# ESPHome vs Node 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).

## Details

- [ESPHome](https://selfhost.directory/project/esphome) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/esphome.md)
- [Node RED](https://selfhost.directory/project/node-red) (markdown: https://selfhost.directory/project/node-red.md)

---
Source: https://selfhost.directory/compare/esphome-vs-node-red