mjpg-streamer vs ZoneMinder
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?
mjpg-streamer
Stream JPEG frames from webcams over HTTP
VS
ZoneMinder
Full-featured closed-circuit television software suite
| Feature | mjpg-streamer | ZoneMinder |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,246 | ★ 5,899 |
| First released | 2013 | 2002 |
| Replaces | Webcam streaming services | Blue Iris, Milestone XProtect |
Why pick each one
Choose mjpg-streamer if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (3.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
Frequently asked questions
Is mjpg-streamer or ZoneMinder better?
Neither is universally better. ZoneMinder has the larger community, while mjpg-streamer is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are mjpg-streamer and ZoneMinder free and open-source?
Yes. mjpg-streamer is licensed under GPL-2.0 and ZoneMinder under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run mjpg-streamer and ZoneMinder with Docker?
mjpg-streamer: check the project docs for container support. ZoneMinder: yes.
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