Home Assistant vs Home Assistant Supervisor
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted home automation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Home Assistant
Open-source home automation that puts privacy first
VS
Home Assistant Supervisor
Manages the Home Assistant add-on ecosystem
| Feature | Home Assistant | Home Assistant Supervisor |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 86 · Excellent |
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, one-click | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 91,123 | ★ 2,226 |
| First released | 2013 | 2017 |
| Replaces | SmartThings, Google Home | SmartThings |
What are Home Assistant and Home Assistant Supervisor?
Home Assistant
Home Assistant is an open-source home automation platform that integrates thousands of smart devices and runs automations locally. It targets anyone wanting private, vendor-neutral smart home control. It is deployed as an OS image, Docker, or supervised install.
- Integrates thousands of devices
- Local-first automations
- Add-on ecosystem
- Powerful dashboards
Home Assistant Supervisor
Home Assistant Supervisor is the component that manages the Home Assistant Core installation, add-ons, backups, and updates. It enables the add-on store that extends a Home Assistant system.
- Add-on store management
- Automated backups
- Update orchestration
- System health checks
Home Assistant vs Home Assistant Supervisor: key differences
Both projects are written in Python. Home Assistant Supervisor is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Home Assistant. Home Assistant is the more established project (first released 2013), while Home Assistant Supervisor arrived in 2017. Home Assistant has the considerably larger community, at 91,123 GitHub stars versus 2,226.
Why pick each one
Choose Home Assistant if…
- Huge device support
- Local control and privacy
- Very active community
Watch out for
- Learning curve for automations
- Occasional breaking updates
Choose Home Assistant Supervisor if…
- Enables one-click add-ons
- Simplifies maintenance
Watch out for
- Tied to supervised installs
- Not standalone
Frequently asked questions
Is Home Assistant or Home Assistant Supervisor better?
Neither is universally better. Home Assistant has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Home Assistant and Home Assistant Supervisor free and open-source?
Yes. Home Assistant is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Home Assistant Supervisor under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Home Assistant and Home Assistant Supervisor with Docker?
Home Assistant: yes. Home Assistant Supervisor: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Home Assistant or Home Assistant Supervisor?
Home Assistant Supervisor has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Home Assistant. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.