CompreFace vs mjpg-streamer
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
mjpg-streamer
Stream JPEG frames from webcams over HTTP
| Feature | CompreFace | mjpg-streamer |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Java | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,173 | ★ 3,246 |
| First released | 2020 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Amazon Rekognition | Webcam streaming services |
Why pick each one
Choose mjpg-streamer if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (3.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
Frequently asked questions
Is CompreFace or mjpg-streamer better?
Neither is universally better. CompreFace has the larger community, while mjpg-streamer is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are CompreFace and mjpg-streamer free and open-source?
Yes. CompreFace is licensed under Apache-2.0 and mjpg-streamer under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CompreFace and mjpg-streamer with Docker?
CompreFace: yes. mjpg-streamer: check the project docs for container support.