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Gladys Assistant vs Mozilla WebThings Gateway

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted home automation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
GL Gladys Assistant Privacy-first home automation platform for everyone VS MO Mozilla WebThings Gateway Open gateway for the decentralized web of things
FeatureGladys AssistantMozilla WebThings Gateway
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score88 · Excellent81 · Excellent
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseApache-2.0MPL-2.0
LanguageJavaScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metalbare-metal, docker
GitHub stars★ 3,201★ 2,646
First released20172018
ReplacesSmartThings, Google HomeSmartThings, Google Home

What are Gladys Assistant and Mozilla WebThings Gateway?

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

Read the full Gladys Assistant guide →

Mozilla WebThings Gateway

WebThings Gateway is an open-source gateway for monitoring and controlling smart home devices over the web using open standards. Originating at Mozilla, it now continues as a community project.

  • Web of Things standards
  • Add-on device support
  • Rules engine
  • Local web interface

Read the full Mozilla WebThings Gateway guide →

Gladys Assistant vs Mozilla WebThings Gateway: key differences

Gladys Assistant is written in JavaScript, while Mozilla WebThings Gateway is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Gladys Assistant versus MPL-2.0 for Mozilla WebThings Gateway.

Why pick each one

Choose Gladys Assistant if…

  • Strong privacy focus
  • Beginner-friendly

Watch out for

  • Smaller integration catalog
  • Less powerful automations than HA
Gladys Assistant details

Choose Mozilla WebThings Gateway if…

  • Open standards-based
  • Privacy-focused

Watch out for

  • Smaller community after Mozilla
  • Fewer integrations than HA
Mozilla WebThings Gateway details

Frequently asked questions

Is Gladys Assistant or Mozilla WebThings Gateway better?

Gladys Assistant is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Mozilla WebThings Gateway if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Gladys Assistant and Mozilla WebThings Gateway free and open-source?

Yes. Gladys Assistant is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mozilla WebThings Gateway under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Gladys Assistant and Mozilla WebThings Gateway with Docker?

Gladys Assistant: yes. Mozilla WebThings Gateway: yes.

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