Frigate Notify vs OpenALPR
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted video surveillance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Frigate Notify
Standalone notification tool for Frigate NVR events
VS
OpenALPR
Automatic license plate recognition library
| Feature | Frigate Notify | OpenALPR |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 399 | ★ 11,440 |
| First released | 2023 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Nest Cam | Rekor Scout, Plate Recognizer |
Why pick each one
Choose Frigate Notify if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
Choose OpenALPR if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 11.4k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Frigate Notify or OpenALPR better?
Neither is universally better. OpenALPR has the larger community, while Frigate Notify is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Frigate Notify and OpenALPR free and open-source?
Yes. Frigate Notify is licensed under MIT and OpenALPR under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Frigate Notify and OpenALPR with Docker?
Frigate Notify: yes. OpenALPR: yes.