FHEM 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.
FHEM
Perl-based server for home automation tasks
VS
Gladys Assistant
Privacy-first home automation platform for everyone
| Feature | FHEM | Gladys Assistant |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 62 · Good | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Perl | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 22 | ★ 3,201 |
| First released | 2005 | 2017 |
| Replaces | SmartThings | SmartThings, Google Home |
What are FHEM and Gladys Assistant?
FHEM
FHEM is a long-standing, GPL-licensed server for home automation used to control lights, heating, alarms, and many other devices. It supports a vast range of protocols through community modules.
- Vast protocol support
- Community module library
- Lightweight Perl server
- Long-term reliability
Gladys Assistant
Gladys Assistant is a privacy-first, open-source home automation program that runs locally on your hardware. It controls smart devices, scenes, and schedules through a clean web and mobile interface.
- Runs fully locally
- Device, scene, and schedule control
- Clean web and mobile UI
- Energy monitoring
FHEM vs Gladys Assistant: key differences
FHEM is written in Perl, while Gladys Assistant is built with JavaScript. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for FHEM versus Apache-2.0 for Gladys Assistant. FHEM is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Gladys Assistant. FHEM is the more established project (first released 2005), while Gladys Assistant arrived in 2017. Gladys Assistant has the considerably larger community, at 3,201 GitHub stars versus 22.
Why pick each one
Choose FHEM if…
- Extremely mature
- Runs on modest hardware
Watch out for
- Dated, technical interface
- Configuration is arcane
Choose Gladys Assistant if…
- Strong privacy focus
- Beginner-friendly
Watch out for
- Smaller integration catalog
- Less powerful automations than HA
Frequently asked questions
Is FHEM or Gladys Assistant better?
Gladys Assistant is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider FHEM if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are FHEM and Gladys Assistant free and open-source?
Yes. FHEM is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Gladys Assistant under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run FHEM and Gladys Assistant with Docker?
FHEM: yes. Gladys Assistant: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, FHEM or Gladys Assistant?
FHEM has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Gladys Assistant. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.