head to head · open source
espectre vs itsyhome-macos
espectre has 9,395 GitHub stars, 710 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped yesterday. itsyhome-macos has 992 stars, 36 forks, 19 open issues and last shipped 24 days ago. espectre leads on adoption by 847% (9,395 vs 992 stars). espectre is written in Python under GPL-3.0; itsyhome-macos is written in Swift under MIT. espectre has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, itsyhome-macos 4%. espectre was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (home-assistant), 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
| espectre | itsyhome-macos | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.4K | ★ 992 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-09-24 | 2026-09-01 |
| Forks | ⑂ 710 | ⑂ 36 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick espectre if
- You weight community size — 9.4K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick itsyhome-macos if
- You want the itsyhome-macos feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and itsyhome-macos fits your workflow better
About espectre
ESPectre is an open source Wi Fi CSI motion sensing platform that turns a supported ESP32 board into a private, local motion sensor reporting movement in real time, and it is built for embedded developers, Home Assistant users, and DIY builders who want room level sensing without cameras, microphones, wearables, or dedicated radar hardware.
read the full espectre overview →
About itsyhome-macos
Itsyhome ( itsyhome macos ) is a native macOS menu bar app, written in Swift and published under the MIT licence, that controls HomeKit and Home Assistant smart homes from the Mac menu bar, and it is aimed at Mac users who want to operate their devices, scenes and sensors without leaving whatever they are working on.
read the full itsyhome-macos overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is espectre or itsyhome-macos more popular?
espectre has 9,395 GitHub stars and itsyhome-macos has 992. espectre has the larger community by that measure.
Are espectre and itsyhome-macos free?
Both are open source. espectre is licensed under GPL-3.0 and itsyhome-macos under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between espectre and itsyhome-macos?
espectre is written in Python and itsyhome-macos in Swift. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, espectre or itsyhome-macos?
Choose espectre if you want the larger community (9,395 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose itsyhome-macos if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.