Alternatives · Voice Agents
xiaozhi-esp32-server alternatives
Looking for an alternative to xiaozhi-esp32-server? Below are the voice agents in our index that do a similar job — open-source options are ranked by real maintained adoption (GitHub stars and recent commit activity), never by sponsorship. xiaozhi-esp32-server is open source, so the list below includes both other self-hostable projects and commercial products.
Backend service for xiaozhi-esp32 -- helps you quickly build an ESP32 device control server.
Open source · 11k stars · JavaScript · MIT · updated Sep 2026
xiaozhi-esp32-server's own profile notes it may not be the right fit if you need something production-ready; the project states its features are incomplete, that it has not passed a network security assessment, and that it should not be used in a production environment. If that's you, the options below are worth comparing.
Commercial alternatives to xiaozhi-esp32-server
— Cartesia Sonic is a commercial product; xiaozhi-esp32-server is open-source and self-hostable.
— Bland AI is a commercial product; xiaozhi-esp32-server is open-source and self-hostable.
— Deepgram Voice Agent API is a commercial product; xiaozhi-esp32-server is open-source and self-hostable.
— ElevenLabs Agents is a commercial product; xiaozhi-esp32-server is open-source and self-hostable.
Open-source alternatives to xiaozhi-esp32-server
— xiaozhi-esp32-server is written primarily in JavaScript; rustpbx in Rust.
— xiaozhi-esp32-server is written primarily in JavaScript; Pipecat in Python.
— xiaozhi-esp32-server is written primarily in JavaScript; LiveKit Agents in Python.
— xiaozhi-esp32-server is written primarily in JavaScript; ten-vad in C.
— xiaozhi-esp32-server is written primarily in JavaScript; bailing in Python.
— xiaozhi-esp32-server is written primarily in JavaScript; CyberVerse in Python.
Frequently asked
- What is the best alternative to xiaozhi-esp32-server?
- It depends on whether you'd rather self-host or buy a managed product. rustpbx is the most widely-adopted open-source alternative (812 GitHub stars); Cartesia Sonic is one of the commercial options. Compare the full list above on adoption, license, and pricing.
- Is there a free or open-source alternative to xiaozhi-esp32-server?
- Yes. rustpbx, Pipecat, and LiveKit Agents are open-source voice agents you can self-host for free — you still pay for the infrastructure you run them on and any model or API usage. See the ranked open-source list above.
- How are these xiaozhi-esp32-server alternatives ranked?
- Every product in the voice agents category is a candidate. Open-source alternatives are ranked by maintained adoption — GitHub stars plus recent commit activity — so you see what's genuinely used, not abandoned. Commercial products are listed separately and alphabetically, because stars don't measure commercial adoption. Sponsored placement is always labeled and never affects the ranking.