SHSelfHostIndex

Frigate vs Mozilla WebThings Gateway

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?
Frigate Local NVR with real-time AI object detection VS MO Mozilla WebThings Gateway Open gateway for the decentralized web of things
FeatureFrigateMozilla WebThings Gateway
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score99 · Excellent81 · Excellent
CategoryHome AutomationHome Automation
LicenseMITMPL-2.0
LanguagePythonTypeScript
Setup difficultyHardMedium
Min. RAM2,048 MB512 MB
Deploymentdockerbare-metal, docker
GitHub stars★ 36,071★ 2,646
First released20202018
ReplacesGoogle HomeSmartThings, Google Home

What are Frigate and Mozilla WebThings Gateway?

Frigate

Frigate is a local network video recorder with real-time AI object detection optimized for use with Home Assistant. It targets users wanting private, intelligent camera monitoring. It is deployed via Docker.

  • Real-time AI object detection
  • Coral TPU acceleration support
  • Tight Home Assistant integration
  • Local-only processing

Read the full Frigate guide →

Mozilla WebThings Gateway

WebThings Gateway is an open-source gateway for monitoring and controlling smart home devices over the web using open standards. Originating at Mozilla, it now continues as a community project.

  • Web of Things standards
  • Add-on device support
  • Rules engine
  • Local web interface

Read the full Mozilla WebThings Gateway guide →

Frigate vs Mozilla WebThings Gateway: key differences

Frigate is written in Python, while Mozilla WebThings Gateway is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Frigate versus MPL-2.0 for Mozilla WebThings Gateway. Mozilla WebThings Gateway is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Frigate. Mozilla WebThings Gateway is the more established project (first released 2018), while Frigate arrived in 2020. Frigate has the considerably larger community, at 36,071 GitHub stars versus 2,646.

Why pick each one

Choose Frigate if…

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

Watch out for

  • Benefits from a TPU
  • Configuration is involved
Frigate details

Choose Mozilla WebThings Gateway if…

  • Open standards-based
  • Privacy-focused

Watch out for

  • Smaller community after Mozilla
  • Fewer integrations than HA
Mozilla WebThings Gateway details

Frequently asked questions

Is Frigate or Mozilla WebThings Gateway 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 Frigate and Mozilla WebThings Gateway free and open-source?

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

Can I run Frigate and Mozilla WebThings Gateway with Docker?

Frigate: yes. Mozilla WebThings Gateway: yes.

Which is lighter on resources, Frigate or Mozilla WebThings Gateway?

Mozilla WebThings Gateway has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Frigate. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.

Related comparisons