WebRTC Camera vs Motion

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted video surveillance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
FeatureWebRTC CameraMotion
CategoryVideo SurveillanceVideo Surveillance
LicenseMITGPL-2.0
LanguageJavaScriptC++
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM256 MB256 MB
Deploymentsourcedocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 2,161★ 4,030
First released20212000
ReplacesCloud camera streamingNest Cam

Why pick each one

Choose WebRTC Camera if…

  • Very low latency
  • Local and private
WebRTC Camera details

Choose Motion if…

  • Tiny footprint
  • Highly scriptable
Motion details

Frequently asked questions

Is WebRTC Camera or Motion better?

Neither is universally better. Motion has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are WebRTC Camera and Motion free and open-source?

Yes. WebRTC Camera is licensed under MIT and Motion under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run WebRTC Camera and Motion with Docker?

WebRTC Camera: check the project docs for container support. Motion: yes.

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