CompreFace vs DVR-Scan
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?
CompreFace
Self-hosted face recognition service with REST API
VS
DVR-Scan
Detect and extract motion events from video footage
| Feature | CompreFace | DVR-Scan |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | Java | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,173 | ★ 513 |
| First released | 2020 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Amazon Rekognition | Blue Iris motion review |
Why pick each one
Choose DVR-Scan if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is CompreFace or DVR-Scan better?
Neither is universally better. CompreFace has the larger community, while DVR-Scan is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are CompreFace and DVR-Scan free and open-source?
Yes. CompreFace is licensed under Apache-2.0 and DVR-Scan under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CompreFace and DVR-Scan with Docker?
CompreFace: yes. DVR-Scan: check the project docs for container support.