SHSelfHostIndex

WLED vs LHA

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 LH LHA Light Home Automation application that is fully extensible using
FeatureWLEDLHA
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseMITMIT
LanguageC++Lua
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM16 MB512 MB
Deploymentbinary, sourcebare-metal
GitHub stars★ 18,518★ 13
First released20162025
ReplacesPhilips Hue—

Why pick each one

Choose WLED if…

  • Easy to flash and use
  • Vibrant effects
WLED details

Choose LHA if…

  • Released under the MIT license
  • Written in Lua
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
LHA details

Frequently asked questions

Is WLED or LHA better?

WLED is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider LHA if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are WLED and LHA free and open-source?

Yes. WLED is licensed under MIT and LHA under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run WLED and LHA with Docker?

WLED: check the project docs for container support. LHA: check the project docs for container support.

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