SHSelfHostIndex

ESPHome 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?
ES ESPHome Configure ESP devices with simple YAML VS ZW Zwave-JS Server Small server wrapping the Z-Wave JS driver over WebSocket
FeatureESPHomeZwave-JS Server
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseGPL-3.0Apache-2.0
LanguageC++TypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 11,505★ 162
First released20182021
ReplacesSmartThingsSmartThings

Why pick each one

Choose ESPHome if…

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

Choose Zwave-JS Server if…

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

Frequently asked questions

Is ESPHome or Zwave-JS Server 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 Zwave-JS Server free and open-source?

Yes. ESPHome is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Zwave-JS Server under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run ESPHome and Zwave-JS Server with Docker?

ESPHome: yes. Zwave-JS Server: yes.

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