head to head · open source
Home Assistant vs novu
Home Assistant has 90,654 GitHub stars, 38,685 forks, 3,527 open issues and last shipped yesterday. novu has 40,002 stars, 4,494 forks, 105 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Home Assistant leads on adoption by 127% (90,654 vs 40,002 stars). Home Assistant is written in Python under Apache-2.0; novu is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Home Assistant has attracted 43% as many forks as stars, novu 11%. novu 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
| Home Assistant | novu | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 91K | ★ 40K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 39K | ⑂ 4.5K |
| 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 novu if
- You want the novu feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and novu 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 novu
Novu is an open source communication infrastructure platform for building and managing multi channel notifications in products and connecting them to AI agents. It lives in the Node.js/TypeScript ecosystem and targets developers who need to send and receive messages across email, SMS, push, in app inbox, chat, and collaboration tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Home Assistant or novu more popular?
Home Assistant has 90,654 GitHub stars and novu has 40,002. Home Assistant has the larger community by that measure.
Are Home Assistant and novu free?
Both are open source. Home Assistant is licensed under Apache-2.0, and novu has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Home Assistant and novu?
Home Assistant is written in Python and novu in TypeScript. 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 novu?
Choose Home Assistant if you want the larger community (90,654 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose novu if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.