Bluecherry vs Kerberos Factory
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted video surveillance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Bluecherry | Kerberos Factory |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 68 · Good | 62 · Good |
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | GPL-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | C++ | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 4,096 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, kubernetes |
| GitHub stars | ★ 275 | ★ 35 |
| First released | 2010 | 2021 |
| Replaces | Milestone XProtect | Milestone XProtect, Genetec |
What are Bluecherry and Kerberos Factory?
Bluecherry
Bluecherry is an open-source video surveillance application that supports IP and analog cameras through ONVIF and RTSP. It offers continuous and motion-based recording with a web interface and desktop client.
- ONVIF and RTSP support
- Continuous and motion recording
- Web and desktop clients
- Multi-user access
Kerberos Factory
Kerberos Factory is a self-hosted platform for managing many camera agents and applying video analytics at scale. It centralizes configuration, storage, and analytics across distributed surveillance deployments.
- Centralized camera fleet
- Scalable analytics
- Kubernetes deployment
- Distributed storage
Bluecherry vs Kerberos Factory: key differences
Bluecherry is written in C++, while Kerberos Factory is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-2.0 for Bluecherry versus MIT for Kerberos Factory. Bluecherry is the lighter option, starting around 2,048 MB of RAM against 4,096 MB for Kerberos Factory. Bluecherry is the more established project (first released 2010), while Kerberos Factory arrived in 2021. Bluecherry has the considerably larger community, at 275 GitHub stars versus 35.
Why pick each one
Choose Bluecherry if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in C++
Watch out for
- Smaller community
- Commercial edition exists
Choose Kerberos Factory if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Bluecherry or Kerberos Factory better?
Bluecherry is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Kerberos Factory if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Bluecherry and Kerberos Factory free and open-source?
Yes. Bluecherry is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Kerberos Factory under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bluecherry and Kerberos Factory with Docker?
Bluecherry: yes. Kerberos Factory: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Bluecherry or Kerberos Factory?
Bluecherry has the smaller minimum footprint at 2,048 MB of RAM, compared to about 4,096 MB for Kerberos Factory. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.