WLED vs Frigate Cards
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted home automation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
WLED
Firmware for controlling addressable LED strips
VS
Frigate Cards
Advanced camera card for Home Assistant dashboards
| Feature | WLED | Frigate Cards |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | C++ | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 16 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 18,518 | ★ 1,117 |
| First released | 2016 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Philips Hue | Ring app |
Why pick each one
Choose Frigate Cards if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (1.1k GitHub stars)
- Written in TypeScript
Frequently asked questions
Is WLED or Frigate Cards better?
Neither is universally better. WLED has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are WLED and Frigate Cards free and open-source?
Yes. WLED is licensed under MIT and Frigate Cards under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run WLED and Frigate Cards with Docker?
WLED: check the project docs for container support. Frigate Cards: check the project docs for container support.