head to head · open source
frigate vs Ethora
frigate has 35,947 GitHub stars, 3,601 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Ethora has 545 stars, 111 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped yesterday. frigate leads on adoption by 6,496% (35,947 vs 545 stars). frigate is written in TypeScript under MIT; Ethora is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. frigate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Ethora 20%. frigate was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | Ethora | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 545 |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.6K | ⑂ 111 |
| 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 TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Ethora if
- You want the Ethora feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and Ethora 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 Ethora
Ethora is an Apache 2.0 licensed chat, AI and messaging SDK monorepo that adds real time messaging, prebuilt chat UI, bots and backend services to web, iOS and Android applications, and it is aimed at product teams that would rather integrate a messaging layer than assemble one.
read the full Ethora overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frigate or Ethora more popular?
frigate has 35,947 GitHub stars and Ethora has 545. frigate has the larger community by that measure.
Are frigate and Ethora free?
Both are open source. frigate is licensed under MIT and Ethora under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frigate and Ethora?
frigate is written in TypeScript and Ethora in JavaScript. 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 Ethora?
Choose frigate if you want the larger community (35,947 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Ethora if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.