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Jitsu vs VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

Jitsu logo

Jitsu

Developer Tools

Open source event pipeline that streams behavioural data to your own warehouse

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
VIVOTEK VAST Security Station logo

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

Cybersecurity

Camera-vendor video management software with a free 32-channel tier for VIVOTEK devices

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Jitsu has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Jitsu jitsu is a pipeline, not a customer data platform, so identity resolution, audience building and reverse ETL are absent and a marketing team expecting Segment parity will be disappointed.; VIVOTEK VAST Security Station vAST 2 has entered end of maintenance with technical support and software files withdrawn, yet distributors still list VAST 2 licences, so a buyer can be quoted unsupported software without realising it.
  • They diverge on capability: Jitsu covers Event collection, VIVOTEK VAST Security Station covers VSS Lite free tier.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Jitsu and VIVOTEK VAST Security Station actually diverge.

Attributes where Jitsu and VIVOTEK VAST Security Station differ
AttributeJitsuVIVOTEK VAST Security Station
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelPer month by event volumeOne-time purchase per camera channel
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, iOS, AndroidWindows, Web, iOS, Android
CategoryDeveloper ToolsCybersecurity

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Jitsu

  • Event collection
  • Warehouse destinations
  • Connector syncs
  • Transformations
  • Bundled ClickHouse
  • Event debugger
  • Self-hosting
  • Custom domains

Only in VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

  • VSS Lite free tier
  • Per-channel licensing
  • Third-party camera support
  • Failover and TV matrix
  • Vision object analytics
  • Embedded NVR licensing
  • NDAA and TAA compliance

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Jitsu

  • A team paying five figures a year to a customer data platform when all it actually does is send events to Snowflakenot VIVOTEK VAST Security Station
  • An engineering group that needs event collection running inside its own VPC for data residency or security review reasonsnot VIVOTEK VAST Security Station
  • A product analytics setup that wants raw events in the warehouse as the source of truth rather than trapped in a vendor toolnot VIVOTEK VAST Security Station
  • A startup that needs first-party event collection on its own domain to reduce loss from tracker blocking without paying CDP pricesnot VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

  • A school or small public building with fewer than 32 VIVOTEK cameras that needs a VMS at no licence costnot Jitsu
  • A United States public sector site that must meet NDAA and TAA procurement restrictionsnot Jitsu
  • An existing VAST 2 site that needs to migrate before the software falls further out of maintenancenot Jitsu
  • A mid-sized site standardising on VIVOTEK hardware with a handful of third-party cameras to absorbnot Jitsu

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Jitsu

  • Jitsu is a pipeline, not a customer data platform, so identity resolution, audience building and reverse ETL are absent and a marketing team expecting Segment parity will be disappointed.
  • Connector sync frequency is deliberately tiered, with the free plan limited to manual runs and one daily sync, so anything approaching operational freshness requires the paid plan or self-hosting.
  • Self-hosting means you own the reliability of a system that drops data silently when misconfigured, and event loss is uniquely hard to notice because nothing errors, the numbers are just quietly lower.
  • The connector catalogue is far smaller than Fivetran or Airbyte, so if your requirement is pulling from many SaaS sources rather than pushing events, Jitsu is the wrong half of the problem.
  • It is a small company with a small commercial team, so enterprise procurement processes around security review, contractual SLAs and support escalation take longer than with an incumbent vendor.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

  • VAST 2 has entered end of maintenance with technical support and software files withdrawn, yet distributors still list VAST 2 licences, so a buyer can be quoted unsupported software without realising it.
  • The free Lite tier is hard capped at 32 cameras and VIVOTEK devices only, so a site that grows to 33 cameras or adds one third-party camera moves straight to paid Standard licensing.
  • VSS Professional includes no camera licences at all, so the edition that large deployments need starts from a higher effective price than the tier comparison suggests.
  • It is a camera manufacturer's VMS, so the third-party device list, analytics ecosystem and integration catalogue are all narrower than an independent platform like Milestone or Salient.
  • No pricing is published for Standard or Professional channels; everything runs through distribution, which makes budgeting a phased expansion difficult without repeated quotes.

