SHSelfHostIndex

SmartApp Bridge vs Z-Wave JS UI

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?
SM SmartApp Bridge Self-hosted automation engine for IoT devices VS Z- Z-Wave JS UI Full-featured Z-Wave control panel and MQTT gateway
FeatureSmartApp BridgeZ-Wave JS UI
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageJavaVue
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 2,061★ 1,234
First released20142018
ReplacesSmartThingsSmartThings

Why pick each one

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

Choose Z-Wave JS UI if…

  • Excellent Z-Wave support
  • Integrates with Home Assistant
Z-Wave JS UI details

Frequently asked questions

Is SmartApp Bridge or Z-Wave JS UI better?

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

Are SmartApp Bridge and Z-Wave JS UI free and open-source?

Yes. SmartApp Bridge is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Z-Wave JS UI under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run SmartApp Bridge and Z-Wave JS UI with Docker?

SmartApp Bridge: yes. Z-Wave JS UI: yes.

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