motionEye vs SentryShot

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?
FeaturemotionEyeSentryShot
CategoryVideo SurveillanceVideo Surveillance
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguagePythonDocker
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM512 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker
GitHub stars★ 4,651
First released20132020
ReplacesNest Cam

Why pick each one

Choose motionEye if…

  • Easy to set up
  • Great for DIY builds
motionEye details

Choose SentryShot if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in Docker
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
SentryShot details

Frequently asked questions

Is motionEye or SentryShot better?

motionEye is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider SentryShot if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are motionEye and SentryShot free and open-source?

Yes. motionEye is licensed under GPL-3.0 and SentryShot under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run motionEye and SentryShot with Docker?

motionEye: yes. SentryShot: yes.

Related comparisons