Home Assistant vs Mozilla WebThings Gateway
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
Mozilla WebThings Gateway
Open gateway for the decentralized web of things
| Feature | Home Assistant | Mozilla WebThings Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 81 · Excellent |
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal, one-click | bare-metal, docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 91,123 | ★ 2,646 |
| First released | 2013 | 2018 |
| Replaces | SmartThings, Google Home | SmartThings, Google Home |
What are Home Assistant and Mozilla WebThings Gateway?
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
Mozilla WebThings Gateway
WebThings Gateway is an open-source gateway for monitoring and controlling smart home devices over the web using open standards. Originating at Mozilla, it now continues as a community project.
- Web of Things standards
- Add-on device support
- Rules engine
- Local web interface
Home Assistant vs Mozilla WebThings Gateway: key differences
Home Assistant is written in Python, while Mozilla WebThings Gateway is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Home Assistant versus MPL-2.0 for Mozilla WebThings Gateway. Mozilla WebThings Gateway 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 Mozilla WebThings Gateway arrived in 2018. Home Assistant has the considerably larger community, at 91,123 GitHub stars versus 2,646.
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 Mozilla WebThings Gateway if…
- Open standards-based
- Privacy-focused
Watch out for
- Smaller community after Mozilla
- Fewer integrations than HA
Frequently asked questions
Is Home Assistant or Mozilla WebThings Gateway 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 Mozilla WebThings Gateway free and open-source?
Yes. Home Assistant is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Mozilla WebThings Gateway under MPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Home Assistant and Mozilla WebThings Gateway with Docker?
Home Assistant: yes. Mozilla WebThings Gateway: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Home Assistant or Mozilla WebThings Gateway?
Mozilla WebThings Gateway 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.