Pricing, plan by plan

Jitsu

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • MIT licence
    • Self-host on any cloud
    • No usage limits
  • Cloud FreeFree
    • Unlimited captured events
    • 200,000 active events per month
    • Manual connector runs only
  • Business$99/month
    • 2,000,000 active events per month
    • $40 per additional million events
    • Hourly connector sync frequency
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Custom event volume
    • One minute sync frequency
    • Unlimited active syncs

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

On request
  • VSS LiteFree
    • Free of charge
    • Up to 32 VIVOTEK cameras per server
    • No third-party camera support
  • VSS Standard$undefined/one-time
    • Up to 256 cameras per server
    • Eight camera licences included for VIVOTEK or third-party devices
    • Additional channel licences purchased individually
  • VSS Professional$undefined/one-time
    • Large scale deployments with failover and TV matrix
    • No camera licences included at all
    • Every channel purchased or upgraded from Standard

Which should you pick?

Choose Jitsu if

  • You need event collection.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, iOS, Android.
  • You also want warehouse destinations.
Jitsu review

Choose VIVOTEK VAST Security Station if

  • You need vss lite free tier.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want per-channel licensing.
VIVOTEK VAST Security Station review

Questions people ask

Is Jitsu or VIVOTEK VAST Security Station better?
Neither clearly leads. Jitsu starts at Free and VIVOTEK VAST Security Station at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Jitsu or VIVOTEK VAST Security Station?
Jitsu has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Jitsu and On request for VIVOTEK VAST Security Station.
Does Jitsu or VIVOTEK VAST Security Station run on more platforms?
Jitsu runs on Web, Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, iOS, Android. VIVOTEK VAST Security Station runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Jitsu for free?
Yes. Jitsu has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. VIVOTEK VAST Security Station starts at On request.
What is Jitsu best used for?
Jitsu is most often used for a team paying five figures a year to a customer data platform when all it actually does is send events to snowflake, an engineering group that needs event collection running inside its own vpc for data residency or security review reasons, a product analytics setup that wants raw events in the warehouse as the source of truth rather than trapped in a vendor tool, a startup that needs first-party event collection on its own domain to reduce loss from tracker blocking without paying cdp prices. Of those, a team paying five figures a year to a customer data platform when all it actually does is send events to snowflake and an engineering group that needs event collection running inside its own vpc for data residency or security review reasons are not what VIVOTEK VAST Security Station is typically brought in for.
What can Jitsu do that VIVOTEK VAST Security Station cannot?
Jitsu covers Event collection, Warehouse destinations, Connector syncs, Transformations. VIVOTEK VAST Security Station covers VSS Lite free tier, Per-channel licensing, Third-party camera support, Failover and TV matrix.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Jitsu: Is Jitsu the same as Jitsi?

No. Jitsu is an open source event data pipeline. Jitsi is an unrelated video conferencing project.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station: Should I still buy VAST 2?

No. VAST 2 has entered end of maintenance with support and software files withdrawn. VSS is the current product, and any VAST 2 licence still on a distributor price list should be questioned.

Jitsu: Can I self-host for free?

Yes. The project is MIT licensed with no usage limits when self-hosted.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station: Is VSS Lite really free?

Yes, for up to 32 VIVOTEK cameras per server. It does not support third-party cameras and cannot exceed 32 channels.

Jitsu: How does the cost compare with Segment?

The Business plan is 99 US dollars a month for two million active events, where a per-tracked-user CDP typically costs orders of magnitude more at comparable volume.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station: How many licences come with Standard?

Eight camera licences, usable for VIVOTEK or third-party devices. Professional includes none.

Jitsu: Does Jitsu do identity resolution?

No. It transports and transforms events; identity stitching and audiences are not part of the product.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Station: Is VIVOTEK NDAA compliant?

VIVOTEK publishes an NDAA and TAA compliant product list, which is why it appears in United States public sector specifications where Section 889 excludes several other manufacturers.

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