WLED vs HACS
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?
WLED
Firmware for controlling addressable LED strips
VS
HACS
Community store for custom Home Assistant integrations and themes
| Feature | WLED | HACS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | C++ | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 16 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 18,518 | ★ 7,603 |
| First released | 2016 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Philips Hue | SmartThings community add-ons |
Why pick each one
Choose HACS if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 7.6k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Frequently asked questions
Is WLED or HACS better?
Neither is universally better. WLED has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are WLED and HACS free and open-source?
Yes. WLED is licensed under MIT and HACS under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run WLED and HACS with Docker?
WLED: check the project docs for container support. HACS: check the project docs for container support.