Frigate vs go2rtc
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
Self-hosted camera recorder that spots people, cars and animals locally using AI.
Open source · MIT
A small server that receives, converts and re-serves live camera video in many formats.
The short answer
Choose Frigate if you need…
- People with IP cameras who want local recording and detection
- Home Assistant users looking for camera integration
- Users who want to keep camera footage off third-party cloud services
- People with a GPU or AI accelerator who want faster detection
Choose go2rtc if you need…
- Home users connecting IP cameras to a browser or Home Assistant
- People who want low-latency live viewing of RTSP camera streams
- Developers integrating camera streams into their own smart home or video project via its HTTP API
- Users running it on small hardware such as a Raspberry Pi or old routers, since it is a single small binary
Side-by-side
| Frigate | go2rtc | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | App | App |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 37.1k | 14.6k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Run with Docker | Download the app |
| Main language | Python | Go |
| Last code update | 4 days ago | 11 days ago |
What each one is
Frigate
Frigate is a network video recorder (NVR) that connects to IP cameras and runs object detection on the video to identify things like objects moving through the scene. The README says it processes video locally rather than in the cloud, and it is designed to integrate with Home Assistant. It records footage with retention settings based on what was detected.
go2rtc
go2rtc is a single program that takes video streams from cameras and other sources (such as RTSP, RTMP, and WebRTC) and re-publishes them in formats that web browsers, apps, and smart home systems can play. It can also convert codecs when needed and send audio to cameras that support two-way audio. People use it to view camera feeds in a browser or to connect cameras to Home Assistant with low delay.
Best for
Frigate
- People with IP cameras who want local recording and detection
- Home Assistant users looking for camera integration
- Users who want to keep camera footage off third-party cloud services
- People with a GPU or AI accelerator who want faster detection
go2rtc
- Home users connecting IP cameras to a browser or Home Assistant
- People who want low-latency live viewing of RTSP camera streams
- Developers integrating camera streams into their own smart home or video project via its HTTP API
- Users running it on small hardware such as a Raspberry Pi or old routers, since it is a single small binary
Strengths
Frigate
- Runs object detection locally, as stated in the README
- Integrates with Home Assistant and MQTT
- Open source under the MIT license with an active project
go2rtc
- Ships as a single binary with no runtime dependencies, per the README
- Supports many input and output formats and protocols
- Uses FFmpeg for transcoding only when necessary, which keeps latency low
Not ideal for
Frigate
- People without any IP cameras, since it needs camera streams to be useful
- Users who want a simple plug-and-play consumer camera system, because the README describes a more technical setup
- People without spare hardware, since the README says a GPU or AI accelerator is highly recommended
go2rtc
- People who need a full video recording or NVR system with storage and motion search, since the README describes streaming rather than recording
- Users who want a no-configuration graphical app, because setup is done through a config file and a web interface
- Anyone expecting every camera brand to work without testing, since compatibility depends on the camera and protocol
Trade-offs
Frigate
- The README recommends a GPU or AI accelerator for good performance
- Setup details live in external documentation, so the README alone gives limited install guidance
- Trademarks of Frigate, Inc. are not covered by the MIT license
go2rtc
- The README is truncated and does not fully document configuration, so setup may take trial and error
- Some features depend on specific camera models or protocols, so results vary by device
- Its description of 'ultimate' coverage is the author's own framing, and the README gives no independent benchmarks
Getting started
Frigate
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/blakeblackshear/frigatego2rtc
Make the downloaded binary executable on Linux or Mac
chmod +x go2rtc_xxx_xxxFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Frigate and go2rtc?
Frigate: Self-hosted camera recorder that spots people, cars and animals locally using AI. go2rtc: A small server that receives, converts and re-serves live camera video in many formats. Frigate suits people with ip cameras who want local recording and detection, while go2rtc suits home users connecting ip cameras to a browser or home assistant.
Are Frigate and go2rtc free?
Frigate: Free and open source. go2rtc: Free and open source.
Is Frigate or go2rtc more popular?
Frigate has more GitHub stars (37.1k) than go2rtc (14.6k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Frigate and go2rtc?
Other options people compare them with include System Informer, Netron, MediaMTX, SRS, livego.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.