HACS vs Bubble Card
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?
HACS
Community store for custom Home Assistant integrations and themes
VS
Bubble Card
Minimalist mobile-first card pack for Home Assistant
| Feature | HACS | Bubble Card |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Python | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,603 | ★ 4,481 |
| First released | 2019 | 2023 |
| Replaces | SmartThings community add-ons | SmartThings app |
Why pick each one
Choose HACS if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 7.6k GitHub stars
- Written in Python
Choose Bubble Card if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (4.5k GitHub stars)
- Written in JavaScript
Frequently asked questions
Is HACS or Bubble Card better?
Neither is universally better. HACS has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are HACS and Bubble Card free and open-source?
Yes. HACS is licensed under MIT and Bubble Card under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run HACS and Bubble Card with Docker?
HACS: check the project docs for container support. Bubble Card: check the project docs for container support.