head to head · open source
OpenMQTTGateway vs ESPresense
OpenMQTTGateway has 4,094 GitHub stars, 906 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped today. ESPresense has 1,477 stars, 184 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. OpenMQTTGateway leads on adoption by 177% (4,094 vs 1,477 stars). OpenMQTTGateway is written in C++ under GPL-3.0; ESPresense is written in C under AGPL-3.0. OpenMQTTGateway has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, ESPresense 12%. OpenMQTTGateway was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (esp32, home-assistant, 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
| OpenMQTTGateway | ESPresense | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 4.1K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | C++ | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 906 | ⑂ 184 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick OpenMQTTGateway if
- You weight community size — 4.1K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ESPresense if
- You want the ESPresense feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and ESPresense fits your workflow better
About OpenMQTTGateway
OpenMQTTGateway is an open source C++ gateway firmware for ESP8266 and ESP32 boards that connects local radio and sensor protocols to MQTT. It lives in the home automation ecosystem and is associated with Home Assistant, OpenHAB, NodeRed, and AWS IOT. The project aims to unify various technologies and protocols into a single firmware, reducing the need for multiple physical bridges.
read the full OpenMQTTGateway overview →
About ESPresense
ESPresense is an AGPL 3.0 licensed ESP32 firmware project that turns low cost ESP32 boards into indoor positioning nodes which report presence data over MQTT to Home Assistant or to the ESPresense companion application.
read the full ESPresense overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenMQTTGateway or ESPresense more popular?
OpenMQTTGateway has 4,094 GitHub stars and ESPresense has 1,477. OpenMQTTGateway has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenMQTTGateway and ESPresense free?
Both are open source. OpenMQTTGateway is licensed under GPL-3.0 and ESPresense under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenMQTTGateway and ESPresense?
OpenMQTTGateway is written in C++ and ESPresense 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, OpenMQTTGateway or ESPresense?
Choose OpenMQTTGateway if you want the larger community (4,094 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose ESPresense if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.