OpenALPR 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?
OpenALPR
Automatic license plate recognition library
VS
uStreamer
Lightweight MJPEG streamer for USB and CSI cameras
| Feature | OpenALPR | uStreamer |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C++ | C |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,440 | ★ 2,021 |
| First released | 2015 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Rekor Scout, Plate Recognizer | mjpg-streamer |
Why pick each one
Choose OpenALPR if…
- Released under the AGPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 11.4k GitHub stars
- Written in C++
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 OpenALPR or uStreamer better?
Neither is universally better. OpenALPR 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 OpenALPR and uStreamer free and open-source?
Yes. OpenALPR is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and uStreamer under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run OpenALPR and uStreamer with Docker?
OpenALPR: yes. uStreamer: check the project docs for container support.