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Bluecherry vs ZoneMinder: catalog facts
Bluecherry	ZoneMinder
Best for: Running your own CCTV recorder for mixed IP and analog cameras on Linux	Best for: A mature self-hosted CCTV recorder on a Linux server
Free The server application source is free under the GPL-2.0 licence.	Free Free and open source under the GPL-2.0 licence.
Linux, Self-hosted	Linux, Self-hosted
Supports both IP and analog cameras Packaging for Debian and RPM based distributions All 3 strengths for Bluecherry Supports both IP and analog cameras Packaging for Debian and RPM based distributions Actively maintained with frequent commits	Supports IP, USB and analog cameras Packaged in many Linux distribution repositories All 4 strengths for ZoneMinder Supports IP, USB and analog cameras Packaged in many Linux distribution repositories Mature project with a large community Motion analysis and recording in one system
Linux only on the server side Building from source requires the project's custom scripts All 3 limitations for Bluecherry Linux only on the server side Building from source requires the project's custom scripts Depends on MySQL and PHP	Linux only Setup and tuning take more effort than newer Docker-first systems
Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0	License: GPL-2.0
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Bluecherry github.com/bluecherrydvr/bluecherry-apps Catalog checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for ZoneMinder zoneminder.com github.com/ZoneMinder/zoneminder Catalog checked October 2, 2026

“Not stated” means we have not confirmed it. Features can vary by device and plan.