Gladys Assistant vs Pimatic
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted home automation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Gladys Assistant | Pimatic |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 88 · Excellent | 11 · At risk |
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | CoffeeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | bare-metal, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,201 | ★ 598 |
| First released | 2017 | 2013 |
| Replaces | SmartThings, Google Home | SmartThings |
What are Gladys Assistant and Pimatic?
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
Pimatic
Pimatic is an open-source home automation framework built on Node.js that runs on low-power devices such as the Raspberry Pi. Plugins add device support, and a rule engine plus a mobile-friendly web UI handle control and automation.
- Plugin-based device support
- Rule engine
- Mobile-friendly web UI
- Runs on Raspberry Pi
Gladys Assistant vs Pimatic: key differences
Gladys Assistant is written in JavaScript, while Pimatic is built with CoffeeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Gladys Assistant versus GPL-2.0 for Pimatic. Pimatic is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Gladys Assistant. Pimatic is the more established project (first released 2013), while Gladys Assistant arrived in 2017. Gladys Assistant has the considerably larger community, at 3,201 GitHub stars versus 598. Gladys Assistant lists first-class Docker deployment; Pimatic does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Gladys Assistant if…
- Strong privacy focus
- Beginner-friendly
Watch out for
- Smaller integration catalog
- Less powerful automations than HA
Choose Pimatic if…
- Lightweight
- Simple rule system
Watch out for
- Development has slowed
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Gladys Assistant or Pimatic better?
Gladys Assistant is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Pimatic if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Gladys Assistant and Pimatic free and open-source?
Yes. Gladys Assistant is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Pimatic under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Gladys Assistant and Pimatic with Docker?
Gladys Assistant: yes. Pimatic: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, Gladys Assistant or Pimatic?
Pimatic 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.