motionEye 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?
motionEye
Web frontend for the Motion video surveillance program
VS
ZoneMinder
Full-featured closed-circuit television software suite
| Feature | motionEye | ZoneMinder |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Python | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 4,651 | ★ 5,899 |
| First released | 2013 | 2002 |
| Replaces | Nest Cam | Blue Iris, Milestone XProtect |
Why pick each one
Frequently asked questions
Is motionEye or ZoneMinder better?
Neither is universally better. ZoneMinder has the larger community, while motionEye is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are motionEye and ZoneMinder free and open-source?
Yes. motionEye is licensed under GPL-3.0 and ZoneMinder under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run motionEye and ZoneMinder with Docker?
motionEye: yes. ZoneMinder: yes.