head to head · open source
Home Assistant vs IRremoteESP8266
Home Assistant has 90,832 GitHub stars, 38,710 forks, 3,527 open issues and last shipped yesterday. IRremoteESP8266 has 3,601 stars, 933 forks, 105 open issues and last shipped 28 days ago. Home Assistant leads on adoption by 2,422% (90,832 vs 3,601 stars). Home Assistant is written in Python under Apache-2.0; IRremoteESP8266 is written in C++ under LGPL-2.1. Home Assistant has attracted 43% as many forks as stars, IRremoteESP8266 26%. Home Assistant was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (hacktoberfest, 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
| Home Assistant | IRremoteESP8266 | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 91K | ★ 3.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-2.1 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-08-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 39K | ⑂ 933 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Home Assistant if
- You weight community size — 91K 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 IRremoteESP8266 if
- You want the IRremoteESP8266 feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and IRremoteESP8266 fits your workflow better
About Home Assistant
Home Assistant is an open source home automation platform that runs locally on devices such as Raspberry Pi or a personal server. It enables users to control and automate smart home devices—including lights, thermostats, locks, and sensors—without relying on cloud services. Built in Python with an asyncio event loop, it emphasizes local processing and data sovereignty, ensuring all device data remains under the user’s control.
read the full Home Assistant overview →
About IRremoteESP8266
IRremoteESP8266 is an open source C++ library for the Arduino framework that lets ESP8266 and ESP32 boards send and receive infrared signals. It lives in the embedded home automation and HVAC control ecosystem and is based on Arduino IRremote. It uses common 940 nm infrared LEDs and common infrared receiver modules, including TSOP{17,22,24,36,38,44,48} demodulators.
read the full IRremoteESP8266 overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Home Assistant or IRremoteESP8266 more popular?
Home Assistant has 90,832 GitHub stars and IRremoteESP8266 has 3,601. Home Assistant has the larger community by that measure.
Are Home Assistant and IRremoteESP8266 free?
Both are open source. Home Assistant is licensed under Apache-2.0 and IRremoteESP8266 under LGPL-2.1. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Home Assistant and IRremoteESP8266?
Home Assistant is written in Python and IRremoteESP8266 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 IRremoteESP8266?
Choose Home Assistant if you want the larger community (90,832 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose IRremoteESP8266 if its feature set, stack or LGPL-2.1 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.