CRI-O
CRI-O ships patch releases across three branches with empty change notes
Comparison · Infra & APIs
Home Assistant vs ZoneMinder
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Home Assistant and ZoneMinder — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Shared themes:self-hosted
Home Assistant vs ZoneMinder: at a glance
What is Home Assistant?
Home Assistant keeps pulling hidden power-user features into the UI, now trigger IDs.
Home Assistant ships one release a month, each built around a friction point that used to need YAML or a buried menu. 2026.10 gives trigger IDs a proper UI, so one automation can branch on several triggers without hand-written IDs, and replaces the map with a vector OpenStreetMap after the old provider started requiring an API key. It also adds a Modbus connections panel, one-click AI connection and 15 new integrations.
What is ZoneMinder?
ZoneMinder 1.38.5 fixes 19 vulnerabilities, including authenticated remote code execution
ZoneMinder's 1.38 line is in security maintenance. 1.38.5 fixes 19 reported vulnerabilities, including authenticated OS command execution through the filter debug modal, a JPEG heap overflow and cross-monitor authorization bypasses. It replaces a default or empty auth hash secret on upgrade and refuses token logins while the public default is set. 1.38.6 followed within the hour only to fix RPM builds, since no 1.38.5 RPMs were published.
Home Assistant vs ZoneMinder: editorial side-by-side
Home Assistant
2.5INFRA · APIS
Home Assistant keeps pulling hidden power-user features into the UI, now trigger IDs.
◆ Current state
Home Assistant ships one release a month, each built around a friction point that used to need YAML or a buried menu. 2026.10 gives trigger IDs a proper UI, so one automation can branch on several triggers without hand-written IDs, and replaces the map with a vector OpenStreetMap after the old provider started requiring an API key. It also adds a Modbus connections panel, one-click AI connection and 15 new integrations.
◆ Where it's heading
The 2026 run reads as a single program: infrared in April, radio frequency in May, purpose-specific triggers by default in July, shared Modbus connections in September, trigger IDs in October. Each release takes something experts already had and makes it findable. Nabu Casa is also renaming Home Assistant Cloud to Home Assistant Link, planned for the December release.
◆ Prediction
The Cloud-to-Link rename is scheduled for the December release, so expect it there; the November release will most likely take on another automation or dashboard feature that still needs YAML.
ZoneMinder
5.0INFRA · APIS
ZoneMinder 1.38.5 fixes 19 vulnerabilities, including authenticated remote code execution
◆ Current state
ZoneMinder's 1.38 line is in security maintenance. 1.38.5 fixes 19 reported vulnerabilities, including authenticated OS command execution through the filter debug modal, a JPEG heap overflow and cross-monitor authorization bypasses. It replaces a default or empty auth hash secret on upgrade and refuses token logins while the public default is set. 1.38.6 followed within the hour only to fix RPM builds, since no 1.38.5 RPMs were published.
◆ Where it's heading
Every 1.38 release since June has been mostly authorization and memory-safety work. The 1.38.0 feature set (RBAC, WebRTC, the monitor function split) is being made safe rather than extended.
◆ Prediction
Further security releases on 1.38 are likely; the entries give no sign of a 1.39 feature release.
Alternatives to Home Assistant and ZoneMinder
Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Home Assistant or ZoneMinder.
Certbot
Certbot keeps tidying correctness bugs around renewals and hooks
Routinator
Routinator 0.16 will validate ASPA and BGPsec, and run strict, by default
Buildkite
Buildkite drops long-lived GitHub credentials from self-hosted agents
AIReiter
AIReiter adds ByteDance's Seedream 5.0 Flash for fast, low-cost image generation and editing
Dashy
Dashy shipped ten releases in five days; one fixes how auth headers trust origins
See all Home Assistant alternatives → · See all ZoneMinder alternatives →
Recent activity from Home Assistant and ZoneMinder
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 26d agoHome Assistant2026.10: Trigger IDs get a UI and maps move to OpenStreetMap
- 27d agoZoneMinderZoneMinder 1.38.6 republishes 1.38.5 with fixed RPM builds
- 27d agoZoneMinderZoneMinder 1.38.5 fixes 19 vulnerabilities, including RCE
- 2mo agoHome Assistant2026.9: Modbus Connection Sharing and UI Device Selection
- 2mo agoZoneMinder1.38.4 closes API ACL gaps and two auth bypasses
- 2mo agoHome Assistant2026.8: Approachability Improvements and ESPHome Starter Kit
- 4mo agoHome Assistant2026.7: Automations that speak your language ⚡
- 4mo agoZoneMinder1.38.3 supersedes 1.38.2 with RBAC and injection fixes
- 5mo agoZoneMinderchore: bump redhat spec version to 1.39.11
- 5mo agoHome Assistant2026.6: Dashboard Card Picker Redesign
- 6mo agoHome Assistant2026.5: Radio Frequency Integration and Open Home Commitment
- 8mo agoZoneMinder1.36.38 backports a SQL injection fix to the legacy branch
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Home Assistant and ZoneMinder?
Both compete on the same themes — self-hosted — within Infra & APIs. ZoneMinder is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Home Assistant better than ZoneMinder?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. ZoneMinder is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 5.0 vs 2.5), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Home Assistant?
Top Home Assistant alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Home Assistant alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/home-assistant for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to ZoneMinder?
Top ZoneMinder alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "ZoneMinder alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/zoneminder for the full list with editorial commentary on each.