head to head · open source
ProxmoxVE vs homeThing
ProxmoxVE has 29,607 GitHub stars, 2,888 forks, 27 open issues and last shipped yesterday. homeThing has 546 stars, 42 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped 23 days ago. ProxmoxVE leads on adoption by 5,323% (29,607 vs 546 stars). ProxmoxVE is written in Shell under MIT; homeThing is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. ProxmoxVE has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, homeThing 8%. 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.
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Side by side
| ProxmoxVE | homeThing | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 546 |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Shell | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 42 |
| 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 homeThing if
- You want the homeThing feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and homeThing 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 homeThing
homeThing is a collection of open source hardware and software — a 3D printable ESP32 remote, an ESPHome menu system, and components for controlling Home Assistant devices — for makers and Home Assistant users who want a battery powered physical remote with a screen and scroll wheel instead of a touch screen.
read the full homeThing overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is ProxmoxVE or homeThing more popular?
ProxmoxVE has 29,607 GitHub stars and homeThing has 546. ProxmoxVE has the larger community by that measure.
Are ProxmoxVE and homeThing free?
Both are open source. ProxmoxVE is licensed under MIT and homeThing under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between ProxmoxVE and homeThing?
ProxmoxVE is written in Shell and homeThing 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 homeThing?
Choose ProxmoxVE if you want the larger community (29,607 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose homeThing if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.