head to head · open source
OpenMQTTGateway vs spook
OpenMQTTGateway has 4,117 GitHub stars, 910 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped 17 days ago. spook has 1,765 stars, 108 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenMQTTGateway leads on adoption by 133% (4,117 vs 1,765 stars). OpenMQTTGateway is written in C++ under GPL-3.0; spook is written in Python under MIT. OpenMQTTGateway has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, spook 6%. spook 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.
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Side by side
| OpenMQTTGateway | spook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 4.1K | ★ 1.8K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-19 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 910 | ⑂ 108 |
| 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 spook if
- You want the spook feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and spook fits your workflow better
About OpenMQTTGateway
OpenMQTTGateway aims to unify various technologies and protocols into a single firmware. This reduces the need for multiple physical bridges and streamlines diverse technologies under the widely used MQTT protocol. Sponsors Documentation The documentation is here New to OpenMQTTGateway? Follow the Getting Started guide to flash a board from your browser and see your first sensor data in about 15 minutes. The reference sheet, with the list of all functions, pinouts is here Upload Upload OpenMQTTGateway directly from the upload page (no additional software required) or build your own configuration with PlatformIO…
read the full OpenMQTTGateway overview →
About spook
Spook 👻 Your homie. [![GitHub Release][releases shield]][releases] ![Project Stage][project stage shield] [![License][license shield]](LICENSE.md) ![Project Maintenance][maintenance shield] [![Coverage][codecov shield]][codecov] [![OpenSSF Scorecard][scorecard shield]][scorecard] About Hi! I'm Spook 👻 and I'm a custom integration for use with Home Assistant. I will extend your Home Assistant instance with a huge set of scary powerful tools. 🛠️ Learn all about me in the extensive documentation ⚠️ Just to be very clear... Spook is not affiliated with, endorsed, recommended, or supported by the Home Assistant…
read the full spook overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is OpenMQTTGateway or spook more popular?
OpenMQTTGateway has 4,117 GitHub stars and spook has 1,765. OpenMQTTGateway has the larger community by that measure.
Are OpenMQTTGateway and spook free?
Both are open source. OpenMQTTGateway is licensed under GPL-3.0 and spook under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between OpenMQTTGateway and spook?
OpenMQTTGateway is written in C++ and spook in Python. 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 spook?
Choose OpenMQTTGateway if you want the larger community (4,117 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose spook if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.