Motion vs uStreamer
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
uStreamer
Lightweight MJPEG streamer for USB and CSI cameras
| Feature | Motion | uStreamer |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,030 | ★ 2,021 |
| First released | 2000 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Nest Cam | mjpg-streamer |
Why pick each one
Choose uStreamer if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Active community (2k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
Frequently asked questions
Is Motion or uStreamer better?
Neither is universally better. Motion has the larger community, while uStreamer is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Motion and uStreamer free and open-source?
Yes. Motion is licensed under GPL-2.0 and uStreamer under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Motion and uStreamer with Docker?
Motion: yes. uStreamer: check the project docs for container support.