Frigate vs openWakeWord
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
openWakeWord
Open-source wake word detection library
| Feature | Frigate | openWakeWord |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | Jupyter Notebook |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 34,903 | ★ 2,637 |
| First released | 2020 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Home | Picovoice |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Frigate or openWakeWord better?
Neither is universally better. Frigate has the larger community, while openWakeWord is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Frigate and openWakeWord free and open-source?
Yes. Frigate is licensed under MIT and openWakeWord under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Frigate and openWakeWord with Docker?
Frigate: yes. openWakeWord: yes.