head to head · open source
python-miio vs ESPresense
python-miio has 4,335 GitHub stars, 602 forks, 313 open issues and last shipped 3 months ago. ESPresense has 1,502 stars, 190 forks, 121 open issues and last shipped yesterday. python-miio leads on adoption by 189% (4,335 vs 1,502 stars). python-miio is written in Python under GPL-3.0; ESPresense is written in C under AGPL-3.0. python-miio has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, ESPresense 13%. ESPresense 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
| python-miio | ESPresense | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 4.3K | ★ 1.5K |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C |
| Last push | 2026-07-25 | 2026-11-04 |
| Forks | ⑂ 602 | ⑂ 190 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick python-miio if
- You weight community size — 4.3K stars and counting
- You want the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ESPresense if
- You want the ESPresense feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and ESPresense fits your workflow better
About python-miio
python miio This library (and its accompanying cli tool, miiocli ) can be used to control devices using Xiaomi's miIO and MIoT protocols. This is a voluntary, community driven effort and is not affiliated with any of the companies whose devices are supported by this library. Issue reports and pull requests are welcome, see contributing! The full documentation is available at python miio.readthedocs.io. Installation Getting started Controlling modern (MIoT) devices Controlling older (miIO) devices Troubleshooting API usage Contributing Simulators Supported devices Projects using this library Other related…
read the full python-miio overview →
About ESPresense
ESPresense An ESP32 based presence detection node for use with the Home Assistant mqtt room component or ESPresense companion for indoor positioning Documentation: Building: building. Release Notes: changelog. trigger CI
read the full ESPresense overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is python-miio or ESPresense more popular?
python-miio has 4,335 GitHub stars and ESPresense has 1,502. python-miio has the larger community by that measure.
Are python-miio and ESPresense free?
Both are open source. python-miio is licensed under GPL-3.0 and ESPresense under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between python-miio and ESPresense?
python-miio is written in Python and ESPresense 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, python-miio or ESPresense?
Choose python-miio if you want the larger community (4,335 stars) or its GPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose ESPresense if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.