Domoticz 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?
FeatureDomoticzEMQX
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseGPL-3.0Apache-2.0
LanguageC++Erlang
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker
GitHub stars★ 3,791★ 16,599
First released20122026
ReplacesSmartThings

Why pick each one

Choose Domoticz if…

  • Very lightweight
  • Good on Raspberry Pi
  • Stable
Domoticz 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 Domoticz or EMQX better?

Neither is universally better. EMQX has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Domoticz and EMQX free and open-source?

Yes. Domoticz is licensed under GPL-3.0 and EMQX under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Domoticz and EMQX with Docker?

Domoticz: yes. EMQX: yes.

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