Homepage vs Homer
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted dashboards & startpages options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Homepage
Fast, file-configured application dashboard
VS
Homer
Static, fast and simple service dashboard
| Feature | Homepage | Homer |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | ≈5-minute setup | ≈5-minute setup |
| Health score | 98 · Excellent | 93 · Excellent |
| Category | Dashboards & Startpages | Dashboards & Startpages |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Vue |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 32,822 | ★ 11,617 |
| First released | 2022 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Heimdall | Heimdall |
What are Homepage and Homer?
Homepage
Homepage is a highly customizable application dashboard configured via YAML files, with Docker and service integrations. It targets users who like config-as-code start pages. It is deployed via Docker.
- YAML-based configuration
- Docker auto-discovery
- Hundreds of service widgets
- Very fast and lightweight
Homer
Homer is a very simple static dashboard for your services, configured with a single YAML file and served as static assets. It targets users wanting the lightest possible start page. It is deployed via Docker or any static host.
- Single YAML configuration
- Pure static, no backend
- Themes and search
- Tiny resource use
Homepage vs Homer: key differences
Homepage is written in JavaScript, while Homer is built with Vue. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Homepage versus Apache-2.0 for Homer. Homer is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Homepage. Homer is the more established project (first released 2019), while Homepage arrived in 2022. Homepage has the considerably larger community, at 32,822 GitHub stars versus 11,617.
Why pick each one
Choose Homepage if…
- Config as code
- Lightweight and fast
- Tons of widgets
Watch out for
- No web-based editing
- Editing YAML can intimidate
Choose Homer if…
- Extremely lightweight
- Trivial to host
- Fast
Watch out for
- No dynamic widgets
- Manual config edits
Frequently asked questions
Is Homepage or Homer better?
Neither is universally better. Homepage has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Homepage and Homer free and open-source?
Yes. Homepage is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Homer under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Homepage and Homer with Docker?
Homepage: yes. Homer: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Homepage or Homer?
Homer has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Homepage. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.