head to head · open source
ProxmoxVE vs HomeSpan
ProxmoxVE has 29,607 GitHub stars, 2,887 forks, 27 open issues and last shipped yesterday. HomeSpan has 2,165 stars, 199 forks, 9 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. ProxmoxVE leads on adoption by 1,268% (29,607 vs 2,165 stars). ProxmoxVE is written in Shell under MIT; HomeSpan is written in C++ under MIT. ProxmoxVE has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, HomeSpan 9%. ProxmoxVE was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (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
| ProxmoxVE | HomeSpan | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 2.2K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Shell | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-15 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 199 |
| 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 HomeSpan if
- You want the HomeSpan feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and HomeSpan 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 HomeSpan
HomeSpan is an MIT licensed C++ Arduino library for the Arduino ESP32 ecosystem. It lets developers build HomeKit devices on Espressif ESP32 microcontrollers without external bridges or components. The project implements Apple's HomeKit Accessory Protocol Specification Release R2, called HAP R2, and pairs directly to HomeKit through a home WiFi network.
read the full HomeSpan overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ProxmoxVE or HomeSpan more popular?
ProxmoxVE has 29,607 GitHub stars and HomeSpan has 2,165. ProxmoxVE has the larger community by that measure.
Are ProxmoxVE and HomeSpan free?
Both are open source. ProxmoxVE is licensed under MIT and HomeSpan under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ProxmoxVE and HomeSpan?
ProxmoxVE is written in Shell and HomeSpan 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 HomeSpan?
Choose ProxmoxVE if you want the larger community (29,607 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose HomeSpan if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.