SHSelfHostIndex

Home Assistant vs SmartIR

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 SM SmartIR Climate, TV, and fan control via IR controllers
FeatureHome AssistantSmartIR
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguagePythonPython
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM1,024 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metal, one-clicksource
GitHub stars★ 89,795★ 236
First released20132018
ReplacesSmartThings, Google HomeSensibo

Why pick each one

Choose Home Assistant if…

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

Choose SmartIR if…

  • Makes dumb appliances smart
  • Big device library
SmartIR details

Frequently asked questions

Is Home Assistant or SmartIR better?

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

Are Home Assistant and SmartIR free and open-source?

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

Can I run Home Assistant and SmartIR with Docker?

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

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