SHSelfHostIndex

Home Assistant vs Home Assistant Companion

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 Open-source home automation that puts privacy first VS HO Home Assistant Companion Self-hosted backend pairing for Home Assistant mobile apps
FeatureHome AssistantHome Assistant Companion
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguagePythonKotlin
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM1,024 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, one-clicksource
GitHub stars★ 89,795★ 3,788
First released20132020
ReplacesSmartThings, Google HomeGoogle Home app

Why pick each one

Choose Home Assistant if…

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

Choose Home Assistant Companion if…

  • Turns phones into sensors
  • Tight HA integration
Home Assistant Companion details

Frequently asked questions

Is Home Assistant or Home Assistant Companion better?

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

Are Home Assistant and Home Assistant Companion free and open-source?

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

Can I run Home Assistant and Home Assistant Companion with Docker?

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

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