Best self-hosted Internet of Things (IoT) apps

Internet of Things describes physical objects with sensors, processing ability, software, and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices over the Internet.

19 open source Internet of Things (IoT) tools you host on your own server — with full control of your data and no per-user cost.

Home Assistant

★ 87,925

Home Assistant is the most popular open source home automation hub, integrating thousands of smart-home devices into a single dashboard. It runs locally, so your automations keep working without internet and your data stays off any vendor cloud.

Internet of Things (IoT) Apache-2.0

Tasmota

★ 24,501

Open source firmware for ESP devices. Total local control with quick setup and updates. Control using MQTT, Web UI, HTTP or serial. Automate using timers, rules or scripts. Integration with home automation solutions.

Internet of Things (IoT) GPL-3.0

Node RED

★ 23,340

Browser-based flow editor that helps you wiring hardware devices, APIs and online services to create IoT solutions.

Internet of Things (IoT) Apache-2.0

Thingsboard

★ 21,931

Open-source IoT Platform - Device management, data collection, processing and visualization.

Internet of Things (IoT) Apache-2.0

EMQX

★ 16,422

Scalable MQTT broker. Connect 100M+ IoT devices in one single cluster, move and process real-time IoT data with 1M msg/s throughput at 1ms latency.

Internet of Things (IoT) Apache-2.0

evcc

★ 6,854

Extensible Electric Vehicle Charge Controller and home energy management system.

Internet of Things (IoT) MIT

Domoticz

★ 3,785

Home Automation System that lets you monitor and configure various devices like: Lights, Switches, various sensors/meters like Temperature, Rain, Wind, UV, Electra, Gas, Water and much more.

Internet of Things (IoT) GPL-3.0

Gladys

★ 3,066

Privacy-first home assistant.

Internet of Things (IoT) Apache-2.0

WebThings Gateway

★ 2,638

WebThings is an open source implementation of the Web of Things, including the WebThings Gateway and the WebThings Framework.

Internet of Things (IoT) MPL-2.0

OpenRemote

★ 1,782

IoT Asset management, Flow Rules and WHEN-THEN rules, Data visualization, Edge Gateway.

Internet of Things (IoT) AGPL-3.0

ioBroker

★ 1,372

Integration platform for the Internet of Things, focused on building automation, smart metering, ambient assisted living, process automation, visualization and data logging.

Internet of Things (IoT) MIT

openHAB

★ 1,123

Vendor and technology agnostic open source software for home automation.

Internet of Things (IoT) EPL-2.0

SIP Irrigation Control

★ 416

Open source software for sprinkler/irrigation control.

Internet of Things (IoT) GPL-3.0

FlowForge

★ 391

Deploy Node-RED applications in a reliable, scalable and secure manner. The FlowForge platform provides DevOps capabilities for Node-RED development teams.

Internet of Things (IoT) Apache-2.0

FMD Server

★ 204

A server to communicate with the FMD (Find My Device) Android app, to locate and control your devices.

Internet of Things (IoT)Remote Access GPL-3.0

SOLECTRUS

★ 157

Photovoltaic dashboard that displays energy production and consumption with cost and savings calculations.

Internet of Things (IoT) AGPL-3.0

LHA

★ 12

Light Home Automation application that is fully extensible using Blockly, HTML or Lua. It includes extensions such as ConBee, Philips Hue or Z-Wave JS.

Internet of Things (IoT) MIT

Onloc

★ 8

Track and share your location in real time. Control and lock stolen or lost phones.

Internet of Things (IoT)Remote Access AGPL-3.0

FHEM

Automate common tasks in the household like switching lamps and heating. It can also be used to log events like temperature or power consumption. You can control it via web or smartphone frontends, telnet or TCP/IP directly.

Internet of Things (IoT) GPL-3.0

Frequently asked questions

What are the best self-hosted Internet of Things (IoT) tools?

Among the 19 options, the most popular include Home Assistant, Tasmota, Node RED. Compare license, platform and popularity in the list below.

Is there a free open source alternative for Internet of Things (IoT)?

Yes — all 19 tools on this page are open source and you run them on your own server, with no monthly fee.

Where can I host a Internet of Things (IoT) app?

On a home server (homelab) or a cheap VPS from ~€4/mo. See the suggestions on this page.