head to head · open source
ProxmoxVE vs HomeKey-ESP32
ProxmoxVE has 29,607 GitHub stars, 2,888 forks, 27 open issues and last shipped today. HomeKey-ESP32 has 1,079 stars, 94 forks, 47 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. ProxmoxVE leads on adoption by 2,644% (29,607 vs 1,079 stars). ProxmoxVE is written in Shell under MIT; HomeKey-ESP32 is written in C++ under MIT. ProxmoxVE has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, HomeKey-ESP32 9%. ProxmoxVE 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 8884 open source comparisons
Side by side
| ProxmoxVE | HomeKey-ESP32 | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Shell | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 94 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick ProxmoxVE if
- You weight community size — 30K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick HomeKey-ESP32 if
- You want the HomeKey-ESP32 feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and HomeKey-ESP32 fits your workflow better
About ProxmoxVE
Proxmox VE Helper Scripts (Community Edition) is a collection of Shell scripts that install and configure self hosted services as containers or virtual machines on Proxmox VE. It is a community project built on the foundation of @tteck's original work, distributed under the MIT license, and it lives in the Proxmox VE and homelab ecosystem alongside LXC, Docker, Debian, Ubuntu, and Alpine tooling. The scripts cover hundreds of services across home automation, media, networking, monitoring, databases, security, and developer tooling.
read the full ProxmoxVE overview →
About HomeKey-ESP32
HomeKey ESP32 Apple HomeKey functionality for the rest of us Documentation What is HomeKey ESP32? The project aims to be the easy DIY solution for using Apple's HomeKey feature without the need to purchase a compatible smart lock that you probably don't want. HomeKey ESP32 brings Apple's secure NFC based unlocking to an ESP32 module near you, enabling you to unlock doors and whatnot with a simple tap of your iPhone or Apple Watch. No proprietary hardware required – just an ESP32 and one of the supported NFC modules [!WARNING] The flash memory is not encrypted as this kinda started as a pet project of mine but a l…
read the full HomeKey-ESP32 overview →
More in Productivity & Utilities
Related comparisons
More Automation projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Automation field.
Frequently asked questions
Is ProxmoxVE or HomeKey-ESP32 more popular?
ProxmoxVE has 29,607 GitHub stars and HomeKey-ESP32 has 1,079. ProxmoxVE has the larger community by that measure.
Are ProxmoxVE and HomeKey-ESP32 free?
Both are open source. ProxmoxVE is licensed under MIT and HomeKey-ESP32 under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ProxmoxVE and HomeKey-ESP32?
ProxmoxVE is written in Shell and HomeKey-ESP32 in C++. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, ProxmoxVE or HomeKey-ESP32?
Choose ProxmoxVE if you want the larger community (29,607 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose HomeKey-ESP32 if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.