head to head · open source
frigate vs iOS
frigate has 35,947 GitHub stars, 3,601 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped yesterday. iOS has 2,353 stars, 521 forks, 293 open issues and last shipped yesterday. frigate leads on adoption by 1,428% (35,947 vs 2,353 stars). frigate is written in TypeScript under MIT; iOS is written in Swift under Apache-2.0. frigate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, iOS 22%. 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 | iOS | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 2.4K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.6K | ⑂ 521 |
| 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 iOS if
- You want the iOS feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and iOS 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 iOS
Home Assistant for Apple Platforms is companion app for Home Assistant on iOS and macOS. It lives in Home Assistant open source home automation ecosystem. Project is written in Swift, licensed Apache 2.0, and tagged with home assistant, home automation, ios, macos, open source app, swift. Repository lists 2350 stars, 519 forks, 293 open issues, and 10 years age. Category is Productivity & Utilities / Automation. Last push is 2026 09 15T06:10:16Z.
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Frequently asked questions
Is frigate or iOS more popular?
frigate has 35,947 GitHub stars and iOS has 2,353. frigate has the larger community by that measure.
Are frigate and iOS free?
Both are open source. frigate is licensed under MIT and iOS under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frigate and iOS?
frigate is written in TypeScript and iOS in Swift. 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 iOS?
Choose frigate if you want the larger community (35,947 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose iOS if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.