iSpy vs OpenALPR
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?
iSpy
Open-source camera security and surveillance software
VS
OpenALPR
Automatic license plate recognition library
| Feature | iSpy | OpenALPR |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | LGPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | C# | C++ |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 2,048 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,611 | ★ 11,440 |
| First released | 2007 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Blue Iris | Rekor Scout, Plate Recognizer |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenALPR if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 11.4k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
Frequently asked questions
Is iSpy or OpenALPR better?
Neither is universally better. OpenALPR has the larger community, while iSpy is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are iSpy and OpenALPR free and open-source?
Yes. iSpy is licensed under LGPL-3.0 and OpenALPR under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run iSpy and OpenALPR with Docker?
iSpy: check the project docs for container support. OpenALPR: yes.