# ESPHome vs Orca

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

| | ESPHome | Orca |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 78/100 | 91/100 ✓ |
| Rank in category | #4 of 104 in Home Automation | #1 of 209 in AI Agents |
| GitHub stars | 11 979 | 109 581 ✓ |
| Stars, last 30 days | +257 | +9 674 ✓ |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 46 ✓ | 17 |
| Latest release | 2026.10.1 · 27 Oct 2026 | v1.4.244 · 29 Oct 2026 ✓ |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy ✓ |
| Official Docker image | Yes ✓ | No |
| License | Other | MIT |
| Main language | C | Typescript |

## Which one should you pick?

Orca scores 91/100 against 78/100 for ESPHome, so it is the safer default.

ESPHome ships more often: 46 stable releases in the past year, against 17 for Orca.

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

Orca is growing faster right now (+9 674 stars in 30 days).

## Details

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

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