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Video Surveillance & VMS Comparison

Milestone XProtect vs. Rhombus

At a glance

At a glance

Milestone XProtect

Best for

Best for organizations that want to run cameras from many manufacturers on their own servers and build the system out with third-party integrations.

  • Small and mid-sized
  • Enterprise

Rhombus

Best for

Best for organizations that want cloud-managed cameras with published list prices, and need to keep some existing cameras running alongside them.

Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.

Full Comparison

Criterion Milestone XProtect Rhombus
Starting price Not stated From $149 per camera licence, plus camera hardware Camera hardware is a one-time fee from $399 (R120 Mini Dome); the pricing page offers licence terms of 1, 3, 5 or 10 years
Free trial Not stated Free trial offered on the pricing page
API Yes, the MIP SDK, APIs for video, audio, metadata, events and alarms, a Driver Framework and the AI Bridge for analytics Yes, a public API with an API reference
Hosting On the customer's own servers, on Milestone Husky appliances, or hosted on AWS for all or part of a system Cloud-managed console, with video stored on the cameras or on a Relay device and optional cloud archiving
Made in Brøndby, Denmark Not stated
Camera compatibility (ONVIF, RTSP, vendor SDKs) More than 16,500 devices on the Supported Device List, tested by their manufacturers; ONVIF-certified devices connect through Milestone drivers Rhombus dome, fisheye, bullet and multisensor cameras; third-party cameras are added through the N100 Relay, which uses ONVIF where supported and ingests RTSP streams, or through Relay Lite, which lets a Rhombus camera bridge one third-party camera
Recording and storage Edge storage, scalable video quality recording, multicast, media database encryption and digital signing; hot and cold failover recording servers Video stored on the camera, with 20 to 180 days listed by model at default settings; the N100 Relay holds 2 TB or 4 TB, up to 40 days per camera; cloud archiving is available for longer retention
AI video analytics Hardware-accelerated motion detection (Intel QuickSync and NVIDIA) built in; further analytics through third-party integrations, the AI Bridge, or Milestone's separate BriefCam product AI video search, face recognition, license plate recognition and audio analytics; standard analytics come with the Professional licence and advanced analytics with the Enterprise licence
Deployment (on-premise, cloud, hybrid) On-premise on own servers or Husky appliances, hosting on AWS for all or part of a system, or hybrid with Milestone's Arcules VSaaS for remote sites Cloud-edge: cameras process and store video on the device and are managed from the cloud console, with no NVR needed for Rhombus cameras
Multi-site management XProtect Interconnect connects independently running remote sites to a central system; Milestone Federated Architecture links several systems in a hierarchy All locations managed from one cloud console; the vendor cites a customer running 13,000 devices across 11,000 locations
Camera health monitoring and alerts XProtect Remote Manager centrally monitors the health, configuration and maintenance of distributed installations, as part of the Care Plus programme; firmware upgrades single or in bulk depending on the variant The vendor states continuous system health monitoring with an alert when a camera stops functioning; firmware for Rhombus cameras is updated over the air automatically, while third-party camera firmware stays with the customer
Integrations and API Integrates with over 1,000 third-party applications; MIP SDK, APIs and Driver Framework through the Developer Portal Public API with an API reference at developer.rhombus.com, and more than 50 listed integrations
AI features No stated Yes
Deployment more entries On-premise, Cloud (SaaS) Cloud (SaaS)
Company size Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Not stated

Compare more tools

Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.

The short version

Key Differences

  • Deployment Milestone XProtect On-premise, Cloud (SaaS) Rhombus Cloud (SaaS)
  • Hosting Milestone XProtect On the customer's own servers, on Milestone Husky appliances, or hosted on AWS for all or part of a system Rhombus Cloud-managed console, with video stored on the cameras or on a Relay device and optional cloud archiving
  • AI features Milestone XProtect No Rhombus Yes
  • API Milestone XProtect Yes, the MIP SDK, APIs for video, audio, metadata, events and alarms, a Driver Framework and the AI Bridge for analytics Rhombus Yes, a public API with an API reference
  • Camera compatibility (ONVIF, RTSP, vendor SDKs) Milestone XProtect More than 16,500 devices on the Supported Device List, tested by their manufacturers; ONVIF-certified devices connect through Milestone drivers Rhombus Rhombus dome, fisheye, bullet and multisensor cameras; third-party cameras are added through the N100 Relay, which uses ONVIF where supported and ingests RTSP streams, or through Relay Lite, which lets a Rhombus camera bridge one third-party camera

Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.

The trade-offs

Strengths and Limitations

Milestone XProtect

Strengths

  • Connects devices from many manufacturers, with more than 16,500 on the Supported Device List
  • Four variants scale from one server with 100 devices to centrally managed distributed sites
  • Licences are perpetual rather than a subscription term
  • Public SDK, APIs and code samples for building integrations

Limitations

  • No published prices; quotes come from a local reseller or integrator
  • Express+ is limited to one recording server with 100 IP devices
  • Several functions, such as Smart Wall, Incident Manager and server failover, need an additional licence in some variants
  • Advanced analytics come from third parties or a separately sold Milestone product

Rhombus

Strengths

  • Hardware and licence list prices are published per camera
  • Video is stored on the camera, with no NVR for Rhombus cameras
  • Third-party ONVIF and RTSP cameras can be added through a Relay
  • Access control, intercoms and sensors in the same console
  • All cameras include a 10-year warranty

Limitations

  • Every camera needs an ongoing licence on top of the hardware
  • AI features and cloud archiving are not included in the Professional licence
  • Firmware of third-party cameras on a Relay is managed by the customer
  • Sold through authorized resellers rather than directly

Plans

Pricing

Rhombus

  • Professional licence $149 per camera Per camera, on top of the hardware; AI features and cloud archiving are not included in the Professional licence
  • Camera hardware From $399 per camera One-time fee, R120 Mini Dome 2MP; other models up to $3,299 (R600 Multisensor, which requires the Enterprise licence at $649)
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What users say

Review Scores · opens after launch

Milestone XProtect

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.

Rhombus

Ease of use
Not rated yet
User interface
Not rated yet
Onboarding
Not rated yet
Support and service
Not rated yet
Value for money
Not rated yet
Features
Not rated yet

No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.

How we check reviews

Before sending, the author has to confirm three things: that they have used the product themselves, that they work neither for the vendor nor for a competitor, and that nobody is paying them for the review. We also ask whether the vendor invited them to write it. That answer is required, either answer is accepted, and it stays with the review.

Every review is read by a person before it appears. An email address is required and is confirmed: we send a link to it, and a review does not reach us until the author opens that link, so a review has a sender who was reachable at least once rather than being anonymous. Where what somebody writes needs backing, we ask them for evidence that they used the product, and a review that does not get it is not published. We publish positive and negative reviews alike, we pay nothing and offer nothing for a review, and we accept none that was bought or incentivised.

What we cannot do is verify a purchase. There is no shop here and no account, so whether the author really used the tool rests on their own declaration, on whatever we ask them for, and on the plausibility of what they write. We say so rather than implying a check that does not exist.

A vendor cannot buy a review, and cannot have one removed or changed because they dislike it. We remove or edit a review only if it breaks our rules or the law, for example a false statement of fact. Paid placement has no effect on which reviews appear or on any score.

Read the full version on our methodology page

Where this comes from

Where this comes from

Milestone XProtect https://www.milestonesys.com/products/software/xprotect/ · no check date recorded yet

Rhombus https://www.rhombus.com/ · no check date recorded yet

This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.