Sighthound Video alternative for business cameras, with Sighthound pricing then and now
- Status read from Sighthound's own product page, support article and source repository
- Written by one of the alternatives, with the cases where we lose
Interior, after hours
Fixed camera, low light, two subjects
Analysing the clip
Clip
Decoded in your browser. Your video is never uploaded.
Sets the luma delta threshold and the smallest region that counts.
Kills the one frame flicker that no operator wants paged about.
Exclude zone
Put it over the road, the tree, the neighbour's window. Events inside it stop alerting.
The frame an event was found on shows up here.
Nothing selected yet
Hover a row in the event table to preview its frame, click it to hold the frame and jump the clip there.
- Length
- 0.0s
- Confidence
- 0%
- Area
- 0.0%
0
Motion events found
0
Dropped by zone
0
Dropped, too short
0
Alerts you would get
| # | Start | Length | Class | Conf. | Area |
|---|
Reading the clip. Events appear here as they are found.
Get these alerts from your own cameras.
Sighthound Video still runs. It just will not change again.
Three facts decide whether you need a Sighthound Video alternative this quarter or next year.
What still works
Your existing install and license
Sighthound says purchased Sighthound Video licenses are perpetual and do not expire, and that owners can ignore the renew prompt in older account screens. Recording, person and vehicle detection, rules and local alerts keep running on the computer where the app is installed.
What stopped
Updates, sales and routine support
No feature development and no regular bug fixes. The packaged app needs macOS 10.15 or Windows 10 or later, Apple Silicon runs it through Rosetta, and new or Pro licenses are created by hand through support. The source is on GitHub under GPLv3 and may need work to build on current systems.
What it means for a business
Your alerts depend on one frozen PC
Every person alert at the site now depends on one computer running software nobody patches. A Windows update, a dead drive or a new camera firmware can end it, and there is no vendor to call. Plan the move while it still works, not the week it stops.
Sighthound Video pricing was a one time license plus optional yearly support.
The last public price list, as Sighthound's product page showed it in July 2022. Today there is no checkout at all.
Starter
- Cameras
- 1 low resolution camera, no remote access
- One time price
- $0
- Support after year one
- None
Basic
- Cameras
- 2 full resolution cameras
- One time price
- $60
- Support after year one
- $12 a year
Home
- Cameras
- 6 full resolution cameras
- One time price
- $120
- Support after year one
- $24 a year
Pro
- Cameras
- Unlimited full resolution cameras
- One time price
- $250
- Support after year one
- $50 a year
| Sighthound Video edition | Cameras | One time price | Support after year one |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | 1 low resolution camera, no remote access | $0 | None |
| Basic | 2 full resolution cameras | $60 | $12 a year |
| Home | 6 full resolution cameras | $120 | $24 a year |
| Pro | Unlimited full resolution cameras | $250 | $50 a year |
Those prices bought a perpetual license, and the first 12 months of support and upgrades were included. After that, the yearly fee only paid for new major versions and help. Basic, Home and Pro all came with web, iOS and Android remote access and IFTTT and webhook integrations.
Now the rules are different. Sighthound's support article says it no longer provides regular bug fixes, feature updates or subscription upgrades, and its product page says there is no self service checkout or automatic upgrade flow. A business that wants another Pro license, or moves to a new account, emails support and waits for a manual change.
Sighthound cost today
Existing license: $0 a year to keep running. Nothing to renew.
New license: not sold through a store. Support creates it by hand.
Source code: GPLv3 on GitHub, build and maintain it yourself.
The cheapest line in this box is also the riskiest one for a business: free software with no owner on call.
Five products that do what Sighthound did for a business, on cameras you already own.
Each one accepts third party IP cameras and tells a person or vehicle apart from moving shadows. They differ on platform, on whether they record, and on how a business is billed.
