# ESPHome vs Neko

> Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.

| | ESPHome | Neko |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 ✓ | 77/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 104 in Home Automation | #3 of 22 in Remote Desktop |
| GitHub stars | 11 978 | 22 559 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +256 ✓ | +179 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 46 ✓ | 4 |
| Latest release | 2026.10.1 · 27 Oct 2026 ✓ | v3.2.0 · 15 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate ✓ | Advanced |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | C | Go |

## Which one should you pick?

ESPHome scores 78/100 against 77/100 for Neko, so it is the safer default.

ESPHome ships more often: 46 stable releases in the past year, against 4 for Neko.

If you want the quickest setup, ESPHome is easier to run; Neko needs more configuration.

## Details

- [ESPHome](https://selfhost.directory/project/esphome) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/esphome.md)
- [Neko](https://selfhost.directory/project/neko) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/neko.md)

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Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/esphome-vs-neko