head to head · open source
frigate vs homeThing
frigate has 35,953 GitHub stars, 3,602 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped yesterday. homeThing has 546 stars, 42 forks, 13 open issues and last shipped 23 days ago. frigate leads on adoption by 6,485% (35,953 vs 546 stars). frigate is written in TypeScript under MIT; homeThing is written in C++ under GPL-3.0. frigate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, homeThing 8%. frigate was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (home-assistant, home-automation), 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 | homeThing | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 546 |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-27 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.6K | ⑂ 42 |
| 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 homeThing if
- You want the homeThing feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and homeThing 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 homeThing
homeThing is a collection of open source hardware and software — a 3D printable ESP32 remote, an ESPHome menu system, and components for controlling Home Assistant devices — for makers and Home Assistant users who want a battery powered physical remote with a screen and scroll wheel instead of a touch screen.
read the full homeThing overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frigate or homeThing more popular?
frigate has 35,953 GitHub stars and homeThing has 546. frigate has the larger community by that measure.
Are frigate and homeThing free?
Both are open source. frigate is licensed under MIT and homeThing under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frigate and homeThing?
frigate is written in TypeScript and homeThing in C++. 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 homeThing?
Choose frigate if you want the larger community (35,953 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose homeThing if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.