Heimdall vs Homarr
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Heimdall
Simple application dashboard and launcher
VS
Homarr
Customizable dashboard for your self-hosted services
| Feature | Heimdall | Homarr |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 92 · Excellent | 89 · Excellent |
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 9,331 | ★ 4,778 |
| First released | 2017 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Heimdall | Heimdall |
What are Heimdall and Homarr?
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
Homarr
Homarr is a sleek, customizable dashboard that organizes links and widgets for your self-hosted services with deep integrations. It targets home labbers wanting a polished start page. It is deployed via Docker.
- Drag-and-drop layout editor
- Service status integrations
- Built-in widgets and search
- Theming support
Heimdall vs Homarr: key differences
Heimdall is written in PHP, while Homarr is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Heimdall versus Apache-2.0 for Homarr. Heimdall is the more established project (first released 2017), while Homarr arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose Heimdall if…
- Very simple to set up
- Clean look
- Low maintenance
Watch out for
- Limited widgets
- Slow development pace
Choose Homarr if…
- Beautiful modern UI
- Easy drag-and-drop config
- Good integrations
Watch out for
- Newer with evolving features
- Mostly single-dashboard focus
Frequently asked questions
Is Heimdall or Homarr 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 Heimdall and Homarr free and open-source?
Yes. Heimdall is licensed under MIT and Homarr under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Heimdall and Homarr with Docker?
Heimdall: yes. Homarr: yes.