head to head · open source
OpenMQTTGateway vs node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket
OpenMQTTGateway has 4,094 GitHub stars, 906 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped today. node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket has 599 stars, 127 forks, 60 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. OpenMQTTGateway leads on adoption by 583% (4,094 vs 599 stars). OpenMQTTGateway is written in C++ under GPL-3.0; node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket is written in TypeScript under MIT. OpenMQTTGateway has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket 21%. OpenMQTTGateway was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| OpenMQTTGateway | node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 4.1K | ★ 599 |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 906 | ⑂ 127 |
| 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 node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket if
- You want the node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket 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 node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket
Node RED integration with Home Assistant: a TypeScript node package that adds Home Assistant nodes to Node RED so automations can be built as flows and connected to a Home Assistant instance over a WebSocket link, aimed at self hosters, home automation hobbyists and anyone already running both tools.
read the full node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Internet of Things (IoT) projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Internet of Things (IoT) field.
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenMQTTGateway or node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket more popular?
OpenMQTTGateway has 4,094 GitHub stars and node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket has 599. OpenMQTTGateway has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenMQTTGateway and node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket free?
Both are open source. OpenMQTTGateway is licensed under GPL-3.0 and node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenMQTTGateway and node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket?
OpenMQTTGateway is written in C++ and node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket 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, OpenMQTTGateway or node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket?
Choose OpenMQTTGateway if you want the larger community (4,094 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose node-red-contrib-home-assistant-websocket if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.