head to head · open source
IRremoteESP8266 vs button-card
IRremoteESP8266 has 3,601 GitHub stars, 933 forks, 105 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. button-card has 2,502 stars, 281 forks, 31 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. IRremoteESP8266 leads on adoption by 44% (3,601 vs 2,502 stars). IRremoteESP8266 is written in C++ under LGPL-2.1; button-card is written in TypeScript under MIT. IRremoteESP8266 has attracted 26% as many forks as stars, button-card 11%. button-card 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.
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Side by side
| IRremoteESP8266 | button-card | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 3.6K | ★ 2.5K |
| License | LGPL-2.1 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-08-23 | 2026-09-09 |
| Forks | ⑂ 933 | ⑂ 281 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick IRremoteESP8266 if
- You weight community size — 3.6K stars and counting
- You want the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick button-card if
- You want the button-card feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and button-card fits your workflow better
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 →
About button-card
button card is a custom Lovelace card for Home Assistant. It presents entities as configurable buttons and supports many options for appearance, actions, and state display. It lives in the Home Assistant ecosystem, specifically the Lovelace UI, and is distributed as a community custom card with stable and development releases.
read the full button-card overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is IRremoteESP8266 or button-card more popular?
IRremoteESP8266 has 3,601 GitHub stars and button-card has 2,502. IRremoteESP8266 has the larger community by that measure.
Are IRremoteESP8266 and button-card free?
Both are open source. IRremoteESP8266 is licensed under LGPL-2.1 and button-card under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between IRremoteESP8266 and button-card?
IRremoteESP8266 is written in C++ and button-card 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, IRremoteESP8266 or button-card?
Choose IRremoteESP8266 if you want the larger community (3,601 stars) or its LGPL-2.1 licence terms. Choose button-card if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.