ZoneMinder
lastmod 2026-02-27created 2016-10-125 edits
ZoneMinder is a free, open source Closed-circuit television software application developed for Linux which supports IP, USB and Analog cameras.
ZoneMinder is one of the oldest open-source CCTV/VMS projects, supporting IP cameras, USB cameras, and analog cameras on Linux. It is completely free under the GPL license, and all features can be used without restriction.
Pricing details
- Unlimited cameras
- All features free
- Community support only (no commercial support)
- Additional cost $0
Key features
- IP/USB/analog camera support
- Multiple detection zones per camera (individually tuned by sensitivity)
- Web-based interface
- Event-based recording
- API provided
- Packages for various Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Debian, RedHat, Gentoo)
- Motion detection
- Email/SMS notifications
Pros
- Completely free (no restrictions)
- Long history — 20+ years of development
- Highly customizable
- GPL license
- Supports various camera types
Cons
- Slowing development activity — very limited number of developers
- Low resource efficiency (performance degradation reported with 3 or more cameras)
- Very complex installation/configuration
- Dated UI (not a modern web UI)
- RTSP stability issues reported
- No audio recording support (older versions)
- Requires MySQL tuning (performance optimization)
- Lacks hardware optimization compared with commercial VMS
| WARNING |
| ZoneMinder's development activity has slowed significantly. For new projects, consider Frigate NVR or Shinobi as alternatives. |
System requirements
- OS: Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, RedHat, Gentoo)
- MySQL/MariaDB
- Apache/Nginx
- PHP
- For 16 cameras: at least i5, 8GB+ RAM
Suitable for
Linux experts, $0 budget, sufficient technical skills, maintaining legacy systems