Bluecherry vs OpenALPR
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
OpenALPR
Automatic license plate recognition library
| Feature | Bluecherry | OpenALPR |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | GPL-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 274 | ★ 11,440 |
| First released | 2010 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Milestone XProtect | Rekor Scout, Plate Recognizer |
Why pick each one
Choose Bluecherry if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in C++
Choose OpenALPR if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 11.4k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is Bluecherry or OpenALPR better?
Neither is universally better. OpenALPR has the larger community, while Bluecherry is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Bluecherry and OpenALPR free and open-source?
Yes. Bluecherry is licensed under GPL-2.0 and OpenALPR under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Bluecherry and OpenALPR with Docker?
Bluecherry: yes. OpenALPR: yes.