SHSelfHostIndex

Zigbee2MQTT 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?
ZI Zigbee2MQTT Bridge Zigbee devices to MQTT without vendor hubs VS ZW Zwave-JS Server Small server wrapping the Z-Wave JS driver over WebSocket
FeatureZigbee2MQTTZwave-JS Server
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseGPL-3.0Apache-2.0
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, binary
GitHub stars★ 15,477★ 162
First released20182021
ReplacesSmartThingsSmartThings

Why pick each one

Choose Zigbee2MQTT if…

  • Frees devices from vendor hubs
  • Wide device support
  • Local control
Zigbee2MQTT details

Choose Zwave-JS Server if…

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Zigbee2MQTT or Zwave-JS Server better?

Neither is universally better. Zigbee2MQTT has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Zigbee2MQTT and Zwave-JS Server free and open-source?

Yes. Zigbee2MQTT is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Zwave-JS Server under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Zigbee2MQTT and Zwave-JS Server with Docker?

Zigbee2MQTT: yes. Zwave-JS Server: yes.

Related comparisons