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.
Double Take
Unified UI and API for face recognition on camera feeds
VS
Motion
Lightweight motion-detection video surveillance daemon
| Feature | Double Take | Motion |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 38 · At risk | 80 · Excellent |
| 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 | ★ 1,442 | ★ 4,048 |
| First released | 2021 | 2000 |
| Replaces | Nest Cam | Nest Cam |
What are Double Take and Motion?
Double Take
Double Take provides a unified interface and API to coordinate multiple face recognition services for your surveillance cameras. It connects to Frigate and detectors like CompreFace to deliver named-person alerts.
- Unified face recognition UI
- Frigate integration
- Multiple detector backends
- Named-person alerts
Motion
Motion is a program that monitors video signals from cameras and detects movement. It can record video, capture snapshots, and trigger external scripts when motion is detected, all with a small footprint.
- Motion detection
- Snapshot and video capture
- External script triggers
- Very low resource use
Double Take vs Motion: key differences
Double Take is written in JavaScript, while Motion is built with C++. Licensing differs — MIT for Double Take versus GPL-2.0 for Motion. Motion is the lighter option, starting around 256 MB of RAM against 512 MB for Double Take. Motion is the more established project (first released 2000), while Double Take arrived in 2021. Motion has the considerably larger community, at 4,048 GitHub stars versus 1,442.
Why pick each one
Choose Double Take if…
- Coordinates several detectors
- Good Frigate companion
Watch out for
- Companion tool only
- Requires a detector backend
Choose Motion if…
- Tiny footprint
- Highly scriptable
Watch out for
- No built-in web UI
- Configuration via files
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.
Which is lighter on resources, Double Take or Motion?
Motion has the smaller minimum footprint at 256 MB of RAM, compared to about 512 MB for Double Take. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.