Double Take vs Motion
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?
Double Take
Unified UI and API for face recognition on camera feeds
VS
Motion
Lightweight motion-detection video surveillance daemon
| Feature | Double Take | Motion |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,435 | ★ 4,030 |
| First released | 2021 | 2000 |
| Replaces | Nest Cam | Nest Cam |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Double Take or Motion better?
Neither is universally better. Motion has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Double Take and Motion free and open-source?
Yes. Double Take is licensed under MIT and Motion under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Double Take and Motion with Docker?
Double Take: yes. Motion: yes.