head to head · open source
frigate vs lowdefy
frigate has 35,947 GitHub stars, 3,601 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped yesterday. lowdefy has 3,007 stars, 185 forks, 71 open issues and last shipped yesterday. frigate leads on adoption by 1,095% (35,947 vs 3,007 stars). frigate is written in TypeScript under MIT; lowdefy is written in JavaScript under Apache-2.0. frigate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, lowdefy 6%. 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 | lowdefy | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 3.0K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.6K | ⑂ 185 |
| 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 lowdefy if
- You want the lowdefy 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 lowdefy 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 lowdefy
Lowdefy is an Apache 2.0 JavaScript framework that builds full stack web apps — internal tools, admin panels, dashboards, and CRUD apps — from schema validated YAML config instead of hand written React, for teams that want AI to generate the app while humans review and maintain it.
read the full lowdefy overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frigate or lowdefy more popular?
frigate has 35,947 GitHub stars and lowdefy has 3,007. frigate has the larger community by that measure.
Are frigate and lowdefy free?
Both are open source. frigate is licensed under MIT and lowdefy under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frigate and lowdefy?
frigate is written in TypeScript and lowdefy 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 lowdefy?
Choose frigate if you want the larger community (35,947 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose lowdefy if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.