head to head · open source
Home Assistant vs tagreader
Home Assistant has 91,998 GitHub stars, 39,215 forks, 3,527 open issues and last shipped yesterday. tagreader has 1,623 stars, 219 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped 6 months ago. Home Assistant leads on adoption by 5,568% (91,998 vs 1,623 stars). Home Assistant is written in Python under Apache-2.0; tagreader is written in Shell under GPL-3.0. Home Assistant has attracted 43% as many forks as stars, tagreader 13%. Home Assistant was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| Home Assistant | tagreader | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 92K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-11-06 | 2026-04-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 39K | ⑂ 219 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Home Assistant if
- You weight community size — 92K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick tagreader if
- You want the tagreader feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and tagreader fits your workflow better
About Home Assistant
Home Assistant Chat Status ================================================================================= Open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first. Powered by a worldwide community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts. Perfect to run on a Raspberry Pi or a local server. Check out home assistant.io for a demo , installation instructions , tutorials and documentation . Featured integrations The system is built using a modular approach so support for other devices or actions can be implemented easily. See also the section on architecture and the section on creating your own components…
read the full Home Assistant overview →
About tagreader
Tag Reader for Home Assistant The tag reader is a simple to build/use NFC tag reader, specially created for Home Assistant. It is using a D1 mini ESP 8266 and the PN532 NFC module. The firmware is built using ESPhome. I am selling a pre built version, a DIY version (assembly required), or just the case (use with own components). Check it out on my website. Building the tag reader To build your own tag reader, you need the following components: ESP8266 D1 Mini PN532 NFC Reader WS2812 Buzzer The 3D models for the case are here. WARNING regarding AZdelivery D1. We have had several users contacting us with different…
read the full tagreader overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Home Assistant or tagreader more popular?
Home Assistant has 91,998 GitHub stars and tagreader has 1,623. Home Assistant has the larger community by that measure.
Are Home Assistant and tagreader free?
Both are open source. Home Assistant is licensed under Apache-2.0 and tagreader under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Home Assistant and tagreader?
Home Assistant is written in Python and tagreader in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Home Assistant or tagreader?
Choose Home Assistant if you want the larger community (91,998 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose tagreader if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.