under Apache-2.0 and ESPresense under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between android and ESPresense?
android is written in Kotlin and ESPresense in C. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, android or ESPresense?
Choose android if you want the larger community (4,021 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose ESPresense if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.