--- title: You don't need an NVR for your home security system, you... description: Frigate is presented as a self-hosted, open-source alternative to traditional NVR systems for home security. Unlike NVRs, which lock users into fixed hardware... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/you-don-t-need-an-nvr-for-your-home-security-system-you-just-need-frigate-9ix3wzzqo twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: You don't need an NVR for your home security system, you just need Frigate | daily.dev og:description: Frigate is presented as a self-hosted, open-source alternative to traditional NVR systems for home security. Unlike NVRs, which lock users into fixed hardware... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/you-don-t-need-an-nvr-for-your-home-security-system-you-just-need-frigate-9ix3wzzqo og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/9IX3WzZQo.png og:image:alt: You don't need an NVR for your home security system, you just need Frigate og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # You don't need an NVR for your home security system, you just need Frigate **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 2 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Frigate is presented as a self-hosted, open-source alternative to traditional NVR systems for home security. Unlike NVRs, which lock users into fixed hardware and hard drive sizes, Frigate lets you choose your own hardware, storage location (local SSD, NAS, or cloud), and recording rules (24/7, motion-only, or time-limited retention). It integrates with go2RTC for smoother WebRTC streaming and can be hardware-accelerated with a cheap Google Coral TPU or an inexpensive Nvidia/AMD GPU. It also integrates with smart home ecosystems like Home Assistant, something proprietary NVRs typically lack. The overall pitch is that Frigate offers more flexibility, intelligence, and privacy than commercial NVR products. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What hardware do I need to accelerate Frigate's AI object detection? Frigate's detection capabilities can be accelerated affordably using a Google Coral TPU accelerator, or by pairing the system with an inexpensive Nvidia or AMD graphics card. This means a high-end computer is not required to run smart detections, and hardware can be scaled up as the number of cameras or performance needs grow over time. _Comparing self-hosted surveillance hardware options is easier with daily.dev's coverage of Frigate setups and home lab gear._ ### How does Frigate handle video storage compared to a traditional NVR? Frigate lets you choose where recordings live, whether on a local SSD, a NAS, or cloud storage, unlike NVRs that lock you into fixed hard drive sizes requiring a new box to upgrade. It also supports flexible retention rules, such as recording only motion-detected clips, keeping footage for a set number of days, or recording continuously until drives fill up. _Developers weighing self-hosted storage strategies can follow more Frigate and NAS comparisons on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [My security cameras now describe what they see, and not a single frame leaves the house](https://daily.dev/posts/my-security-cameras-now-describe-what-they-see-and-not-a-single-frame-leaves-the-house-ijsgs1xsl) · XDA Developers · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [My security cameras stopped sending footage to the cloud, and I saved $85 a year](https://daily.dev/posts/my-security-cameras-stopped-sending-footage-to-the-cloud-and-i-saved-85-a-year-5xnmhi2cf) · XDA Developers · 4 upvotes · 0 comments - [Upgrading my Open Source Pi Surveillance Server with Frigate](https://daily.dev/posts/upgrading-my-open-source-pi-surveillance-server-with-frigate-2kym7qr18) · Jeff Geerling · 33 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#self-hosting](https://daily.dev/tags/self-hosting) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/you-don-t-need-an-nvr-for-your-home-security-system-you-just-need-frigate-9ix3wzzqo) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"You don't need an NVR for your home security system, you just need Frigate","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/you-don-t-need-an-nvr-for-your-home-security-system-you-just-need-frigate-9ix3wzzqo","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/you-don-t-need-an-nvr-for-your-home-security-system-you-just-need-frigate-9ix3wzzqo"},"datePublished":"2026-08-15T16:17:18.501Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T07:30:18.466Z","description":"Frigate is presented as a self-hosted, open-source alternative to traditional NVR systems for home security. 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