motionEye vs zmNinja
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?
motionEye
Web frontend for the Motion video surveillance program
VS
zmNinja
Cross-platform mobile and desktop client for ZoneMinder
| Feature | motionEye | zmNinja |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,651 | ★ 1,080 |
| First released | 2013 | 2015 |
| Replaces | Nest Cam | Commercial CCTV apps |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is motionEye or zmNinja better?
Neither is universally better. motionEye has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are motionEye and zmNinja free and open-source?
Yes. motionEye is licensed under GPL-3.0 and zmNinja under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run motionEye and zmNinja with Docker?
motionEye: yes. zmNinja: check the project docs for container support.