Software Alternatives & Reviews

iSpy VS Blue Iris

Compare iSpy VS Blue Iris and see what are their differences

iSpy logo iSpy

iSpy is software that allows the user to view and control video surveillance cameras. The software began development in 2007 and now has over 2 million users around the world, according to the software's website. Read more about iSpy.

Blue Iris logo Blue Iris

Blue Iris is a high end security monitoring system that lets you view and control the feeds from all the cameras at your home or place of business.
  • iSpy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-09-19
  • Blue Iris Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-19

iSpy videos

IPSY SEPTEMBER 2019| ISPY SEPTEMBER REVIEW| IPSY

More videos:

Blue Iris videos

Blue Iris Software Security Camera - Why I Recommend it

More videos:

  • Tutorial - Blue Iris Detailed Tutorial - The Best Security Camera Software
  • Review - Is the Synology Surveillance Station better than Blue Iris?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to iSpy and Blue Iris)
3D
53 53%
47% 47
Security
40 40%
60% 60
Video Surveillance
49 49%
51% 51
Surveillance
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare iSpy and Blue Iris

iSpy Reviews

10 Best ZoneMinder Alternatives: Free and Paid Video Surveillance
Another complete solution that is a favorite of many users is iSpy. This project started as an open-source application intended to provide an alternative to expensive surveillance systems. Later on, the team started the development of Agent DVR, which has already outclassed its predecessor. Agent DVR is a great ZoneMinder alternative as it provides many of the same features.
15 Best Blue Iris Alternatives 2024
However, it is not the only software in the category that gives excellent performance. Among the more popular Blue Iris alternatives are ZoneMinder, Shinobi, YawCam, and others. However, iSpy is the best Blue Iris alternative thanks to its affordability and feature-packed design.

Blue Iris Reviews

  1. Terrible Experience

    I have tried this software and it was the worst experience I have had. First, I had so much trouble connecting up my IP Cameras. I would error messages multiple times and the application kept crashing. Once I finally got everything up and running, I would periodically loose connection to my cameras. I had contacted customer support regarding my issues and they would never respond. There are many other better products than Blue Iris.


10 Best ZoneMinder Alternatives: Free and Paid Video Surveillance
Blue Iris is a commercial option that charges a yearly license, starting at $39.95 for one camera. The full version supports up to 64 cameras and goes for $79.95 per year. If you want to try the software there is a 15-day demo available. This company also offers support plans costing up to $99.95, which gets you phone and remote desktop support.
15 Best Blue Iris Alternatives 2024
However, it is not the only software in the category that gives excellent performance. Among the more popular Blue Iris alternatives are ZoneMinder, Shinobi, YawCam, and others. However, iSpy is the best Blue Iris alternative thanks to its affordability and feature-packed design.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Blue Iris should be more popular than iSpy. It has been mentiond 55 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

iSpy mentions (12)

  • Remote Access "connect" is not working.
    I can't connect my local server to ispyconnect.com or the app. Serial changed for public consumption. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Cannot connect to iSpy from outside
    No, it has mjpeg endpoints and a command interface but not a website, the website for it is on ispyconnect.com. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Agent DVR Permissions Issues
    I've reproduced these steps but still can't get it to work. I just want to add that I can access it from ispyconnect.com but no other users can. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Plugin for IP camera
    Thank you everybody for your help, especially u/thisischemistry. I finally found a solution. My problem was the rtsp link that was not correct. The path depends on the brand of the camera. I went on ispyconnect.com where you can generate the correct URL base on you camera's brand. And that was it ! Magical :). Source: over 1 year ago
  • How to stop remote server/access and only have local?
    What external access are you talking about? If you mean access from ispyconnect.com then use that switch - if you mean access from the LAN you'll just need to block the 8090 port with the firewall. Source: over 1 year ago
View more

Blue Iris mentions (55)

  • Security cams
    Frigate https://frigate.video/ and ZoneMinder https://zoneminder.com/ come to mind. Blue Iris https://blueirissoftware.com/ is not open source but is what I prefer to use for my PoE systems ($80/yr). Source: 5 months ago
  • unable to activate-- blueirissoftware.com down?
    I've had BI running for years-- something went haywire with my setup this morning and now I need to re-activate my license. However, I'm unable to do so within BI, and it appears that blueirissoftware.com is down. Anyone else having issues or know what's going on? Source: 10 months ago
  • Trying to get a Blue Iris license - no response from IPcam-central
    Blue Iris' official site is blueirissoftware.com and the company is Perspective Software. Source: 10 months ago
  • Looking for an alternative
    Could look into a diy solution like https://blueirissoftware.com/ See what cameras are compatible. Might be some Ethernet based or wifi based cameras out there that would do what you need. Keeps it all local no clouds. Source: about 1 year ago
  • Alternative "Reolink cameras" clients
    Blue Iris is said to work well. https://blueirissoftware.com/. Source: about 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing iSpy and Blue Iris, you can also consider the following products

ZoneMinder - ZoneMinder is a free and open-source piece of security software that can be used at home or in your business. The software puts you in control of all of your data, and it is exceptionally easy to setup. Read more about ZoneMinder.

MotionEye - motionEye is a web frontend for the motion daemon, written in Python.

motionEyeOS - A Video Surveillance OS For Single-board Computers

Yawcam - Yawcam is short for Yet Another WebCAM software. The main ideas for Yawcam are to keep it simple and easy to use but to include all the usual features. DownloadDownload the webcam software Yawcam. Get the latest version .

Omnigo - Omnigo ensures a safer tomorrow by delivering security management, incident reporting, and public safety software for law enforcement, education, dispatch, and more

Shinobi - Sega introduces a fantastic game named as Shinobi is an Arcade, Action, Side-Scrolling Combat and Single-player video game.