# Best open source NVR and video surveillance software > The best open source NVR is Frigate, with 36,390 GitHub stars, the MIT license and a Docker image; Viseron and motionEye are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Frigate leads for small business and home use. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 8 apps in the video surveillance category of the appsgit catalog. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Question | What is the best open source NVR? | | Picks | 18 | | Top pick | Frigate (36,390 stars) | | Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 | | Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-nvr | ## Top picks 8 of the 8 apps in the video surveillance category, ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. - [Frigate](https://appsgit.com/apps/frigate) (36,390 stars, MIT, Python, Docker, AI features): Frigate has 36,390 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,445 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. - [Viseron](https://appsgit.com/apps/viseron) (3,569 stars, MIT, Python, Docker, AI features): Viseron has 3,569 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,095 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. - [motionEye](https://appsgit.com/apps/motioneye) (4,694 stars, GPL-3.0, Python, Docker): motionEye has 4,694 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 377 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. - [Zoneminder](https://appsgit.com/apps/zoneminder) (5,941 stars, GPL-2.0, PHP): Zoneminder has 5,941 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 3,316 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. - [Scrypted](https://appsgit.com/apps/scrypted) (6,000 stars, license unverified, TypeScript, Docker): Scrypted has 6,000 GitHub stars, uses a license appsgit could not verify, ships a Docker image and had 274 commits in the last year. - [Secluso](https://appsgit.com/apps/secluso) (1,678 stars, GPL-3.0, Rust, AI features): Secluso has 1,678 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license and had 145 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. - [Strix](https://appsgit.com/apps/strix) (895 stars, MIT, HTML, Docker): Strix has 895 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 125 commits in the last year. - [Bluecherry](https://appsgit.com/apps/bluecherry) (275 stars, GPL-2.0, C++): Bluecherry has 275 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 51 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. ## Best for small business Ranked for small business on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites, recent commits and deploy guides. - [Frigate](https://appsgit.com/apps/frigate) (36,390 stars, MIT, Python, Docker, AI features): Frigate has 36,390 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,445 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Viseron](https://appsgit.com/apps/viseron) (3,569 stars, MIT, Python, Docker, AI features): Viseron has 3,569 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,095 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [motionEye](https://appsgit.com/apps/motioneye) (4,694 stars, GPL-3.0, Python, Docker): motionEye has 4,694 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 377 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Zoneminder](https://appsgit.com/apps/zoneminder) (5,941 stars, GPL-2.0, PHP): Zoneminder has 5,941 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 3,316 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. For small business it also scores on an open-source license, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Scrypted](https://appsgit.com/apps/scrypted) (6,000 stars, license unverified, TypeScript, Docker): Scrypted has 6,000 GitHub stars, uses a license appsgit could not verify, ships a Docker image and had 274 commits in the last year. For small business it also scores on a Docker image, a project website and a commit in the last 90 days. ## Best for home use Ranked for home use on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. - [Frigate](https://appsgit.com/apps/frigate) (36,390 stars, MIT, Python, Docker, AI features): Frigate has 36,390 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,445 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [motionEye](https://appsgit.com/apps/motioneye) (4,694 stars, GPL-3.0, Python, Docker): motionEye has 4,694 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 377 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Viseron](https://appsgit.com/apps/viseron) (3,569 stars, MIT, Python, Docker, AI features): Viseron has 3,569 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 1,095 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. For home use it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Scrypted](https://appsgit.com/apps/scrypted) (6,000 stars, license unverified, TypeScript, Docker): Scrypted has 6,000 GitHub stars, uses a license appsgit could not verify, ships a Docker image and had 274 commits in the last year. For home use it also scores on a Docker image and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Zoneminder](https://appsgit.com/apps/zoneminder) (5,941 stars, GPL-2.0, PHP): Zoneminder has 5,941 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-2.0 license and had 3,316 commits in the last year; it replaces Ring. For home use it also scores on an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. ## How this list was made - Candidates: the 8 apps in the video surveillance category. Archived projects and projects with no commit in the last two years are left out. - Base score: GitHub stars on a log scale plus commits in the last 12 months (log scale, capped at 1,000). - Bonus points for a published Docker image, an OSI-approved open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - Each "Best for" section re-ranks the same apps with that audience's profile (for example startups add points for permissive licenses, project websites and recent commits; small business for Docker images and deploy guides). - Source-available apps can rank, but they are labelled and never described as open source. ## FAQ ### Is Frigate free? Yes. Frigate is open-source software released under the MIT license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan. ### Which open source NVR is best for a small business? Frigate ranks first for small business, with 36,390 GitHub stars, the MIT license and a Docker image; Viseron and motionEye follow. The small business ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses, project websites, recent commits and deploy guides on top of stars and activity. ### Which open source NVR is best for home use? Frigate ranks first for home use, with 36,390 GitHub stars, the MIT license and a Docker image; motionEye and Viseron follow. The home use ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits on top of stars and activity. ### Can I self-host these NVR and video surveillance software with Docker? Yes, 5 of the 8 picks. Frigate, Viseron and motionEye publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. The others install from their own packages or source; follow each project's install guide. ### Are all of these NVR and video surveillance software open source? 7 of the 8 apps on this list are open source; 1 has a license appsgit could not verify. Source-available licenses add conditions, such as limits on hosted or commercial use, so read them before you deploy. ## Related questions - [What is the best open source media server?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-media-servers) - [What is the best open source home automation platform?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-home-automation) - [What is the best open source budgeting app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-budgeting-software) - [What is the best open source CMS?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-cms) - [What is the best open source team chat app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-team-chat) - [What is the best open source file sharing app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-file-sharing) - [What is the best open source analytics tool?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-analytics) - [What is the best open source URL shortener?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-url-shorteners) ## See also - [All video surveillance apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/video-surveillance) - [All media servers apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/media-servers) - [All home automation & IoT apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/home-automation) - [Open-source alternatives to Ring](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/ring) - [Frigate vs ZoneMinder](https://appsgit.com/compare/frigate-vs-zoneminder) --- Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-nvr Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. Data from the GitHub API, refreshed nightly. Machine access: JSON API https://appsgit.com/api/v1/apps (OpenAPI: https://appsgit.com/openapi.json), MCP server https://mcp.appsgit.com/mcp, full index https://appsgit.com/llms-full.txt.