Node-REDvs
Amazon Alexa
Amazon Alexa: Amazon's voice-controlled smart home ecosystem
Node-RED
Flow-based programming tool for IoT and home automation
As of 30 August 2026, Node-RED is free to use. Node-RED is a programming tool for wiring together hardware devices, APIs, and online services in new and interesting ways. Softwr lists it under Smart Home. Node-RED is made by OpenJS Foundation, launched in 2013, available on API, Self-hosted, Web, Browser extension.
Overview
What Node-RED does
Node-RED is a programming tool for wiring together hardware devices, APIs, and online services in new and interesting ways. It provides a browser-based visual editor that makes it easy to create IoT and automation flows.
What people use it for
- Low-code event-driven application development
- IoT and device integration workflows
- Visual programming for server-side integrations
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Node-RED.
- The Node-RED editor ships unsecured: anyone who can reach its IP address can open the editor and deploy changes until adminAuth is configured
- HTTPS is off by default and must be enabled through the https setting
- HTTP endpoints and dashboards exposed by flows are unauthenticated unless httpNodeAuth is configured separately
- All three security layers are optional additions the administrator must implement by editing the settings file
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Node-RED
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- Node-REDvsGoogle Home
Google Home: Google's smart home platform with Google Assistant
- Node-REDvsApple HomeKit
Apple HomeKit: Apple's secure smart home platform integrated with Siri
- Node-REDvsHome Assistant
Home Assistant: Open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first
Pricing
What Node-RED costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Community Edition
Free
- Visual editor
- Extensible
- REST API
- MQTT support
Capabilities
Features
Visual Editor
Flow-Based Programming
Extensible
HTTP Integration
MQTT
Integration with MQTT
REST API
Integration with REST API
WebSocket
Integration with WebSocket
Database
Integration with Database
Social services
Integration with Social services
Node.js support
Available on Node.js
Docker support
Available on Docker
Cloud support
Available on Cloud
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Is Node-RED free?
Yes, Node-RED is completely free and open source. It is available under the MIT License through GitHub and npm package manager. The project is maintained by the OpenJS Foundation.
SourceDoes Node-RED offer commercial support?
Node-RED itself is free and community-supported. FlowFuse, Inc. was founded in 2021 as a separate commercial entity offering enterprise support and a professional platform for Node-RED deployment, but FlowFuse is not Node-RED.
SourceWhat is Node-RED pricing model?
Node-RED has no pricing model. It is completely free open source software. Commercial support and hosting options may be available separately through third-party providers like FlowFuse, but the core software is not sold.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Node-RED
- Company
- OpenJS Foundation
- Based in
- International Community
Keep looking
Where to go from Node-RED
- Node-RED alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Node-RED pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Node-RED badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Smart Home softwareThe full category
- Best Smart Home softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Smart Home software for
Compare Node-RED with
- Home Assistant
- Apple HomeKit
- Amazon Alexa
- Google Home
- Losant
- Crestron
- Particle
- Thread
- ESPHome
- Blynk
- Tasmota
- Zigbee Alliance
- Homey
- Hubitat Elevation
- LIFX
- ThingWorx
- ESPHome
- Matter
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Pricing on request7 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Node-RED, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Node-RED
Node-RED alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Node-RED pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Node-RED
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Node-RED badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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