SHSelfHostIndex

SmartApp Bridge 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?
SM SmartApp Bridge Self-hosted automation engine for IoT devices VS ZW Zwave-JS Server Small server wrapping the Z-Wave JS driver over WebSocket
FeatureSmartApp BridgeZwave-JS Server
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageJavaTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM512 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 2,061★ 162
First released20142021
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 Zwave-JS Server if…

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

Frequently asked questions

Is SmartApp Bridge or Zwave-JS Server 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 Zwave-JS Server free and open-source?

Yes. SmartApp Bridge 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 SmartApp Bridge and Zwave-JS Server with Docker?

SmartApp Bridge: yes. Zwave-JS Server: yes.

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