head to head · open source
OpenMQTTGateway vs home-assistant-glow
OpenMQTTGateway has 4,096 GitHub stars, 906 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. home-assistant-glow has 1,269 stars, 182 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. OpenMQTTGateway leads on adoption by 223% (4,096 vs 1,269 stars). OpenMQTTGateway is written in C++ under GPL-3.0; home-assistant-glow is written in various languages under MIT. OpenMQTTGateway has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, home-assistant-glow 14%. home-assistant-glow was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (esp32, esp8266, home-assistant), 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 | home-assistant-glow | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 4.1K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | — |
| Last push | 2026-09-21 | 2026-09-21 |
| Forks | ⑂ 906 | ⑂ 182 |
| 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 home-assistant-glow if
- You want the home-assistant-glow feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- You evaluated both and home-assistant-glow 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 home-assistant-glow
Home Assistant Glow is an open source firmware and hardware project that reads the pulse LED on an electricity meter and sends those measurements to Home Assistant, built for home automation users whose meter has no P1 port and who are willing to assemble a small ESP based sensor themselves.
read the full home-assistant-glow overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenMQTTGateway or home-assistant-glow more popular?
OpenMQTTGateway has 4,096 GitHub stars and home-assistant-glow has 1,269. OpenMQTTGateway has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenMQTTGateway and home-assistant-glow free?
Both are open source. OpenMQTTGateway is licensed under GPL-3.0 and home-assistant-glow under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenMQTTGateway and home-assistant-glow?
OpenMQTTGateway is written in C++ and home-assistant-glow in various languages. 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 home-assistant-glow?
Choose OpenMQTTGateway if you want the larger community (4,096 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose home-assistant-glow if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.