Self-host your cameras, doorbells & entire security system. Zero monthly fees. Zero data sold. Replace Ring, Blink & Wyze with hardware you control and software that respects you.
WebRTC P2P with TURN relay fallback. Sub-100ms latency. Adaptive bitrate. Works on mobile and desktop without plugins.
On-device and server-side AI. Detect people, vehicles, packages, and faces. Custom zones. Bounding boxes. 94%+ accuracy.
Full two-way audio, fisheye lens support, visitor log with photo capture, instant push notifications to any device.
Record to local NAS, SD card, or S3-compatible cloud. Configurable retention per camera. Continuous or motion-triggered.
Remote access without port forwarding. TURN/STUN relay infrastructure across US, EU, and APAC. 99.9% SLA guaranteed.
Flash SentinelHQ onto your own hardware. Full OEM firmware SDK, provisioning portal, OTA updates with ED25519 signing.
Owner, admin, and viewer roles. Share access with family or staff. Per-camera permissions. Full audit log of all actions.
Draw custom detection zones. Set schedules, sensitivity per zone, and complex rules like "alert only when driveway motion after 10pm."
REST API, webhooks, Home Assistant, Frigate bridge, Zapier, Slack, and more. Full developer access on all paid plans.
| Feature | SentinelHQ | Ring | Blink | Wyze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted option | ✓ Full | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Data privacy | ✓ Yours only | ✗ Amazon | ✗ Amazon | ⚠ China servers |
| Per-camera fees | ✓ None | ✗ $10/cam | ✗ $3/cam | ⚠ $1.99/cam |
| Works after cancel | ✓ Forever | ✗ Bricked | ✗ Bricked | ⚠ Limited |
| Unlimited cameras | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| AI detection included | ✓ Pro plan | ✗ Paid add-on | ✗ Paid add-on | ⚠ Basic only |
| Open API | ✓ Full REST | ⚠ Limited | ✗ | ⚠ Limited |
| RTSP/ONVIF support | ✓ Any camera | ✗ Ring only | ✗ Blink only | ✗ Wyze only |
| White-label available | ✓ OEM SDK | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Monthly price (3 cameras) | $12/mo flat | $30–60/mo | $9–15/mo | $6–8/mo |
All plans include a 14-day free trial. No credit card required to start.
Full platform on your own server. No limitations, no expiry. Own your stack completely.
Self-hosted with software updates, community support, and minor cloud perks.
Remote access from anywhere, cloud backup, and push notifications. No port forwarding.
Power users and professionals. Multi-region relay, AI, and priority everything.
White-label hardware, multi-tenant SaaS, dedicated infrastructure, revenue share.
SentinelHQ uses an open-core model. The base is free. Advanced features require a license key — even for self-hosted deployments.
The core is free and open source. Advanced features require a license key that activates on your server. One-time or annual — you choose.
License keys are tied to your server's machine ID. Contact us for volume licensing or multi-server deals.
"Cancelled my Ring subscription and set up SentinelHQ in an afternoon. Saving $47/month and I actually own my footage now. The AI detection is better than Ring's too."
"We white-labeled SentinelHQ for our property management business. 200 units, our branding, our pricing. The OEM SDK made it painless. Best business decision we made."
"As someone who reads terms of service, Ring's data sharing was a hard no. SentinelHQ just works — runs on my home server, streams to my phone anywhere. Privacy win."
"Docker compose up, pointed it at my Reolink cameras, done. The TURN relay means my wife can check cameras while traveling and I didn't have to poke holes in my firewall."
"The Business license paid for itself in 2 months. Running it for 3 commercial clients, charging them $15/mo each through our white-label. Pure profit."
"Runs on a $35 Raspberry Pi. I have 8 cameras covering my entire property. The AI package detects my dogs vs actual people. No false alerts in 3 months."
Yes — the Community edition is genuinely free with no time limits or camera restrictions on self-hosted setups. You only pay for the optional cloud relay (remote access), cloud backup, and advanced features like AI detection. We use an open-core model: the foundation is MIT licensed, and premium features require a license key or subscription.
Never, when self-hosting. Your cameras stream directly to your local server. If you use our cloud relay plan, video is relayed encrypted (end-to-end) through our TURN servers — we see encrypted packets only, not video. Cloud backups are encrypted before upload with a key only you hold. We have a zero-knowledge architecture for all media.
Ring and Blink cameras are locked to Amazon's ecosystem and cannot be used with SentinelHQ. Wyze cameras can be flashed with RTSP-enabled firmware and work great. Any camera that outputs RTSP or supports ONVIF is compatible — this includes Reolink, Hikvision, Dahua, Amcrest, TP-Link Tapo, and thousands more. We recommend Reolink for best value.
A Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB RAM) handles up to 4 cameras at 1080p/15fps. A mini PC (Intel N100) handles 8–12 cameras. A NAS (Synology, QNAP) or old PC works great too. Minimum requirements: 2GB RAM, 2-core CPU, any Linux distro with Docker. We provide a one-command Docker Compose install.
Your cameras keep working — they never stop recording locally. You lose cloud relay access (remote viewing via our servers), cloud backup sync, and paid features like AI detection. Your local recordings and self-hosted instance remain fully functional, forever. This is the core difference from Ring — you own your system.
Absolutely. Our Business license or Enterprise/OEM plan lets you rebrand the entire platform with your logo, colors, and domain. The OEM firmware SDK lets you flash SentinelHQ onto your own hardware. You can charge your customers whatever you want. We handle the infrastructure, you keep the margin. Contact us for volume pricing and revenue share arrangements.
Our React Native mobile apps for iOS and Android are in beta (Q2 2025 launch). In the meantime, the web dashboard is fully mobile-responsive and works great on any phone browser. Push notifications to mobile work now via the web app. Sign up to be notified when the native apps launch.
Yes. We accept Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDC via Coinbase Commerce. Privacy-conscious users appreciate this option. Crypto payments grant time-based access (1/3/6/12 months). License keys can also be purchased with crypto. Because privacy matters in every transaction, not just your cameras.
Deploy in 5 minutes with Docker. No credit card required. Full platform free to self-host, forever.
docker compose up -d
— that's literally it.
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