IP Camera Software for Windows: Free and Paid Compared
Four programs that record network cameras on a Windows PC: what each costs, how many cameras the free versions allow and what your camera must support.
For a house or a flat, start with Agent DVR. It is free for private use on your own network, it puts no limit on the number of cameras, and it runs on 64-bit Windows 10 or later. If you would sooner pay once for a Windows program, Blue Iris costs $99.95 for up to 128 cameras, or $39.95 for a single camera.
We read each maker’s website for the price, the camera limits and what the PC needs. None of the programs was installed for this article, so it says nothing about picture quality or how hard each one works a processor.
One rule before anything else: only record cameras you own or have permission to monitor.
What Windows does on its own
Windows can show a network camera with nothing extra installed. Microsoft’s documentation says Windows 10 and 11 can connect to cameras on the local network that follow the ONVIF Profile S standard. In Windows 11, open Settings, then Bluetooth & devices, then Cameras, and choose Search for cameras. Once it is added, the camera shows up in any camera app the way a webcam does.
There are conditions. The camera and the PC must be on the same network subnet, and the stream has to be H.264 or MJPEG. Microsoft’s page covers connecting and viewing. It does not mention motion detection, recording schedules or alerts, and those are what the programs below are for.
IP camera software compared
| Software | Price | Camera limit | Connects to | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agent DVR | Free for private local use. From $7.95 a month for remote access or business use | None | IP cameras, ONVIF, RTSP, USB webcams | 64-bit Windows 10 or later. Also macOS, Linux |
| Blue Iris | $99.95, or $39.95 for the one-camera LE licence. 15-day free evaluation | 128, or 1 on LE | Network IP cameras, webcams, analog capture cards | 64-bit Windows 10 or later |
| Xeoma | Free edition. Lite $15 a camera, Standard from $9.20 a camera | Free: watch any number, record 2. Lite: 4 | Network cameras. The maker recommends ONVIF models | Windows, Linux, macOS, Android |
| ContaCam | Free, with a requested $10 donation per installation | None | RTSP or MJPEG network cameras, webcams | Windows 7 to 11 |
ONVIF and RTSP in brief
These two names decide whether a camera will work with any of this software. ONVIF is an industry standard, founded by Axis, Bosch and Sony, that lets cameras and software from different makers work together. Its Profile S covers basic video streaming, and Profile T adds H.265 video and motion events. RTSP is the plainer route: the camera publishes a stream address and the software reads it.
Many cloud cameras offer neither. ContaCam’s maker warns that some producers limit their cameras to their own apps, and that without RTSP no outside program can connect. Look for ONVIF or RTSP in a camera’s specification before you buy it.
Two free tools help when a camera will not connect, and Blue Iris’s own site points to both. ONVIF Device Manager is an open-source Windows program that finds the ONVIF cameras on your network. VLC can open a camera’s RTSP address directly: choose Media, then Open Network Stream, and paste the address in.
Agent DVR: free for private use
Agent DVR is made by iSpyConnect. It replaced the company’s older Windows program, iSpy, which the site says is no longer actively developed. It runs in the background as a Windows service, and you use it through a web browser on the same PC.
The site says it works with IP cameras, ONVIF devices, RTSP streams and USB webcams, and that the only limit on camera numbers is your hardware. Local recording, motion detection and playback are in the free version.
What costs money is everything beyond your own network. Remote access, the phone apps and push notifications need a subscription, which starts at $7.95 a month, and so does any business use. The download page adds that HD video also needs a licence, so read the pricing table before you settle on it.
Blue Iris: pay once
Blue Iris, from Perspective Software, is a Windows program now at version 6. The full licence is $99.95 and handles up to 128 cameras. The LE licence is $39.95 and handles one. There is a 15-day free evaluation, and the site asks you to use it before buying: once activated, a licence is normally non-refundable.
It takes network cameras, webcams and analog capture cards, records on motion or continuously, and has a built-in web server for watching from a browser or its phone apps. Version 6 has AI detection built in, where earlier versions relied on a separate program.
