ESPHomevsNode RED
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| ESPHome | Node RED | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 81/100 |
| Rank in category | #4 of 104 in Home Automation | #1 of 26 in Automation |
| GitHub stars | 11 978 | 23 791 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +256 | +106 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 46 | 21 |
| Latest release | 2026.10.1 · 27 Oct 2026 | 4.1.17 · 21 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | Other | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | C | JavaScript |
Which one should you pick?
Node RED scores 81/100 against 78/100 for ESPHome, so it is the safer default.
ESPHome ships more often: 46 stable releases in the past year, against 21 for Node RED.
If you want the quickest setup, Node RED is easier to run; ESPHome needs more configuration.
ESPHome is growing faster right now (+256 stars in 30 days).
ESPHome details →Node RED details →
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