Frigate vs Scrypted
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted home automation options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Frigate
Local NVR with real-time AI object detection
VS
Scrypted
High-performance smart home and camera platform
| Feature | Frigate | Scrypted |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 99 · Excellent | 90 · Excellent |
| Category | Home Automation | Home Automation |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Python | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 36,071 | ★ 5,975 |
| First released | 2020 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Google Home | Google Home |
What are Frigate and Scrypted?
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
Scrypted
Scrypted is a high-performance home video integration and automation platform that unifies cameras across ecosystems. It targets users bridging cameras to HomeKit, Google, and Alexa. It is deployed via Docker.
- Unifies cameras across ecosystems
- HomeKit Secure Video support
- Hardware-accelerated processing
- Plugin architecture
Frigate vs Scrypted: key differences
Frigate is written in Python, while Scrypted is built with TypeScript. Licensing differs — MIT for Frigate versus Apache-2.0 for Scrypted. Scrypted is the lighter option, starting around 1,024 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Frigate. Frigate has the considerably larger community, at 36,071 GitHub stars versus 5,975.
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
Choose Scrypted if…
- Excellent camera integration
- Cross-ecosystem
- Fast
Watch out for
- Camera-focused
- Setup takes effort
Frequently asked questions
Is Frigate or Scrypted better?
Neither is universally better. Frigate has the larger community, while Scrypted is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Frigate and Scrypted free and open-source?
Yes. Frigate is licensed under MIT and Scrypted under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Frigate and Scrypted with Docker?
Frigate: yes. Scrypted: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Frigate or Scrypted?
Scrypted has the smaller minimum footprint at 1,024 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Frigate. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.