evcc vs Zigbee2MQTT
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
Zigbee2MQTT
Bridge Zigbee devices to MQTT without vendor hubs
| Feature | evcc | Zigbee2MQTT |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 95 · Excellent |
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,283 | ★ 15,661 |
| First released | 2019 | 2018 |
| Replaces | SmartThings | SmartThings |
What are evcc and Zigbee2MQTT?
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
Zigbee2MQTT
Zigbee2MQTT bridges Zigbee devices to MQTT, allowing them to be used without proprietary vendor hubs or bridges. It targets smart home users wanting vendor-neutral Zigbee control. It is deployed via Docker.
- Supports thousands of Zigbee devices
- No vendor hub required
- MQTT integration
- Web-based control panel
evcc vs Zigbee2MQTT: key differences
Evcc is written in Go, while Zigbee2MQTT is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for evcc versus GPL-3.0 for Zigbee2MQTT. Zigbee2MQTT has the considerably larger community, at 15,661 GitHub stars versus 7,283.
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 Zigbee2MQTT if…
- Frees devices from vendor hubs
- Wide device support
- Local control
Watch out for
- Needs a Zigbee coordinator
- Pairing can be finicky
Frequently asked questions
Is evcc or Zigbee2MQTT better?
Neither is universally better. Zigbee2MQTT has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are evcc and Zigbee2MQTT free and open-source?
Yes. evcc is licensed under MIT and Zigbee2MQTT under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run evcc and Zigbee2MQTT with Docker?
evcc: yes. Zigbee2MQTT: yes.