SHSelfHostIndex

Mozilla WebThings Gateway vs Scrypted

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 Scrypted High-performance smart home and camera platform
FeatureMozilla WebThings GatewayScrypted
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score81 · Excellent90 · Excellent
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseMPL-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB1,024 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, dockerdocker
GitHub stars★ 2,646★ 5,975
First released20182021
ReplacesSmartThings, Google HomeGoogle Home

What are Mozilla WebThings Gateway and Scrypted?

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 →

Scrypted

Scrypted is a high-performance home video integration and automation platform that unifies cameras across ecosystems. It targets users bridging cameras to HomeKit, Google, and Alexa. It is deployed via Docker.

  • Unifies cameras across ecosystems
  • HomeKit Secure Video support
  • Hardware-accelerated processing
  • Plugin architecture

Read the full Scrypted guide →

Mozilla WebThings Gateway vs Scrypted: key differences

Both projects are written in TypeScript. Licensing differs — MPL-2.0 for Mozilla WebThings Gateway versus Apache-2.0 for Scrypted. Mozilla WebThings Gateway is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Scrypted. Mozilla WebThings Gateway is the more established project (first released 2018), while Scrypted arrived in 2021. Scrypted has the considerably larger community, at 5,975 GitHub stars versus 2,646.

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 Scrypted if…

  • Excellent camera integration
  • Cross-ecosystem
  • Fast

Watch out for

  • Camera-focused
  • Setup takes effort
Scrypted details

Frequently asked questions

Is Mozilla WebThings Gateway or Scrypted better?

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

Are Mozilla WebThings Gateway and Scrypted free and open-source?

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

Can I run Mozilla WebThings Gateway and Scrypted with Docker?

Mozilla WebThings Gateway: yes. Scrypted: yes.

Which is lighter on resources, Mozilla WebThings Gateway or Scrypted?

Mozilla WebThings Gateway has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Scrypted. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.

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