OwnTracks Recorder vs ThingsBoard
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?
OwnTracks Recorder
Self-hosted store and access for location history
VS
ThingsBoard
Open-source IoT platform for device management and data
| Feature | OwnTracks Recorder | ThingsBoard |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,187 | ★ 22,200 |
| First released | 2015 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Google Location Sharing, Life360 | AWS IoT, Azure IoT |
Why pick each one
Choose OwnTracks Recorder if…
- Fully private location tracking
- Very lightweight
Frequently asked questions
Is OwnTracks Recorder or ThingsBoard better?
Neither is universally better. ThingsBoard has the larger community, while OwnTracks Recorder is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are OwnTracks Recorder and ThingsBoard free and open-source?
Yes. OwnTracks Recorder is licensed under GPL-2.0 and ThingsBoard under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OwnTracks Recorder and ThingsBoard with Docker?
OwnTracks Recorder: yes. ThingsBoard: yes.