Bluecherry vs CompreFace
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?
Bluecherry
Open-source IP camera surveillance and NVR application
VS
CompreFace
Self-hosted face recognition service with REST API
| Feature | Bluecherry | CompreFace |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | GPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | Java |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 274 | ★ 8,173 |
| First released | 2010 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Milestone XProtect | Amazon Rekognition |
Why pick each one
Choose Bluecherry if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Bluecherry or CompreFace better?
Neither is universally better. CompreFace has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Bluecherry and CompreFace free and open-source?
Yes. Bluecherry is licensed under GPL-2.0 and CompreFace under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bluecherry and CompreFace with Docker?
Bluecherry: yes. CompreFace: yes.