head to head · open source
espectre vs steve
espectre has 9,809 GitHub stars, 742 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped yesterday. steve has 1,150 stars, 500 forks, 91 open issues and last shipped yesterday. espectre leads on adoption by 753% (9,809 vs 1,150 stars). espectre is written in Python under GPL-3.0; steve is written in Java under GPL-3.0. espectre has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, steve 43%. espectre was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | steve | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 9.8K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-11 | 2026-11-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 742 | ⑂ 500 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick espectre if
- You weight community size — 9.8K 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 steve if
- You want the steve feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and steve fits your workflow better
About espectre
ESPectre Turn an ESP32 into a private, local Wi Fi motion sensor. When someone moves through a room, they change the way Wi Fi signals travel through it. ESPectre reads those changes and reports motion in real time. No camera, no microphone, no wearable, and no dedicated radar hardware: just a supported ESP32 and the Wi Fi network already in the room. ESPectre is an open source platform that brings together ready to flash firmware, an embeddable C++ SDK, a MicroPython implementation, browser tools, a host CLI, an open dataset, open model weights, and the research workflow used to build and validate the…
read the full espectre overview →
About steve
SteVe started its life at the RWTH Aachen University in 2013. The name is derived from Steckdosenverwaltung in German (in English: socket administration). The aim of SteVe is to support the deployment and popularity of electric mobility, so it is easy to install and to use. It provides basic functions for the administration of charge points, user data, and RFID cards for user authentication and was tested successfully in operation. SteVe is considered as an open platform to implement, test and evaluate novel ideas for electric mobility, like authentication protocols, reservation mechanisms for charge points, and…
read the full steve overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is espectre or steve more popular?
espectre has 9,809 GitHub stars and steve has 1,150. espectre has the larger community by that measure.
Are espectre and steve free?
Both are open source. espectre is licensed under GPL-3.0 and steve under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between espectre and steve?
espectre is written in Python and steve in Java. 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 steve?
Choose espectre if you want the larger community (9,809 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose steve if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.