WLED vs Gladys Assistant

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?
FeatureWLEDGladys Assistant
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseMITApache-2.0
LanguageC++JavaScript
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM16 MB512 MB
Deploymentbinary, sourcedocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 18,518★ 3,098
First released20162017
ReplacesPhilips HueSmartThings, Google Home

Why pick each one

Choose WLED if…

  • Easy to flash and use
  • Vibrant effects
WLED details

Choose Gladys Assistant if…

  • Strong privacy focus
  • Beginner-friendly
Gladys Assistant details

Frequently asked questions

Is WLED or Gladys Assistant 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 Gladys Assistant free and open-source?

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

Can I run WLED and Gladys Assistant with Docker?

WLED: check the project docs for container support. Gladys Assistant: yes.

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