OpenVoiceOS vs Rhasspy
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted home automation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Rhasspy
Archived
Offline, private voice assistant for home automation
| Feature | OpenVoiceOS | Rhasspy |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 70 · Good | 15 · At risk |
| Status | Actively maintained | Archived |
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Python | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 294 | ★ 2,746 |
| First released | 2020 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant | Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant |
What are OpenVoiceOS and Rhasspy?
OpenVoiceOS
OpenVoiceOS is an open-source voice AI platform, a community continuation of the Mycroft assistant, that runs locally on smart speakers and embedded devices. It handles skills, wake words, and dialog.
- Local voice assistant platform
- Skill plugin ecosystem
- Wake word and dialog handling
- Runs on embedded devices
Rhasspy
Rhasspy is an open-source, fully offline voice assistant toolkit that works with many home automation systems. It handles wake words, speech-to-text, and intent recognition entirely on local hardware.
- Fully offline voice control
- Wake word detection
- Multi-language intent handling
- Works with many platforms
OpenVoiceOS vs Rhasspy: key differences
The biggest difference is maintenance: Rhasspy's repository is archived and no longer developed, while OpenVoiceOS is actively maintained. OpenVoiceOS is written in Python, while Rhasspy is built with Shell. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for OpenVoiceOS versus MIT for Rhasspy. Rhasspy is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for OpenVoiceOS. Rhasspy has the considerably larger community, at 2,746 GitHub stars versus 294. Rhasspy lists first-class Docker deployment; OpenVoiceOS does not.
Why pick each one
Choose OpenVoiceOS if…
- Privacy-respecting voice AI
- Extensible with skills
Watch out for
- Complex setup
- Smaller skill catalog than Alexa
Choose Rhasspy if…
- Complete privacy
- No cloud dependency
Watch out for
- Complex to configure
- Recognition needs tuning
Frequently asked questions
Is OpenVoiceOS or Rhasspy better?
Neither is universally better. Rhasspy has the larger community; both share a hard setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are OpenVoiceOS and Rhasspy free and open-source?
Yes. OpenVoiceOS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Rhasspy under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenVoiceOS and Rhasspy with Docker?
OpenVoiceOS: check the project docs for container support. Rhasspy: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, OpenVoiceOS or Rhasspy?
Rhasspy has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for OpenVoiceOS. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.