SHSelfHostIndex

Mozilla WebThings Gateway vs Home Assistant

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?
MO Mozilla WebThings Gateway Open gateway for the decentralized web of things VS HO Home Assistant Open-source home automation that puts privacy first
FeatureMozilla WebThings GatewayHome Assistant
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseMPL-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptPython
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, dockerdocker, bare-metal, one-click
GitHub stars★ 2,643★ 89,795
First released20182013
ReplacesSmartThings, Google HomeSmartThings, Google Home

Why pick each one

Choose Mozilla WebThings Gateway if…

  • Open standards-based
  • Privacy-focused
Mozilla WebThings Gateway details

Choose Home Assistant if…

  • Huge device support
  • Local control and privacy
  • Very active community
Home Assistant details

Frequently asked questions

Is Mozilla WebThings Gateway or Home Assistant better?

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

Are Mozilla WebThings Gateway and Home Assistant free and open-source?

Yes. Mozilla WebThings Gateway is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Home Assistant under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Mozilla WebThings Gateway and Home Assistant with Docker?

Mozilla WebThings Gateway: yes. Home Assistant: yes.

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