head to head · open source
Home Assistant vs steve
Home Assistant has 92,229 GitHub stars, 39,298 forks, 3,527 open issues and last shipped yesterday. steve has 1,150 stars, 500 forks, 91 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Home Assistant leads on adoption by 7,920% (92,229 vs 1,150 stars). Home Assistant is written in Python under Apache-2.0; steve is written in Java under GPL-3.0. Home Assistant has attracted 43% as many forks as stars, steve 43%. Home Assistant 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 | steve | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 92K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-11 | 2026-11-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 39K | ⑂ 500 |
| 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 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 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 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 Home Assistant or steve more popular?
Home Assistant has 92,229 GitHub stars and steve has 1,150. Home Assistant has the larger community by that measure.
Are Home Assistant and steve free?
Both are open source. Home Assistant is licensed under Apache-2.0 and steve under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Home Assistant and steve?
Home Assistant 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, Home Assistant or steve?
Choose Home Assistant if you want the larger community (92,229 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose steve if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.