Moonfire NVR vs Shinobi
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted video surveillance options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Moonfire NVR | Shinobi |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Rust | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,746 | ★ 4,000 |
| First released | 2018 | 2017 |
| Replaces | Blue Iris | Blue Iris |
What are Moonfire NVR and Shinobi?
Moonfire NVR
Moonfire NVR is an open-source security camera network video recorder focused on efficient, continuous recording. Written in Rust, it stores video with minimal overhead and provides a simple web interface to review footage.
- Continuous always-on recording
- Efficient storage handling
- Web review interface
- Low resource footprint
Shinobi
Shinobi is an open-source network video recorder and CCTV solution that supports a wide range of IP cameras over RTSP, ONVIF, and other protocols. It offers motion detection, a web dashboard, and many integrations.
- Wide IP camera support
- Motion detection
- Web dashboard
- Multiple recording modes
Moonfire NVR vs Shinobi: key differences
Moonfire NVR is written in Rust, while Shinobi is built with JavaScript. Moonfire NVR is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 2,048 MB for Shinobi. Shinobi has the considerably larger community, at 4,000 GitHub stars versus 1,746.
Why pick each one
Choose Moonfire NVR if…
- Very efficient
- Reliable 24/7 recording
Watch out for
- Limited motion analytics
- Smaller feature set
Choose Shinobi if…
- Flexible camera support
- Active community
Watch out for
- Configuration can be complex
- Documentation is scattered
Frequently asked questions
Is Moonfire NVR or Shinobi better?
Neither is universally better. Shinobi has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Moonfire NVR and Shinobi free and open-source?
Yes. Moonfire NVR is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Shinobi under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Moonfire NVR and Shinobi with Docker?
Moonfire NVR: yes. Shinobi: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Moonfire NVR or Shinobi?
Moonfire NVR has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 2,048 MB for Shinobi. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.