Frigate vs OpenRemote
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
OpenRemote
IoT Asset management, Flow Rules and WHEN-THEN rules, Data
| Feature | Frigate | OpenRemote |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 34,903 | ★ 1,835 |
| First released | 2020 | 2026 |
| Replaces | Google Home | — |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenRemote if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- Active community (1.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Java
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Frigate or OpenRemote better?
Neither is universally better. Frigate has the larger community, while OpenRemote is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Frigate and OpenRemote free and open-source?
Yes. Frigate is licensed under MIT and OpenRemote under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Frigate and OpenRemote with Docker?
Frigate: yes. OpenRemote: check the project docs for container support.