go2rtc vs Pikrellcam
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted video surveillance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
go2rtc
Ultimate camera streaming gateway with low latency
VS
Pikrellcam
Raspberry Pi motion-detection camera with web interface
| Feature | go2rtc | Pikrellcam |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Read-the-docs project |
| Health score | 90 · Excellent | 9 · At risk |
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,247 | ★ 272 |
| First released | 2022 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Nest Cam | Nest Cam |
What are go2rtc and Pikrellcam?
go2rtc
go2rtc is a camera streaming application that supports RTSP, WebRTC, HomeKit, and many other protocols with very low latency. It is widely used as a streaming layer for surveillance and smart-home camera setups.
- Multi-protocol camera streaming
- Ultra-low latency WebRTC
- HomeKit support
- Single binary
Pikrellcam
PiKrellCam is a motion-detecting video recorder for the Raspberry Pi camera with a built-in web interface. It records motion events, captures still images, and can overlay annotations on the video.
- Raspberry Pi camera recording
- Motion detection
- Web interface
- Annotation overlays
go2rtc vs Pikrellcam: key differences
Go2rtc is written in Go, while Pikrellcam is built with C. Licensing differs — MIT for go2rtc versus GPL-3.0 for Pikrellcam. Go2rtc is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 256 MB for Pikrellcam. Pikrellcam is the more established project (first released 2015), while go2rtc arrived in 2022. Go2rtc has the considerably larger community, at 14,247 GitHub stars versus 272. Go2rtc lists first-class Docker deployment; Pikrellcam does not.
Why pick each one
Choose go2rtc if…
- Very low latency
- Lightweight and flexible
Watch out for
- Streaming layer, not a full NVR
- Config requires some knowledge
Choose Pikrellcam if…
- Great for Pi camera modules
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Raspberry Pi specific
- Single-camera focus
Frequently asked questions
Is go2rtc or Pikrellcam better?
Neither is universally better. go2rtc has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are go2rtc and Pikrellcam free and open-source?
Yes. go2rtc is licensed under MIT and Pikrellcam under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run go2rtc and Pikrellcam with Docker?
go2rtc: yes. Pikrellcam: check the project docs for container support.
Which is lighter on resources, go2rtc or Pikrellcam?
go2rtc has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for Pikrellcam. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.