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.

Not the right match-up?
Featurego2rtcPikrellcam
CategoryVideo SurveillanceVideo Surveillance
LicenseMITGPL-3.0
LanguageGoC
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM128 MB256 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, bare-metalbare-metal
GitHub stars★ 13,837★ 273
First released20222015
ReplacesNest CamNest Cam

Why pick each one

Choose go2rtc if…

  • Very low latency
  • Lightweight and flexible
go2rtc details

Choose Pikrellcam if…

  • Great for Pi camera modules
  • Lightweight
Pikrellcam details

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.

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