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Shinobi 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?
SH Shinobi Open-source NVR and CCTV software for IP cameras VS ZO ZoneMinder Full-featured closed-circuit television software suite
FeatureShinobiZoneMinder
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
CategoryVideo SurveillanceVideo Surveillance
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguageJavaScriptPHP
Setup difficultyMediumHard
Min. RAM2,048 MB2,048 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 4,000★ 5,936
First released20172002
ReplacesBlue IrisBlue Iris, Milestone XProtect

What are Shinobi and ZoneMinder?

Shinobi

Shinobi is an open-source network video recorder and CCTV solution that supports a wide range of IP cameras over RTSP, ONVIF, and other protocols. It offers motion detection, a web dashboard, and many integrations.

  • Wide IP camera support
  • Motion detection
  • Web dashboard
  • Multiple recording modes

Read the full Shinobi guide →

ZoneMinder

ZoneMinder is a free, open-source, closed-circuit television software application for Linux that supports IP, USB, and analog cameras. It provides recording, monitoring, analysis, and a web-based control interface.

  • IP, USB, and analog camera support
  • Motion zones and analysis
  • Event recording
  • Web control interface

Read the full ZoneMinder guide →

Shinobi vs ZoneMinder: key differences

Shinobi is written in JavaScript, while ZoneMinder is built with PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Shinobi versus GPL-2.0 for ZoneMinder. ZoneMinder is the more established project (first released 2002), while Shinobi arrived in 2017.

Why pick each one

Choose Shinobi if…

  • Flexible camera support
  • Active community

Watch out for

  • Configuration can be complex
  • Documentation is scattered
Shinobi details

Choose ZoneMinder if…

  • Very mature project
  • Highly configurable

Watch out for

  • Complex installation
  • Dated interface
ZoneMinder details

Frequently asked questions

Is Shinobi or ZoneMinder better?

Neither is universally better. ZoneMinder has the larger community, while Shinobi is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.

Are Shinobi and ZoneMinder free and open-source?

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

Can I run Shinobi and ZoneMinder with Docker?

Shinobi: yes. ZoneMinder: yes.

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