Motion vs motionEye
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?
Motion
Lightweight motion-detection video surveillance daemon
VS
motionEye
Web frontend for the Motion video surveillance program
| Feature | Motion | motionEye |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,030 | ★ 4,651 |
| First released | 2000 | 2013 |
| Replaces | Nest Cam | Nest Cam |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Motion or motionEye better?
motionEye is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Motion if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Motion and motionEye free and open-source?
Yes. Motion is licensed under GPL-2.0 and motionEye under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Motion and motionEye with Docker?
Motion: yes. motionEye: yes.