SHSelfHostIndex

EMQX vs Home Assistant Operating System

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?
EM EMQX Scalable MQTT broker VS HO Home Assistant Operating System Embedded operating system optimized for Home Assistant
FeatureEMQXHome Assistant Operating System
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageErlangPython
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM512 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentdockerone-click, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 16,599★ 7,390
First released20262019
Replaces—SmartThings, Hubitat

Why pick each one

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

Choose Home Assistant Operating System if…

  • Easiest full-featured HA install
  • Managed add-ons
Home Assistant Operating System details

Frequently asked questions

Is EMQX or Home Assistant Operating System better?

Neither is universally better. EMQX has the larger community, while Home Assistant Operating System is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are EMQX and Home Assistant Operating System free and open-source?

Yes. EMQX is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Home Assistant Operating System under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run EMQX and Home Assistant Operating System with Docker?

EMQX: yes. Home Assistant Operating System: check the project docs for container support.

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