For $K$ a connected finite complex and $G$ a compact connected Lie group, a finiteness result is proved for gauge groups ${\mathcal G}(P)$ of principal $G$-bundles $P$ over $K$: as $P$ ranges over all principal $G$-bundles with base $K$, the number of homotopy types of ${\mathcal G}(P)$ is finite; indeed this remains true when these gauge groups are classified by $H$-equivalence, that is, homotopy equivalences which respect multiplication up to homotopy. A case study is given for $K = S^4$, $G = \text{SU}(2)$: there are eighteen $H$-equivalence classes of gauge group in this case. These questions are studied via fibre homotopy theory of bundles of groups; the calculations in the case study involve $K$-theories and $e$-invariants. 1991 Mathematics Subject Classification: 54C35, 55P15, 55R10.