head to head · open source
OpenMQTTGateway vs spook
OpenMQTTGateway has 4,094 GitHub stars, 906 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped today. spook has 1,298 stars, 91 forks, 29 open issues and last shipped yesterday. OpenMQTTGateway leads on adoption by 215% (4,094 vs 1,298 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 7%. 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 | spook | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 4.1K | ★ 1.3K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | C++ | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-20 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 906 | ⑂ 91 |
| 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 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 spook
Spook is a custom integration for Home Assistant that extends a Home Assistant instance with a set of extra tools, aimed at people who already run Home Assistant and want more capability without forking core components.
read the full spook 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 spook more popular?
OpenMQTTGateway has 4,094 GitHub stars and spook has 1,298. 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 (4,094 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose spook if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.