SHSelfHostIndex

Mozilla WebThings Gateway vs Zwave-JS Server

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 ZW Zwave-JS Server Small server wrapping the Z-Wave JS driver over WebSocket
FeatureMozilla WebThings GatewayZwave-JS Server
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseMPL-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, dockerdocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 2,643★ 162
First released20182021
ReplacesSmartThings, Google HomeSmartThings

Why pick each one

Choose Mozilla WebThings Gateway if…

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

Choose Zwave-JS Server if…

  • Decouples driver from clients
  • Reliable
Zwave-JS Server details

Frequently asked questions

Is Mozilla WebThings Gateway or Zwave-JS Server better?

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

Are Mozilla WebThings Gateway and Zwave-JS Server free and open-source?

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

Can I run Mozilla WebThings Gateway and Zwave-JS Server with Docker?

Mozilla WebThings Gateway: yes. Zwave-JS Server: yes.

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