Motion 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?
Motion
Lightweight motion-detection video surveillance daemon
VS
ZoneMinder
Full-featured closed-circuit television software suite
| Feature | Motion | ZoneMinder |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | GPL-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,030 | ★ 5,899 |
| First released | 2000 | 2002 |
| Replaces | Nest Cam | Blue Iris, Milestone XProtect |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is Motion or ZoneMinder better?
Neither is universally better. ZoneMinder has the larger community, while Motion is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Motion and ZoneMinder free and open-source?
Yes. Motion is licensed under GPL-2.0 and ZoneMinder under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Motion and ZoneMinder with Docker?
Motion: yes. ZoneMinder: yes.