Blue Iris
- Runs on
- One Windows PC
- Records video
- Yes, up to 128 cameras
- Person and vehicle detection
- Built in since version 6, optional NVIDIA GPU
- Business price
- $99.95 license, plus the $39.95 a month commercial license for business use
Agent DVR
- Runs on
- Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker
- Records video
- Yes, unlimited cameras per server
- Person and vehicle detection
- Real time AI in every paid plan
- Business price
- $7.95 to $19.95 a month per server, perpetual local license on annual plans
SecuritySpy
- Runs on
- One Mac
- Records video
- Yes, 1 to unlimited cameras
- Person and vehicle detection
- On the Mac, people, vehicles and animals
- Business price
- $50.99 for 1 camera to $1,060.99 unlimited, 2 years of updates
UniFi Protect with AI Port
- Runs on
- A UniFi console
- Records video
- Yes, on the console
- Person and vehicle detection
- One $199 AI Port per 1 to 3 third party cameras
- Business price
- No license, hardware only
MotionDetection
- Runs on
- Our service, nothing installed on a PC
- Records video
- No, your NVR or VMS keeps recording
- Person and vehicle detection
- Our own detection on the stream, then classification of every event
- Business price
- $49 to $998 a month by camera count, on the pricing page
| Product | Runs on | Records video | Person and vehicle detection | Business price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Iris | One Windows PC | Yes, up to 128 cameras | Built in since version 6, optional NVIDIA GPU | $99.95 license, plus the $39.95 a month commercial license for business use |
| Agent DVR | Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker | Yes, unlimited cameras per server | Real time AI in every paid plan | $7.95 to $19.95 a month per server, perpetual local license on annual plans |
| SecuritySpy | One Mac | Yes, 1 to unlimited cameras | On the Mac, people, vehicles and animals | $50.99 for 1 camera to $1,060.99 unlimited, 2 years of updates |
| UniFi Protect with AI Port | A UniFi console | Yes, on the console | One $199 AI Port per 1 to 3 third party cameras | No license, hardware only |
| MotionDetection | Our service, nothing installed on a PC | No, your NVR or VMS keeps recording | Our own detection on the stream, then classification of every event | $49 to $998 a month by camera count, on the pricing page |
Read the third column first. Sighthound Video was a recorder and a detector in one app, and the first four rows replace both. We replace only the detection and alert half, so we fit a site that already records on an NVR, a DVR or VMS software, or one willing to add a recorder. The full numbers behind each row are on our pages for the Blue Iris license price and commercial license, Agent DVR pricing for business, the SecuritySpy license price and UniFi Protect third party cameras.
Four situations where staying on Sighthound costs more than leaving.
The PC is due for replacement
A new Windows 11 machine or an Apple Silicon Mac means reinstalling an app that is no longer built for either. It may work through Rosetta or on Windows 11, but nobody will fix it if it does not.
You are adding cameras
New cameras ship with newer firmware and codecs. Sighthound Video gets no new compatibility work, and a Pro license for a new account now goes through a support email.
Someone other than you gets the alerts
A shift lead, a manager at another site, a Slack channel or a ticket system. Sighthound sends email and runs local scripts; anything more is glue you maintain.
An auditor or insurer asks about the system
Unsupported software on the network is a finding in most IT and insurance questionnaires. A product with an owner, a price and a support address answers that question.
When keeping Sighthound Video is the right call
If it runs on a dedicated machine that is not due for replacement, the cameras are not changing, and one person reads the email alerts, there is no urgent reason to spend money. Keep the installer and your license details somewhere safe, take that PC off automatic feature upgrades, and set a date to look at this again. This page is for the business where one of the four situations above is already true.
Person and vehicle alerts on the stream your recorder already pulls, with no PC to babysit.
Connect
Give it the RTSP URL of each camera, or let it find them over ONVIF. It reads the low resolution sub stream, so your recorder keeps the main stream and nothing on the camera changes.
Detect
Our own background model finds regions that really moved and joins them into events. Sensor noise, compression shimmer and single frame flicker are dropped before anything is classified.
Classify
Crops from each event are labelled person, vehicle, animal, package or other motion, with a confidence value, much like Sighthound's object rules, without a desktop app.
Alert
Only events outside your exclude zones, longer than your minimum duration and in a class you chose reach you, by email, webhook or Slack, for every user on the account.
Moving off Sighthound this way is two jobs, not one. Point the cameras at a recorder you trust (an NVR you already own, or VMS software from our video management software comparison), then add the detection layer for the alerts. The RTSP camera software page covers stream URLs and sub streams, and person detection camera software covers the one class most businesses bought Sighthound for.
What a fifteen camera business pays for each Sighthound Video alternative.
List prices from each vendor, no PC, no NVR and no installation labor. The rows do not buy the same thing, and the last column says so.
Sighthound Video Pro, existing license
- Up front
- $0
- Five years
- $0
- What it includes
- Recording and detection on one PC, as it is today. No updates, no vendor support.
Agent DVR Professional, paid yearly
- Up front
- $215.46
- Five years
- $1,077.30
- What it includes
- Recording and AI on one server, unlimited cameras, perpetual local license.
SecuritySpy 16 cameras, renewed after year two
- Up front
- $479.99
- Five years
- About $840
- What it includes
- Recording and detection on one Mac. Updates renewed at 25% a year from year three.
Blue Iris with the commercial license
- Up front
- $99.95
- Five years
- $2,496.95
- What it includes
- Recording and AI on one Windows PC, licensed for business use.
