head to head · open source
frigate vs IRremoteESP8266
frigate has 37,160 GitHub stars, 3,782 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped yesterday. IRremoteESP8266 has 3,661 stars, 945 forks, 105 open issues and last shipped 2 months ago. frigate leads on adoption by 915% (37,160 vs 3,661 stars). frigate is written in Python under MIT; IRremoteESP8266 is written in C++ under LGPL-2.1. frigate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, IRremoteESP8266 26%. 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-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 | IRremoteESP8266 | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 3.7K |
| License | MIT | LGPL-2.1 |
| Written in | Python | C++ |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-08-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.8K | ⑂ 945 |
| 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 IRremoteESP8266 if
- You want the IRremoteESP8266 feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the LGPL-2.1 license terms
- Your stack matches C++
- You evaluated both and IRremoteESP8266 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 IRremoteESP8266
This library enables you to send and receive infra red signals on an ESP8266 or an ESP32 using the Arduino framework using common 940nm IR LEDs and common IR receiver modules. e.g. TSOP{17,22,24,36,38,44,48} demodulators etc. v2.9.0 Now Available Version 2.9.0 of the library is now available. You can view the Release Notes for all the significant changes. Upgrading from pre v2.0 Usage of the library has been slightly changed in v2.0. You will need to change your usage to work with v2.0 and beyond. You can read more about the changes required on our Upgrade to v2.0 page. Upgrading from pre v2.5 The library has…
read the full IRremoteESP8266 overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frigate or IRremoteESP8266 more popular?
frigate has 37,160 GitHub stars and IRremoteESP8266 has 3,661. frigate has the larger community by that measure.
Are frigate and IRremoteESP8266 free?
Both are open source. frigate is licensed under MIT and IRremoteESP8266 under LGPL-2.1. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frigate and IRremoteESP8266?
frigate is written in Python and IRremoteESP8266 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 IRremoteESP8266?
Choose frigate if you want the larger community (37,160 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose IRremoteESP8266 if its feature set, stack or LGPL-2.1 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.