Flame vs Heimdall
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Flame | Heimdall |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 83 · Excellent | 92 · Excellent |
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | TypeScript | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,550 | ★ 9,330 |
| First released | 2021 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Heimdall | Heimdall |
What are Flame and Heimdall?
Flame
Flame is a minimalist, self-hosted start page for organizing applications and bookmarks with a clean interface. It targets users who want a fast, simple home page. It is deployed via Docker.
- Clean minimalist interface
- App and bookmark management
- Docker label integration
- Built-in weather widget
Heimdall
Heimdall is a simple dashboard for organizing all your web applications and links in one place with enhanced app tiles. It targets users who want an easy, no-frills start page. It is deployed via Docker.
- Simple app tile dashboard
- Enhanced tiles with live data
- Search bar integration
- Easy to use
Flame vs Heimdall: key differences
Flame is written in TypeScript, while Heimdall is built with PHP. Flame is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Heimdall. Heimdall is the more established project (first released 2017), while Flame arrived in 2021.
Why pick each one
Choose Flame if…
- Simple and fast
- Lightweight
- Easy to set up
Watch out for
- Few advanced features
- Limited active development
Choose Heimdall if…
- Very simple to set up
- Clean look
- Low maintenance
Watch out for
- Limited widgets
- Slow development pace
Frequently asked questions
Is Flame or Heimdall better?
Neither is universally better. Heimdall has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Flame and Heimdall free and open-source?
Yes. Flame is licensed under MIT and Heimdall under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Flame and Heimdall with Docker?
Flame: yes. Heimdall: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Flame or Heimdall?
Flame has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Heimdall. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.