MotionDetection, Operate tier
- Up front
- $888
- Five years
- $4,440
- What it includes
- Classified alerts on 15 cameras at up to 3 sites, 30 day event history, 5 users, webhook and Slack. Your recorder keeps the video.
| Option | Up front | Five years | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sighthound Video Pro, existing license | $0 | $0 | Recording and detection on one PC, as it is today. No updates, no vendor support. |
| Agent DVR Professional, paid yearly | $215.46 | $1,077.30 | Recording and AI on one server, unlimited cameras, perpetual local license. |
| SecuritySpy 16 cameras, renewed after year two | $479.99 | About $840 | Recording and detection on one Mac. Updates renewed at 25% a year from year three. |
| Blue Iris with the commercial license | $99.95 | $2,496.95 | Recording and AI on one Windows PC, licensed for business use. |
| MotionDetection, Operate tier | $888 | $4,440 | Classified alerts on 15 cameras at up to 3 sites, 30 day event history, 5 users, webhook and Slack. Your recorder keeps the video. |
The honest reading: if you want one box that records and detects and you are happy to run it yourself, Agent DVR and SecuritySpy cost less than we do over five years. We cost more because nothing sits on a PC at your site, alerts reach every user and channel you add, and three locations share one account. If the site already records on an NVR and the job is reliable person alerts that someone else maintains, the bottom row is the whole cost, published. The video analytics software price page lists every tier and the per camera arithmetic.
Four things Sighthound Video does that this product does not.
-
It records
Sighthound Video keeps the footage on the PC. We keep events and their crops, not continuous video, so you need an NVR or VMS for recording.
-
It works with no internet
Detection runs entirely on the local computer. Our classification runs as a service, so the site needs an outbound connection.
-
It costs nothing more to keep
A license you already own has no running cost. Ours is a monthly or yearly subscription.
-
Local scripts
Sighthound rules can launch a script on the PC. We send email, webhooks and Slack, and a webhook is the closest equivalent.
Sighthound Video questions that come up while you are choosing a replacement.
01
Is Sighthound Video discontinued?
Sighthound Video is no longer developed or sold as a packaged commercial product. Sighthound calls it a legacy desktop app, published the source on GitHub under GPLv3, and the last packaged release is 7.0.16 from January 5, 2022. Support is best effort for critical issues, and there are no regular bug fixes or feature updates.
02
Does my Sighthound Video license expire?
No. Sighthound says purchased Sighthound Video licenses are perpetual and do not expire, and that owners can ignore renewal prompts in older account screens. The app keeps working on the computer where it is installed. What ended is the yearly support and upgrade subscription, because there are no upgrades left to deliver.
03
How much did Sighthound Video cost?
The last public price list, in July 2022, had Starter free for one low resolution camera, Basic at $60 for 2 cameras, Home at $120 for 6 and Pro at $250 for unlimited cameras. Each was a one time license with a year of support included, then $12, $24 or $50 a year for support. There is no self service checkout now.
04
What is the best Sighthound Video alternative for a business?
It depends on whether you need a recorder. To replace the whole app on one machine, Agent DVR runs on Windows, macOS and Linux from $7.95 a month per server, Blue Iris runs on Windows, and SecuritySpy runs on a Mac. If an NVR already records, a detection layer like MotionDetection adds person alerts without a PC to maintain.
05
Can I still buy a Sighthound Video Pro license?
Not through a store. Sighthound's product page says there is no self service checkout or automatic upgrade flow for legacy licenses, and that new users or owners who need Pro access should create an account and contact support so the license can be created manually.
06
Does Sighthound Video work on Windows 11 and Apple Silicon Macs?
The last release lists Windows 10 or later and macOS 10.15 or later. Sighthound's repository says Apple Silicon Macs can run the packaged app through Rosetta, while native builds from source on Apple Silicon are not guaranteed. Because the app is no longer updated, a future Windows or macOS change that breaks it will not be fixed.
07
Can I keep my cameras when I replace Sighthound?
Yes. Every option on this page accepts standard IP cameras over RTSP or ONVIF, the same way Sighthound Video connected to them. You copy each camera's stream URL into the new product. Webcams that Sighthound used over USB need a computer based recorder such as Agent DVR or Blue Iris.
Related pages
Agent DVR pricing for business
Per server subscriptions from $7.95 a month with unlimited cameras, and the perpetual local license.
Blue Iris license price
The $99.95 license, maintenance, and the commercial license a business needs.
SecuritySpy license price
Every camera tier on the Mac recorder, and what renewal costs after two years.
UniFi Protect third party cameras
What Protect gives an ONVIF camera and what an AI Port adds.
Person detection camera software
Person alerts on the cameras you already own.
Video analytics software price
Every tier, the per camera arithmetic, and no sales call attached.
Keep the cameras. Retire the frozen PC.
One field, one 6 digit code, and your console opens on that address. Pick the tier by camera count and pay by card, with no quote to wait for.