head to head · open source
ProxmoxVE vs HomeKey-ESP32
ProxmoxVE has 30,010 GitHub stars, 2,938 forks, 27 open issues and last shipped yesterday. HomeKey-ESP32 has 1,116 stars, 100 forks, 47 open issues and last shipped 17 days ago. ProxmoxVE leads on adoption by 2,589% (30,010 vs 1,116 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 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| ProxmoxVE | HomeKey-ESP32 | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 1.1K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Shell | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-10-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 100 |
| 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 One command installations for services, containers, and VMs on Proxmox VE A community project — built on the foundation of @tteck 's original work What is this? Simplify your Proxmox VE setup with community driven automation scripts. Install and configure popular self hosted services with a single command — no manual package hunting, no config file archaeology. Paste a command into your Proxmox shell, answer a few prompts, and your container or VM is up and running. The collection covers hundreds of services across categories like home automation, media servers, networking tools…
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…
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 30,010 GitHub stars and HomeKey-ESP32 has 1,116. 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 (30,010 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose HomeKey-ESP32 if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.