head to head · open source
frigate vs operating-system
frigate has 36,071 GitHub stars, 3,630 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. operating-system has 7,492 stars, 1,293 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. frigate leads on adoption by 381% (36,071 vs 7,492 stars). frigate is written in Python under MIT; operating-system is written in Python under Apache-2.0. frigate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, operating-system 17%. 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-assistant), 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.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| frigate | operating-system | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 36K | ★ 7.5K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-09-23 | 2026-09-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.6K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| 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 Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick operating-system if
- You want the operating-system feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and operating-system 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 operating-system
The Home Assistant Operating System is a Linux based operating system built specifically to host Home Assistant and its Apps, intended for people running Home Assistant on a single board computer such as a Raspberry Pi or ODROID, or on an x86 64 machine with UEFI firmware.
read the full operating-system overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Internet of Things (IoT) projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Internet of Things (IoT) field.
Frequently asked questions
Is frigate or operating-system more popular?
frigate has 36,071 GitHub stars and operating-system has 7,492. frigate has the larger community by that measure.
Are frigate and operating-system free?
Both are open source. frigate is licensed under MIT and operating-system under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frigate and operating-system?
frigate is written in Python and operating-system in Python. 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 operating-system?
Choose frigate if you want the larger community (36,071 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose operating-system if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.