evcc vs Z-Wave JS UI
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
Z-Wave JS UI
Full-featured Z-Wave control panel and MQTT gateway
| Feature | evcc | Z-Wave JS UI |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 83 · Excellent |
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Go | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,283 | ★ 1,239 |
| First released | 2019 | 2018 |
| Replaces | SmartThings | SmartThings |
What are evcc and Z-Wave JS UI?
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
Z-Wave JS UI
Z-Wave JS UI is a web interface and MQTT gateway built on the Z-Wave JS driver for managing Z-Wave networks. It exposes devices to home automation platforms and provides a control panel for configuration.
- Z-Wave network management
- MQTT gateway
- Web control panel
- Firmware update support
evcc vs Z-Wave JS UI: key differences
Evcc is written in Go, while Z-Wave JS UI is built with Vue. Evcc has the considerably larger community, at 7,283 GitHub stars versus 1,239.
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 Z-Wave JS UI if…
- Excellent Z-Wave support
- Integrates with Home Assistant
Watch out for
- Requires a Z-Wave controller
- Z-Wave only
Frequently asked questions
Is evcc or Z-Wave JS UI better?
Neither is universally better. evcc has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are evcc and Z-Wave JS UI free and open-source?
Yes. evcc is licensed under MIT and Z-Wave JS UI under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run evcc and Z-Wave JS UI with Docker?
evcc: yes. Z-Wave JS UI: yes.