SHSelfHostIndex

WLED vs Home Assistant Companion

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?
WL WLED Firmware for controlling addressable LED strips VS HO Home Assistant Companion Self-hosted backend pairing for Home Assistant mobile apps
FeatureWLEDHome Assistant Companion
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageC++Kotlin
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM16 MB64 MB
Deploymentbinary, sourcesource
GitHub stars★ 18,518★ 3,788
First released20162020
ReplacesPhilips HueGoogle Home app

Why pick each one

Choose WLED if…

  • Easy to flash and use
  • Vibrant effects
WLED details

Choose Home Assistant Companion if…

  • Turns phones into sensors
  • Tight HA integration
Home Assistant Companion details

Frequently asked questions

Is WLED or Home Assistant Companion 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 Home Assistant Companion free and open-source?

Yes. WLED is licensed under MIT and Home Assistant Companion under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run WLED and Home Assistant Companion with Docker?

WLED: check the project docs for container support. Home Assistant Companion: check the project docs for container support.

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