head to head · open source
frigate vs ble_monitor
frigate has 36,396 GitHub stars, 3,667 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped yesterday. ble_monitor has 2,247 stars, 290 forks, 119 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. frigate leads on adoption by 1,520% (36,396 vs 2,247 stars). frigate is written in Python under MIT; ble_monitor is written in Python under MIT. frigate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, ble_monitor 13%. frigate was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (home-assistant), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| frigate | ble_monitor | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 2.2K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-06 | 2026-09-30 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.7K | ⑂ 290 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick frigate if
- You weight community size — 36K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick ble_monitor if
- You want the ble_monitor feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and ble_monitor fits your workflow better
About frigate
Frigate NVR is a complete and local network video recorder built for Home Assistant, with AI object detection. It uses OpenCV and Tensorflow to run realtime object detection locally on IP cameras, so video analysis happens on your own hardware instead of a vendor cloud. Project lives in the Home Assistant home automation ecosystem, with tight integration through a custom component, and it talks over MQTT so other systems can consume its events. Written mainly in TypeScript, MIT licensed, 8 years old, 35,896 stars and 3,596 forks on GitHub.
read the full frigate overview →
About ble_monitor
ble monitor is a Python custom component for Home Assistant that passively reads data from a wide range of inexpensive Bluetooth Low Energy sensors so their readings appear in your Home Assistant dashboard.
read the full ble_monitor overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frigate or ble_monitor more popular?
frigate has 36,396 GitHub stars and ble_monitor has 2,247. frigate has the larger community by that measure.
Are frigate and ble_monitor free?
Both are open source. frigate is licensed under MIT and ble_monitor under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frigate and ble_monitor?
frigate is written in Python and ble_monitor in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, frigate or ble_monitor?
Choose frigate if you want the larger community (36,396 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose ble_monitor if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.