head to head · open source
frigate vs project_aura
frigate has 37,427 GitHub stars, 3,824 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped yesterday. project_aura has 791 stars, 73 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. frigate leads on adoption by 4,632% (37,427 vs 791 stars). frigate is written in Python under MIT; project_aura is written in C under GPL-3.0. frigate has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, project_aura 9%. 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, mqtt), 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 | project_aura | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 37K | ★ 791 |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Python | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-12 | 2026-11-11 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.8K | ⑂ 73 |
| 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 project_aura if
- You want the project_aura 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 project_aura 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 project_aura
Project Aura AQ Project Aura AQ is an open source ESP32 S3 air quality station built for makers who want a polished, finished device rather than a temporary sensor prototype. You print the enclosure, install top tier sensors, flash the firmware from a browser, and get a touchscreen air quality monitor with a local web dashboard, OTA updates, MQTT/Home Assistant integration, optional 0 10V ventilation control, and no cloud dependency. Project Aura AQ was created and is maintained by Volodymyr Papush (21CNCStudio) . This repository contains the firmware source code and configuration needed to flash and customize…
read the full project_aura overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frigate or project_aura more popular?
frigate has 37,427 GitHub stars and project_aura has 791. frigate has the larger community by that measure.
Are frigate and project_aura free?
Both are open source. frigate is licensed under MIT and project_aura under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frigate and project_aura?
frigate is written in Python and project_aura 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 project_aura?
Choose frigate if you want the larger community (37,427 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose project_aura if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.