CompreFace 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?
CompreFace
Self-hosted face recognition service with REST API
VS
OpenALPR
Automatic license plate recognition library
| Feature | CompreFace | OpenALPR |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | Apache-2.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | Java | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 4,096 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 8,173 | ★ 11,440 |
| First released | 2020 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Amazon Rekognition | Rekor Scout, Plate Recognizer |
Why pick each one
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 CompreFace or OpenALPR better?
Neither is universally better. OpenALPR has the larger community, while CompreFace is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are CompreFace and OpenALPR free and open-source?
Yes. CompreFace is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenALPR under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CompreFace and OpenALPR with Docker?
CompreFace: yes. OpenALPR: yes.