SHSelfHostIndex

AppDaemon vs Zwave-JS Server

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?
AP AppDaemon Python apps and automation framework for Home Assistant VS ZW Zwave-JS Server Small server wrapping the Z-Wave JS driver over WebSocket
FeatureAppDaemonZwave-JS Server
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguagePythonTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 962★ 162
First released20162021
ReplacesSmartThingsSmartThings

Why pick each one

Choose AppDaemon if…

  • Powerful programmatic automations
  • Full Python flexibility
AppDaemon details

Choose Zwave-JS Server if…

  • Decouples driver from clients
  • Reliable
Zwave-JS Server details

Frequently asked questions

Is AppDaemon or Zwave-JS Server better?

Neither is universally better. AppDaemon has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are AppDaemon and Zwave-JS Server free and open-source?

Yes. AppDaemon is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Zwave-JS Server under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run AppDaemon and Zwave-JS Server with Docker?

AppDaemon: yes. Zwave-JS Server: yes.

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