head to head · open source
frigate vs cafe-hass
frigate has 36,763 GitHub stars, 3,726 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped today. cafe-hass has 1,719 stars, 36 forks, 12 open issues and last shipped 25 days ago. frigate leads on adoption by 2,039% (36,763 vs 1,719 stars). frigate is written in Python under MIT; cafe-hass is written in TypeScript under MIT. frigate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, cafe-hass 2%. 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 | cafe-hass | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-10-20 | 2026-09-25 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.7K | ⑂ 36 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick frigate if
- You weight community size — 37K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick cafe-hass if
- You want the cafe-hass feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and cafe-hass fits your workflow better
About frigate
Frigate NVR™ Realtime Object Detection for IP Cameras \[English\] 简体中文 A complete and local NVR designed for Home Assistant with AI object detection. Uses OpenCV and Tensorflow to perform realtime object detection locally for IP cameras. Use of a GPU or AI accelerator is highly recommended. AI accelerators will outperform even the best CPUs with very little overhead. See Frigate's supported object detectors. Tight integration with Home Assistant via a custom component Designed to minimize resource use and maximize performance by only looking for objects when and where it is necessary Leverages multiprocessing…
read the full frigate overview →
About cafe-hass
C.A.F.E. C omplex A utomation F low E ditor Visual logic for Home Assistant, with 0% overhead. C.A.F.E. is a visual flow editor that brings Node RED style power to Home Assistant without the external engine . It transpiles your visual diagrams into 100% compliant, native Home Assistant logic stored directly in the core system. [!WARNING] The project is still in beta. While it is designed to be non destructive, please make sure to backup your automations before editing them with C.A.F.E.! [!TIP] Looking for a Role Based Access Control system for HA? ha rbac is now available! 📺 Featured In "THIS Home Assistant…
read the full cafe-hass overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frigate or cafe-hass more popular?
frigate has 36,763 GitHub stars and cafe-hass has 1,719. frigate has the larger community by that measure.
Are frigate and cafe-hass free?
Both are open source. frigate is licensed under MIT and cafe-hass under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frigate and cafe-hass?
frigate is written in Python and cafe-hass in TypeScript. 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 cafe-hass?
Choose frigate if you want the larger community (36,763 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose cafe-hass if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.