SHSelfHostIndex

ESPHome vs Z-Wave JS UI

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?
ES ESPHome Configure ESP devices with simple YAML VS Z- Z-Wave JS UI Full-featured Z-Wave control panel and MQTT gateway
FeatureESPHomeZ-Wave JS UI
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseGPL-3.0MIT
LanguageC++Vue
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 11,505★ 1,234
First released20182018
ReplacesSmartThingsSmartThings

Why pick each one

Choose ESPHome if…

  • No coding needed for devices
  • Great with Home Assistant
  • OTA updates
ESPHome details

Choose Z-Wave JS UI if…

  • Excellent Z-Wave support
  • Integrates with Home Assistant
Z-Wave JS UI details

Frequently asked questions

Is ESPHome or Z-Wave JS UI better?

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

Are ESPHome and Z-Wave JS UI free and open-source?

Yes. ESPHome is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Z-Wave JS UI under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run ESPHome and Z-Wave JS UI with Docker?

ESPHome: yes. Z-Wave JS UI: yes.

Related comparisons