uStreamer 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?
uStreamer
Lightweight MJPEG streamer for USB and CSI cameras
VS
ZoneMinder
Full-featured closed-circuit television software suite
| Feature | uStreamer | ZoneMinder |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Video Surveillance | Video Surveillance |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 2,048 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,021 | ★ 5,899 |
| First released | 2018 | 2002 |
| Replaces | mjpg-streamer | Blue Iris, Milestone XProtect |
Why pick each one
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 uStreamer or ZoneMinder better?
Neither is universally better. ZoneMinder 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 uStreamer and ZoneMinder free and open-source?
Yes. uStreamer is licensed under GPL-3.0 and ZoneMinder under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run uStreamer and ZoneMinder with Docker?
uStreamer: check the project docs for container support. ZoneMinder: yes.