SHSelfHostIndex

iSpy vs Kerberos.io Machinery

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?
IS iSpy Open-source camera security and surveillance software VS KE Kerberos.io Machinery Open-source video surveillance recording engine
FeatureiSpyKerberos.io Machinery
CategoryVideo SurveillanceVideo Surveillance
LicenseLGPL-3.0Apache-2.0
LanguageC#C++
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM2,048 MB512 MB
Deploymentbare-metaldocker, binary, source
GitHub stars★ 1,611★ 486
First released20072014
ReplacesBlue IrisMilestone XProtect, Blue Iris

Why pick each one

Choose iSpy if…

  • Long-established
  • Many camera integrations
iSpy details

Choose Kerberos.io Machinery if…

  • Lightweight engine
  • Part of broader ecosystem
Kerberos.io Machinery details

Frequently asked questions

Is iSpy or Kerberos.io Machinery better?

Neither is universally better. iSpy has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are iSpy and Kerberos.io Machinery free and open-source?

Yes. iSpy is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and Kerberos.io Machinery under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run iSpy and Kerberos.io Machinery with Docker?

iSpy: check the project docs for container support. Kerberos.io Machinery: yes.

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