# Alternatives to Homebridge Bring anything into Apple HomeKit. Homebridge ranks #5 of 8 in Home automation, with an Alt Score of 68. It is licensed under Apache-2.0, free from Free and available on Windows, macOS and Linux. 7 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source. Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/homebridge/ Category: Home automation ## Overview - **Who it's for**: Homebridge is for people with smart home devices that lack native Apple HomeKit support and want to control them via Siri and the Home app anyway. It suits hobbyists comfortable running a small server (e.g., on a Raspberry Pi) rather than non-technical users. - **What you get**: Homebridge emulates the HomeKit Accessory Protocol (HAP), letting non-HomeKit accessories appear as regular HomeKit devices. A large ecosystem of community-built plugins translates each manufacturer's proprietary API into HomeKit-compatible commands, covering lights, locks, thermostats, cameras, and more. As of version 2, it also supports the Matter protocol, letting bridged accessories work across other smart home ecosystems too. - **How it works**: You install Homebridge as a Node.js server on your home network (Raspberry Pi, Linux, macOS, Windows, or Docker), then add plugins for your specific devices. You pair it with the iOS Home app by scanning a generated QR code, after which the devices show up and can be controlled like native HomeKit accessories. ## Profile - **License**: Apache-2.0 (verified 2026-07-10) - **Pricing model**: Free (verified 2026-07-10) - **Starts at**: Free (verified 2026-07-10) - **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux - **Status**: active (verified 2026-07-10) ## Ranked alternatives | # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms | |---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------| | 1 | [Domoticz](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/domoticz.md) | 100 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, Linux, iOS, Android | | 2 | [Home Assistant](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/home-assistant.md) | 100 | Apache-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 3 | [ESPHome](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/esphome.md) | 86 | GPL-3.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 4 | [SmartThings](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/smartthings.md) | 73 | Proprietary | Windows, iOS, Android | | 5 | [openHAB](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/openhab.md) | 64 | EPL-2.0 | Windows, macOS, Linux | | 6 | [Scrypted](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/scrypted.md) | 64 | ISC | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS | | 7 | [Frigate](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/frigate.md) | 46 | MIT | Linux, Web | Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/ ## Feature comparison Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified). | Home automation checklist | Homebridge | Domoticz | Home Assistant | ESPHome | SmartThings | openHAB | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Pricing model | Free | Free | Free | Free | ? | Free | | Starts at | Free | Free | Free | Free | ? | Free | | License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary | EPL-2.0 | | Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, Linux, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows, iOS, Android | Windows, macOS, Linux | | Local-first (no cloud required) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | | Device / integration count | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | | Automation engine | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Voice assistant integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | | Matter / Thread support | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | ? | | Energy monitoring | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | | Dashboards | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | | Mobile app | ? | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | Yes | | Open source | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | | Runs on Raspberry Pi | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes | ## Sources Sources for Homebridge. Each alternative is sourced on its own page. - **License**: Apache-2.0 — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Apache License” - **Starts at**: Free — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Homebridge is maintained on a volunteer basis by a community of contributors. There is no company behind it, nothing is sold” - **Pricing model**: Free — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Homebridge is a free, non-commercial, community-driven open-source project” - **Platforms**: Windows, macOS, Linux — (verified 2026-07-10) - Note: Windows and Linux (incl. official Raspberry Pi image) install guides also documented. - Quote: “This guide provides instructions for installing Homebridge on macOS as a service that will automatically start on boot.” - **Status**: active — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “v2.1.0 Latest” - **Local-first (no cloud required)**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “lightweight Node.js server you can run on your home network to emulate the HomeKit Accessory Protocol (HAP)” - **Device / integration count**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Note: Community plugin ecosystem (700+ plugins). - Quote: “Here are 719 public repositories matching this topic” - **Voice assistant integration**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Since Siri supports devices added through HomeKit, this means that with Homebridge you can ask Siri to control devices that don't have any support for HomeKit at all” - **Matter / Thread support**: Partial — (verified 2026-07-10) - Note: Matter is optional/plugin-dependent; no Thread. - Quote: “Homebridge v2 introduces optional support for the Matter smart home standard, allowing plugins to expose their devices to any Matter-capable controller” - **Dashboards**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Monitor your Homebridge server via a fully customisable widget-based dashboard” - **Open source**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Homebridge is a free, non-commercial, community-driven open-source project” - **Runs on Raspberry Pi**: Yes — (verified 2026-07-10) - Quote: “Official Homebridge Raspberry Pi Image” --- Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/