Home Assistant vs Domoticz: Which to Self-Host?
Quick Verdict
Home Assistant is the better choice for most people. It has vastly more integrations, a more modern UI, better mobile apps, and a larger community. Domoticz wins only if you need an extremely lightweight system for a Raspberry Pi Zero or similarly constrained hardware, or if you prefer Lua/dzVents scripting for automations.
Overview
Home Assistant is the dominant open-source home automation platform. Written in Python, backed by Nabu Casa, with 2,000+ integrations and monthly releases. It’s the default recommendation for anyone starting with self-hosted smart home automation.
Domoticz is a lightweight, C++-based home automation system. It’s been around since 2012 and focuses on being resource-efficient. Domoticz supports Z-Wave, Zigbee, MQTT, and 433 MHz RF hardware, and uses a simple web UI with Lua-based scripting for automations.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Home Assistant | Domoticz |
|---|---|---|
| Integrations | 2,000+ | ~200 (hardware-focused) |
| UI | Lovelace dashboards (modern, customizable) | Basic web UI (functional, dated) |
| Mobile app | Native iOS/Android | Third-party apps only |
| Automation engine | Visual editor + YAML + Node-RED | Lua/dzVents scripts + Blockly |
| Language | Python | C++ |
| Resource usage | ~300 MB RAM idle | ~50 MB RAM idle |
| 433 MHz RF | Via RFXCOM integration | Native support |
| Zigbee | ZHA, Zigbee2MQTT | Via Zigbee2MQTT or hardware bridges |
| Z-Wave | Z-Wave JS (native) | Native support |
| MQTT | Native integration | Native support |
| Voice assistants | Assist (local) + Alexa/Google | Limited |
| Energy dashboard | Built-in | Via third-party scripts |
| API | REST + WebSocket | JSON API |
Installation Complexity
Home Assistant setup is straightforward with Docker. Single container, single volume mount, onboarding wizard handles the rest. Most integrations auto-discover devices on your network.
Domoticz is also simple to deploy — single container, minimal config. The Docker image is lightweight and starts fast. However, adding devices requires more manual configuration through the web UI: navigate to Setup > Hardware, add devices one by one, and configure each manually. There’s no auto-discovery for most device types.
Both are easy to get running. Home Assistant is easier to configure after initial setup.
Performance and Resource Usage
| Resource | Home Assistant | Domoticz |
|---|---|---|
| RAM (idle) | ~300 MB | ~50 MB |
| RAM (loaded) | 500-800 MB | 100-200 MB |
| CPU (idle) | Low | Very low |
| Startup time | 30-60 seconds | 5-10 seconds |
| Docker image size | ~1 GB | ~200 MB |
| Minimum hardware | Raspberry Pi 4 | Raspberry Pi Zero W |
Domoticz is dramatically lighter. It can run on hardware that Home Assistant can’t — a Raspberry Pi Zero, an old router with OpenWrt, or a NAS with minimal free resources. If you’re running on a Raspberry Pi 3 or newer, both work fine, and Home Assistant’s extra resource usage is worth the features.
Community and Support
Home Assistant has a massive community: 70,000+ GitHub stars, active forums, Discord, Reddit (r/homeassistant with 500K+ members), and a yearly conference. Documentation is excellent.
Domoticz has a smaller but dedicated community: ~3,500 GitHub stars, a reasonably active forum, and a wiki. Updates are less frequent. Finding solutions to specific problems can require digging through forum posts from several years ago.
Use Cases
Choose Home Assistant If…
- You want the widest device compatibility
- You prefer a modern, visual dashboard
- You want native mobile apps with push notifications
- You’re building a complex automation system
- You want an active community and frequent updates
- You need energy monitoring
- You have a Raspberry Pi 4 or better hardware
Choose Domoticz If…
- You’re running on very constrained hardware (Pi Zero, old NAS)
- You primarily use 433 MHz RF devices
- You prefer Lua scripting for automations
- You want the lightest possible system
- You have a simple setup (few device types, basic automations)
- You’re already familiar with Domoticz from years of use
Final Verdict
Home Assistant wins for most setups. The integration library is 10x larger, the UI is significantly more modern, the mobile apps are excellent, and the community ensures you’ll find help for almost any problem. The extra RAM usage (300 MB vs 50 MB) is irrelevant on any modern hardware.
Domoticz has a niche: ultra-lightweight deployments on minimal hardware. If you’re running a Pi Zero with a few 433 MHz sensors and just want to log temperatures, Domoticz does that with almost no resources. But for anything beyond basic monitoring, Home Assistant is the better platform.
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