go2rtc vs uStreamer
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?
go2rtc
Ultimate camera streaming gateway with low latency
VS
uStreamer
Lightweight MJPEG streamer for USB and CSI cameras
| Feature | go2rtc | uStreamer |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 13,837 | ★ 2,021 |
| First released | 2022 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Nest Cam | mjpg-streamer |
Why pick each one
Choose uStreamer if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
Frequently asked questions
Is go2rtc or uStreamer better?
Neither is universally better. go2rtc has the larger community, while uStreamer is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are go2rtc and uStreamer free and open-source?
Yes. go2rtc is licensed under MIT and uStreamer under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run go2rtc and uStreamer with Docker?
go2rtc: yes. uStreamer: check the project docs for container support.