Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

FHEM VS LibreELEC

Compare FHEM VS LibreELEC and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

FHEM logo FHEM

FHEM (TM) is a GPL'd perl server for house automation.

LibreELEC logo LibreELEC

LibreELEC is ‘Just enough OS’ for Kodi, a Linux distribution built to run Kodi on current and...
  • FHEM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-10-28
  • LibreELEC Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-10-06

FHEM features and specs

  • Device Support
    FHEM supports a wide range of devices and protocols, making it versatile and useful for integrating various smart home products.
  • Open Source
    Being open source, FHEM allows users to modify and extend the software, fostering a community of developers who can contribute to its continuous improvement.
  • Customization
    Users can extensively customize FHEM based on their needs, allowing for personalized home automation setups that fit anyone's specific requirements.
  • Community Support
    There is a dedicated community around FHEM, offering forums and resources where users can seek help, share ideas, and find tutorials.
  • Platform Independence
    FHEM can be run on various operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS, providing flexibility in deployment.

Possible disadvantages of FHEM

  • Complexity
    FHEM has a steep learning curve and may require a significant amount of time to understand and configure, especially for beginners.
  • Interface
    The user interface of FHEM is considered outdated and not as intuitive or visually appealing as other modern smart home solutions.
  • Documentation
    While documentation exists, it is sometimes fragmented or lacks comprehensive guides, making it challenging for new users to get started.
  • Maintenance
    Being a community-driven project, there might be delays in updates or support for new devices compared to commercial solutions.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running FHEM can be resource-intensive, potentially requiring powerful hardware for optimal performance with large or complex setups.

LibreELEC features and specs

  • Lightweight
    LibreELEC is a minimalistic, lightweight Linux-based operating system specifically built for running the Kodi media center, which means it is optimized for performance and consumes fewer system resources.
  • Easy Installation
    The installation process is straightforward and user-friendly, designed to get you up and running with minimal hassle.
  • Optimized for Kodi
    Since LibreELEC is designed expressly for Kodi, it offers better performance and stability for this media center compared to more general-purpose operating systems.
  • Wide Hardware Support
    LibreELEC supports a broad range of hardware platforms, including the Raspberry Pi, x86 PCs, and various ARM devices, providing flexibility in terms of device compatibility.
  • Automatic Updates
    The system includes automatic updates, ensuring that users always have the latest features and security patches without manual intervention.
  • Community Support
    LibreELEC has a vibrant community that provides support, plugins, and additional features, making it easier for users to customize their setup and solve any issues they might encounter.

Possible disadvantages of LibreELEC

  • Limited Functionality
    Being a specialized OS for Kodi, LibreELEC lacks the versatility of more general-purpose operating systems, meaning it is not suitable for tasks outside of media consumption.
  • Steep Learning Curve for Beginners
    Although installation is easy, new users might find it challenging to navigate and customize the system to their needs if they're unfamiliar with media center setups.
  • Limited Application Availability
    Because LibreELEC is specifically tailored for Kodi, there is a limited range of additional applications that can be installed compared to more general operating systems.
  • Dependency on Kodi
    The entire user experience is tied to Kodi. If Kodi encounters any bugs or issues, it can severely impact the usability of the whole system.
  • Less Frequent General Updates
    While LibreELEC includes automatic updates, major changes and new features in the underlying OS might not be as frequent as with more active, general-purpose Linux distributions.

FHEM videos

FHEM vs. ioBroker | haus-automatisierung.com [4K]

More videos:

  • Review - FHEM - Folge: 5.2 - CUL anschließen

LibreELEC videos

LibreELEC Raspberry Pi 1 2 3 Or Zero Quick Look Kodi For Raspberry pi

More videos:

  • Review - Raspberry Pi 4B on LibreELEC 9.2 with Kodi 18.3
  • Review - Kodi Compendium [Part 3]: Raspberry Pi OS Selection, Comparison, Performance Test LibreELEC vs OSMC

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to FHEM and LibreELEC)
Home
100 100%
0% 0
Video
0 0%
100% 100
Data Dashboard
100 100%
0% 0
Media Player
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare FHEM and LibreELEC

FHEM Reviews

List of Open Source Home Automation Software
FHEM is a popular home automation system. It is an open-source Perl based server for home automation that provides all the necessary features for home automation. This home automation system works on all 3 major operating systems i.e.: Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Source: linuxhint.com
16 Open Source Home Automation Platforms To Use In 2020
FHEM is well-known in the world of home automation. It's an open source (GPL) perl server used to automate common tasks in the house such as switching the lights on or off, regulating the heating, and more. Most of the protocols used in home automation are supported with FHEM, and the documentation is great… if you can manage to find what you're looking for. With a bit of a...
Source: ubidots.com
9 Home Automation Open-Source Platforms for Your projects
FHEM is a GPL’d perl server for home automation. It automates tasks like switching lamps, shutters, heating and so on. It also logs events like temperature, humidity and power consumption.

LibreELEC Reviews

Top 10 Best Linux Media Server Software
LibreELEC also has special builds for single board computers like Raspberry Pi. You can install this special operating system on your Raspberry Pi and get a media center device ready in minutes.
Source: itsfoss.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, LibreELEC seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 66 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

FHEM mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of FHEM yet. Tracking of FHEM recommendations started around Mar 2021.

LibreELEC mentions (66)

  • Raspberry Pi 5
    - Two LibreELEC (https://libreelec.tv/) mediaplayers in house (yes, one is not enough in my big family). - One for hosting low usage applications at home network (Unifi controller and some more). - Octoprint (https://octoprint.org) connected to the 3d-printer. - One on my desk for hardware hacking – mostly as just a PC with GPIO. - Some Raspberry Pi Zeros as security cameras. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Plex to block all servers hosted at Hetzner
    You might be interested in the https://libreelec.tv/ project. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Looking for a distro to replace Roku Stick
    I'm aware of solutions such as LibreELEC but that (if I understand it) is just a Kodi thing. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Watch Jellyfin content on non-smart TV
    Kodi is a media client as it provides a UI for you to browse, search for and view media. I have it running on my Raspberry Pi as LibreELEC. It connects to the same media sources that Jellyfin uses via SFTP. They support the same scrappers and folder structures so they can share the same media sources. If you're not adamant about using Jellyfin on the Raspberry Pi, this could be an option. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Does anyone know why Kodi will not continuously run on a windows 11 machine?
    Thats not a Kodi issue... It is a Windows and hardware issue... If the only job of the pc is Kodi then use LibreELEC's Kodi... 1000 times better! https://libreelec.tv/. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing FHEM and LibreELEC, you can also consider the following products

Home-Assistant.io - Home Assistant is an open-source home automation platform running on Python 3.

Kodi - Kodi is an award winning free and open source media player that got its start on the Xbox console.

openHAB - "empowering the smart home" - vendor and technology agnostic open source home automation

OSMC - OSMC is a free and open source media center built for the people, by the people.

ioBroker - flexible and modular application for the IoT and Smarthome

OpenELEC - OpenELEC, which stands for Open Embedded Linux Entertainment Center, is a Linux operating system that makes the host computer a Kodi media center. The software was the winner of the Swiss Opensource Award in 2014.