evcc vs OpenHAB Cloud
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted home automation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
evcc
Solar-aware electric vehicle charging controller
VS
OpenHAB Cloud
Companion cloud service for remote openHAB access
| Feature | evcc | OpenHAB Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 75 · Good |
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | MIT | EPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,280 | ★ 306 |
| First released | 2019 | 2014 |
| Replaces | SmartThings | SmartThings |
What are evcc and OpenHAB Cloud?
evcc
evcc is an open-source EV charging controller that optimizes charging around solar production and electricity prices. It targets EV owners with solar or dynamic tariffs. It is deployed via Docker or a binary.
- Solar-optimized EV charging
- Dynamic tariff support
- Many wallbox integrations
- Home Assistant integration
OpenHAB Cloud
openHAB Cloud is the self-hostable companion service that provides remote access, notifications, and integrations for openHAB installations. It bridges local openHAB instances to external services securely.
- Remote openHAB access
- Push notifications
- IFTTT and voice integrations
- Self-hostable backend
evcc vs OpenHAB Cloud: key differences
Evcc is written in Go, while OpenHAB Cloud is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for evcc versus EPL-2.0 for OpenHAB Cloud. Evcc is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for OpenHAB Cloud. OpenHAB Cloud is the more established project (first released 2014), while evcc arrived in 2019. Evcc has the considerably larger community, at 7,280 GitHub stars versus 306.
Why pick each one
Choose evcc if…
- Maximizes solar self-use
- Wide hardware support
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Niche use case
- Requires compatible hardware
Choose OpenHAB Cloud if…
- Keeps data under your control
- Enables remote control
Watch out for
- Requires MongoDB
- Setup is involved
Frequently asked questions
Is evcc or OpenHAB Cloud better?
evcc is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider OpenHAB Cloud if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are evcc and OpenHAB Cloud free and open-source?
Yes. evcc is licensed under MIT and OpenHAB Cloud under EPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run evcc and OpenHAB Cloud with Docker?
evcc: yes. OpenHAB Cloud: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, evcc or OpenHAB Cloud?
evcc has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for OpenHAB Cloud. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.