head to head · open source
operating-system vs ble_monitor
operating-system has 7,520 GitHub stars, 1,300 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ble_monitor has 2,247 stars, 290 forks, 119 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. operating-system leads on adoption by 235% (7,520 vs 2,247 stars). operating-system is written in Python under Apache-2.0; ble_monitor is written in Python under MIT. operating-system has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, ble_monitor 13%. operating-system was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| operating-system | ble_monitor | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.5K | ★ 2.2K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-06 | 2026-09-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.3K | ⑂ 290 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick operating-system if
- You weight community size — 7.5K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ble_monitor if
- You want the ble_monitor feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and ble_monitor fits your workflow better
About operating-system
The Home Assistant Operating System is a Linux based operating system built specifically to host Home Assistant and its Apps, intended for people running Home Assistant on a single board computer such as a Raspberry Pi or ODROID, or on an x86 64 machine with UEFI firmware.
read the full operating-system overview →
About ble_monitor
ble monitor is a Python custom component for Home Assistant that passively reads data from a wide range of inexpensive Bluetooth Low Energy sensors so their readings appear in your Home Assistant dashboard.
read the full ble_monitor overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is operating-system or ble_monitor more popular?
operating-system has 7,520 GitHub stars and ble_monitor has 2,247. operating-system has the larger community by that measure.
Are operating-system and ble_monitor free?
Both are open source. operating-system is licensed under Apache-2.0 and ble_monitor under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between operating-system and ble_monitor?
operating-system is written in Python and ble_monitor 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, operating-system or ble_monitor?
Choose operating-system if you want the larger community (7,520 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose ble_monitor if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.