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Mozilla WebThings Gateway vs SmartApp Bridge

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?
MO Mozilla WebThings Gateway Open gateway for the decentralized web of things VS SM SmartApp Bridge Self-hosted automation engine for IoT devices
FeatureMozilla WebThings GatewaySmartApp Bridge
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score81 · Excellent82 · Excellent
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseMPL-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptJava
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, dockerdocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 2,646★ 2,066
First released20182014
ReplacesSmartThings, Google HomeSmartThings

What are Mozilla WebThings Gateway and SmartApp Bridge?

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

Read the full Mozilla WebThings Gateway guide →

SmartApp Bridge

A self-hosted automation engine that connects IoT devices and runs event-driven rules across protocols. It targets users who want a lightweight alternative to large home automation hubs.

  • Event-driven rules
  • Multi-protocol IoT
  • Lightweight runtime
  • Large add-on catalog

Mozilla WebThings Gateway vs SmartApp Bridge: key differences

Mozilla WebThings Gateway is written in TypeScript, while SmartApp Bridge is built with Java. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Mozilla WebThings Gateway versus Apache-2.0 for SmartApp Bridge. SmartApp Bridge is the more established project (first released 2014), while Mozilla WebThings Gateway arrived in 2018.

Why pick each one

Choose Mozilla WebThings Gateway if…

  • Open standards-based
  • Privacy-focused

Watch out for

  • Smaller community after Mozilla
  • Fewer integrations than HA
Mozilla WebThings Gateway details

Choose SmartApp Bridge if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2.1k GitHub stars)
  • Written in Java
SmartApp Bridge details

Frequently asked questions

Is Mozilla WebThings Gateway or SmartApp Bridge better?

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

Are Mozilla WebThings Gateway and SmartApp Bridge free and open-source?

Yes. Mozilla WebThings Gateway is licensed under MPL-2.0 and SmartApp Bridge under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Mozilla WebThings Gateway and SmartApp Bridge with Docker?

Mozilla WebThings Gateway: yes. SmartApp Bridge: yes.

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