ThingsBoard vs deCONZ
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?
ThingsBoard
Open-source IoT platform for device management and data
VS
deCONZ
Zigbee gateway software for ConBee and RaspBee
| Feature | ThingsBoard | deCONZ |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Java | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 22,200 | ★ 1,910 |
| First released | 2017 | 2017 |
| Replaces | AWS IoT, Azure IoT | Philips Hue Bridge |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is ThingsBoard or deCONZ better?
Neither is universally better. ThingsBoard has the larger community, while deCONZ is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are ThingsBoard and deCONZ free and open-source?
Yes. ThingsBoard is licensed under Apache-2.0 and deCONZ under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run ThingsBoard and deCONZ with Docker?
ThingsBoard: yes. deCONZ: yes.