SHSelfHostIndex

Zigbee2MQTT Frontend vs EMQX

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted home automation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
ZI Zigbee2MQTT Frontend Open Zigbee coordinator firmware for many adapters VS EM EMQX Scalable MQTT broker
FeatureZigbee2MQTT FrontendEMQX
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptErlang
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM128 MB512 MB
Deploymentsource, dockerdocker
GitHub stars★ 561★ 16,599
First released20182026
ReplacesPhilips Hue Bridge—

Why pick each one

Choose Zigbee2MQTT Frontend if…

  • Foundation of an open Zigbee stack
  • Broad hardware support
Zigbee2MQTT Frontend details

Choose EMQX if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Mature project with 16.6k GitHub stars
  • Written in Erlang
EMQX details

Frequently asked questions

Is Zigbee2MQTT Frontend or EMQX better?

EMQX is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Zigbee2MQTT Frontend if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Zigbee2MQTT Frontend and EMQX free and open-source?

Yes. Zigbee2MQTT Frontend is licensed under MIT and EMQX under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Zigbee2MQTT Frontend and EMQX with Docker?

Zigbee2MQTT Frontend: yes. EMQX: yes.

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