head to head · open source
Home Assistant vs homeThing
Home Assistant has 91,945 GitHub stars, 39,193 forks, 3,527 open issues and last shipped yesterday. homeThing has 549 stars, 42 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped 11 days ago. Home Assistant leads on adoption by 16,648% (91,945 vs 549 stars). Home Assistant is written in Python under Apache-2.0; homeThing is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. Home Assistant has attracted 43% as many forks as stars, homeThing 8%. Home Assistant was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| Home Assistant | homeThing | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 92K | ★ 549 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-04 | 2026-10-25 |
| Forks | ⑂ 39K | ⑂ 42 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Home Assistant if
- You weight community size — 92K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick homeThing if
- You want the homeThing 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 homeThing fits your workflow better
About Home Assistant
Home Assistant Chat Status ================================================================================= Open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first. Powered by a worldwide community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts. Perfect to run on a Raspberry Pi or a local server. Check out home assistant.io for a demo , installation instructions , tutorials and documentation . Featured integrations The system is built using a modular approach so support for other devices or actions can be implemented easily. See also the section on architecture and the section on creating your own components…
read the full Home Assistant overview →
About homeThing
homeThing Remote ⚙️ (esphome remote) homeThing is a collection of software and hardware for creating universal remotes that control smart home devices. There are 3 components that belong to homeThing: the case and circuit board, the menu system code, and the code to control smart home devices Hardware specific for smart home remotes that's open source, customizable, and 3D printable. Menu system for ESP32 devices focused on controlling smart home devices similar to an iPod's menu. ESPHome Components for controlling Home Assistant devices. Check out the next generation homeThing C6 Learn More Get Started Learn…
read the full homeThing overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Internet of Things (IoT) projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Internet of Things (IoT) field.
Frequently asked questions
Is Home Assistant or homeThing more popular?
Home Assistant has 91,945 GitHub stars and homeThing has 549. Home Assistant has the larger community by that measure.
Are Home Assistant and homeThing free?
Both are open source. Home Assistant is licensed under Apache-2.0 and homeThing under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Home Assistant and homeThing?
Home Assistant is written in Python and homeThing 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, Home Assistant or homeThing?
Choose Home Assistant if you want the larger community (91,945 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose homeThing if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.