Home Assistant
Home automation platform.
Home Assistant vs Node RED
Two self-hosted Internet of Things (IoT) apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| Home Assistant | Node RED | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Home automation platform. | Browser-based flow editor that helps you wiring hardware devices, APIs and online services to create IoT solutions. |
| GitHub stars | 92,296 | 23,826 |
| Forks | 39.3k | – |
| Open issues (incl. PRs) | 4k | – |
| Commits (12 months) | 21.9k | 813 |
| Last activity | 2026-11-10 | 2026-11-09 |
| Latest release | 2026.11.1 (2026-11-09) | 5.0.9 (2026-10-21) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language / platform | Python, Docker | Nodejs, Docker |
| Docker Hub image | – | – |
| Docker pulls | – | – |
| Est. server size | ~2 GB, 1 vCPU | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $10/mo | $5/mo |
| Categories | Internet of Things (IoT) | Internet of Things (IoT) |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- Home Assistant is more popular on GitHub: 92.3k stars vs 23.8k for Node RED.
- Home Assistant had more commits in the last 12 months (21,865 vs 813).
- Home Assistant published a release more recently (2026.11.1 on 2026-11-09; Node RED's latest is 5.0.9 on 2026-10-21).
- Both are licensed under Apache-2.0.
- Home Assistant is written in Python; Node RED in Nodejs.
- Deployment options listed upstream: Home Assistant: Docker; Node RED: Docker.
- Our rough hardware estimate is lighter for Node RED (~1 GB server) than Home Assistant (~2 GB); this is an estimate from the stack and category, not a benchmark.
Summary: Home Assistant leads on GitHub popularity and commit activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.
This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-15. It does not rate features or quality.
Frequently asked questions
Is Home Assistant or Node RED more popular?
Home Assistant has more GitHub stars (92,296 vs 23,826 for Node RED, as of 2026-11-15). Stars measure interest, not quality.
Which is more actively maintained, Home Assistant or Node RED?
Home Assistant had more commits over the last 12 months (21,865 vs 813). The last recorded activity was 2026-11-10 for Home Assistant and 2026-11-09 for Node RED. Releases in the past year: Home Assistant 10+, Node RED 10+. Our health labels: Home Assistant is “Active”, Node RED is “Active”.
What licenses do Home Assistant and Node RED use?
Both use Apache-2.0.
Can I run Home Assistant and Node RED with Docker?
We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. The upstream listing mentions Docker as a deployment option for Home Assistant and Node RED. Check each project's documentation for install options.
Read more
Node RED
Browser-based flow editor that helps you wiring hardware devices, APIs and online services to create IoT solutions.
Browse all self-hosted Internet of Things (IoT) apps.