SHSelfHostIndex

Home Assistant Operating System vs Home Assistant

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?
HO Home Assistant Operating System Embedded operating system optimized for Home Assistant VS HO Home Assistant Open-source home automation that puts privacy first
FeatureHome Assistant Operating SystemHome Assistant
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguagePythonPython
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentone-click, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal, one-click
GitHub stars★ 7,390★ 89,795
First released20192013
ReplacesSmartThings, HubitatSmartThings, Google Home

Why pick each one

Choose Home Assistant Operating System if…

  • Easiest full-featured HA install
  • Managed add-ons
Home Assistant Operating System details

Choose Home Assistant if…

  • Huge device support
  • Local control and privacy
  • Very active community
Home Assistant details

Frequently asked questions

Is Home Assistant Operating System or Home Assistant better?

Neither is universally better. Home Assistant has the larger community, while Home Assistant Operating System is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Home Assistant Operating System and Home Assistant free and open-source?

Yes. Home Assistant Operating System is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Home Assistant under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Home Assistant Operating System and Home Assistant with Docker?

Home Assistant Operating System: check the project docs for container support. Home Assistant: yes.

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