DeepStack vs ZoneMinder

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?
FeatureDeepStackZoneMinder
CategoryVideo SurveillanceVideo Surveillance
LicenseApache-2.0GPL-2.0
LanguagePythonPHP
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM2,048 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdockerdocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 818★ 5,899
First released20192002
ReplacesAmazon RekognitionBlue Iris, Milestone XProtect

Why pick each one

Choose DeepStack if…

  • Easy AI integration
  • Works with many NVRs
DeepStack details

Choose ZoneMinder if…

  • Very mature project
  • Highly configurable
ZoneMinder details

Frequently asked questions

Is DeepStack or ZoneMinder better?

Neither is universally better. ZoneMinder has the larger community, while DeepStack is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are DeepStack and ZoneMinder free and open-source?

Yes. DeepStack is licensed under Apache-2.0 and ZoneMinder under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run DeepStack and ZoneMinder with Docker?

DeepStack: yes. ZoneMinder: yes.

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