SHSelfHostIndex

Mozilla WebThings Gateway vs Frigate

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted home automation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

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MO Mozilla WebThings Gateway Open gateway for the decentralized web of things VS FR Frigate Local NVR with real-time AI object detection
FeatureMozilla WebThings GatewayFrigate
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseMPL-2.0MIT
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM512 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, dockerdocker
GitHub stars★ 2,643★ 34,903
First released20182020
ReplacesSmartThings, Google HomeGoogle Home

Why pick each one

Choose Mozilla WebThings Gateway if…

  • Open standards-based
  • Privacy-focused
Mozilla WebThings Gateway details

Choose Frigate if…

  • Smart local NVR
  • Great with Home Assistant
  • Privacy-friendly
Frigate details

Frequently asked questions

Is Mozilla WebThings Gateway or Frigate better?

Neither is universally better. Frigate has the larger community, while Mozilla WebThings Gateway is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Mozilla WebThings Gateway and Frigate free and open-source?

Yes. Mozilla WebThings Gateway is licensed under MPL-2.0 and Frigate under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Mozilla WebThings Gateway and Frigate with Docker?

Mozilla WebThings Gateway: yes. Frigate: yes.

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