head to head · open source
ha-mcp vs OpenMQTTGateway
ha-mcp has 5,486 GitHub stars, 267 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenMQTTGateway has 4,117 stars, 912 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ha-mcp leads on adoption by 33% (5,486 vs 4,117 stars). ha-mcp is written in Python under MIT; OpenMQTTGateway is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. ha-mcp has attracted 5% as many forks as stars, OpenMQTTGateway 22%. ha-mcp was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (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
| ha-mcp | OpenMQTTGateway | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 5.5K | ★ 4.1K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-08 | 2026-11-08 |
| Forks | ⑂ 267 | ⑂ 912 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ha-mcp if
- You weight community size — 5.5K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick OpenMQTTGateway if
- You want the OpenMQTTGateway feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and OpenMQTTGateway fits your workflow better
About ha-mcp
Breaking change (v7.3.0): ha config set yaml has been moved to beta. HA MCP — Manage Home Assistant with AI Configure and automate Home Assistant with Claude, ChatGPT, and other AI assistants. 🚀 Get Started The recommended way to run ha mcp is the HA MCP integration . It installs into Home Assistant through HACS (the built in Marketplace on Home Assistant 2026.11+), runs the full server in process , and works on every Home Assistant installation type — Home Assistant OS, Supervised, Container, and Core — with full feature parity. It is the easiest setup in every case: setup asks for an administrator access…
read the full ha-mcp overview →
About OpenMQTTGateway
OpenMQTTGateway aims to unify various technologies and protocols into a single firmware. This reduces the need for multiple physical bridges and streamlines diverse technologies under the widely used MQTT protocol. Sponsors Documentation The documentation is here New to OpenMQTTGateway? Follow the Getting Started guide to flash a board from your browser and see your first sensor data in about 15 minutes. The reference sheet, with the list of all functions, pinouts is here Upload Upload OpenMQTTGateway directly from the upload page (no additional software required) or build your own configuration with PlatformIO…
read the full OpenMQTTGateway overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ha-mcp or OpenMQTTGateway more popular?
ha-mcp has 5,486 GitHub stars and OpenMQTTGateway has 4,117. ha-mcp has the larger community by that measure.
Are ha-mcp and OpenMQTTGateway free?
Both are open source. ha-mcp is licensed under MIT and OpenMQTTGateway under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ha-mcp and OpenMQTTGateway?
ha-mcp is written in Python and OpenMQTTGateway 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, ha-mcp or OpenMQTTGateway?
Choose ha-mcp if you want the larger community (5,486 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose OpenMQTTGateway if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.