The price includes a year of updates and email support. Extending that costs $44.95 a year on auto-renewal, or $49.95 for a single year. Businesses should read the plans table closely: commercial use is ticked only against the commercial licence, which is $39.95 a month.
Xeoma: a free edition with limits
Xeoma, from Felenasoft, runs on Windows, Linux, macOS and Android. Its free edition lets you watch any number of cameras but records only two, keeps recordings for five days and offers no remote access except through Xeoma’s separate Repeater service. It needs no licence and has no time limit.
Paid licences are bought once, per camera. Lite is $15 a camera with a ceiling of four cameras on one PC. Standard runs from $9.20 to $33 a camera and Pro from $27.60 to $99, cheaper per camera the more you buy. Standard and Pro include a year of updates. Lite includes none.
ContaCam: small and open source
ContaCam is a Windows-only program written by one developer, with its source code published under the GPL. It is donationware: free to use, with a request for $10 per installation and a no-donation notice in the program until you give.
It supports Windows 7 through 11, connects to network cameras over RTSP or MJPEG, and sets no limit on the number of cameras. Its feature list does not mention ONVIF, so have your camera’s RTSP address ready.
What your PC needs
- Agent DVR: 64-bit Windows 10 or later.
- Blue Iris: at least a recent Intel processor, 8GB of RAM and 64-bit Windows 10. The recommended set-up is Windows 11, 1GB of RAM for each high-resolution camera, and fast hard drives or SSDs for the recordings.
- ContaCam: Windows 7 to Windows 11. Its maker describes it as light enough for modest machines.
- Xeoma: 32-bit and 64-bit Windows downloads are offered. The pages we read give no minimum hardware.
Whichever you choose, the PC has to stay on for as long as you want it recording.
What happened to our old list
- Blue Iris: still here.
- Ivideon Server: still a download on Ivideon’s site, and it works through an Ivideon account. The newest version on the downloads page dates from 2024.
- ZoneMinder: a Linux program. Its installation guide covers Ubuntu, Debian and Red Hat, and Windows only through the Windows Subsystem for Linux.
- C-MOR: sold by its German maker as a virtual machine or a ready-built appliance, in sizes from 3 to 15 cameras.
- Sighthound Video: Sighthound now calls it legacy software that no longer gets regular updates.
- Genius Vision: still offered, with a Community Edition that is free for non-commercial use. Its pages carry no release dates, so we could not tell how current it is.
- Freedom VMS: still published by its Australian maker, for CCTV systems built around separate recorders.
- Sentry Vision, Rear View Mirror and SecureCam 2: we could not find a maker’s site for any of them.
Two more names you may meet elsewhere. Milestone’s free XProtect Essential+ is no longer on Milestone’s product pages, where the range now starts at the Express+ edition. Frigate is open source, but its documentation says Windows is not officially supported.
Which to pick
- Home, watching on your own network: Agent DVR.
- Home, and you would sooner pay once: Blue Iris, after the 15-day evaluation.
- One or two cameras on an older PC: ContaCam, or Xeoma’s free edition.
- A live view of one camera and nothing more: Windows’ own camera settings, or VLC.
- A shop or office: do the sum first. Agent DVR’s business subscription at $7.95 a month comes to $95.40 a year. Blue Iris’s commercial licence at $39.95 a month comes to $479.40. Four Xeoma Lite licences cost $60, once.
Quick answers
Is there free IP camera software for Windows?
Yes. Agent DVR is free for private use on your own network. Xeoma’s free edition records two cameras, and ContaCam is free with a requested donation.
What is a free alternative to Blue Iris?
Agent DVR is the closest. It records on motion and has no camera limit, and it charges only for remote access and business use.
Can VLC play an IP camera?
Yes, if the camera gives out an RTSP address. In VLC, choose Media, then Open Network Stream, and paste the address.
What is ONVIF?
A standard that lets cameras and recording software from different makers work together. A camera listed as ONVIF Profile S or Profile T should connect to software that supports the same profile.
Will this software work with my Wi-Fi camera?
Only if the camera offers ONVIF or RTSP. Some cloud cameras work with their maker’s app and nothing else.
