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Cybersecurity · head to head

Milestone XProtect vs Periscope Holdings

Milestone XProtect logo

Milestone XProtect

Cybersecurity

Open platform video management software with perpetual per-device licences

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Periscope Holdings logo

Periscope Holdings

Government

Statewide e-procurement systems and supplier networks for large public agencies

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Milestone XProtect has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Milestone XProtect care Plus is presented as optional but is not in practice: without it, perpetual licences stop receiving version upgrades and eventually you cannot add a current camera because your frozen version does not support it.; Periscope Holdings it is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • They diverge on capability: Milestone XProtect covers Open device support, Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Milestone XProtect and Periscope Holdings actually diverge.

Attributes where Milestone XProtect and Periscope Holdings differ
AttributeMilestone XProtectPeriscope Holdings
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelOne-time purchase per device licence, plus annual Care Plusquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, Web, iOS, AndroidWeb
CategoryCybersecurityGovernment

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 Milestone XProtect

  • Open device support
  • Perpetual device licences
  • Federated architecture
  • Failover recording
  • Evidence export
  • Smart Map
  • Integration platform
  • Video summarisation

Only in Periscope Holdings

  • Sealed bid solicitation
  • Supplier registration network
  • Contract catalogues
  • Cooperative purchasing
  • Spend and compliance reporting
  • Supplier diversity tracking

What people use each for

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

Milestone XProtect

  • A city or transport operator running tens of thousands of cameras across federated sitesnot Periscope Holdings
  • An enterprise with mixed legacy camera brands that refuses to standardise on one manufacturernot Periscope Holdings
  • A critical infrastructure site needing failover recording servers and tamper-evident evidence exportnot Periscope Holdings
  • An integrator building a bespoke security application on top of an open VMS platformnot Periscope Holdings

Periscope Holdings

  • A state building a central procurement portal serving many agencies and local entitiesnot Milestone XProtect
  • A large agency needing statutory sealed bidding with a public opening recordnot Milestone XProtect
  • A purchasing programme that must report spend and supplier diversity across entitiesnot Milestone XProtect
  • A state wanting local governments to buy from its awarded cooperative contractsnot Milestone XProtect

Where each one falls short

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

Milestone XProtect

  • Care Plus is presented as optional but is not in practice: without it, perpetual licences stop receiving version upgrades and eventually you cannot add a current camera because your frozen version does not support it.
  • Per-device licensing means multi-sensor and multi-imager cameras consume several licences each, so a headline camera count badly understates the true licence cost of a modern design.
  • It is Windows only for servers and needs a properly designed server and storage architecture, so the software price is a fraction of a project that also needs recording servers, storage and an integrator.
  • Complexity requires trained staff or a certified integrator; organisations that install it without either end up running a large deployment on default settings and never using the features they paid for.
  • Milestone retired Kite from its portfolio in favour of Arcules from January 2025, which stranded buyers who had standardised on Kite and is a reminder that the cloud side of the portfolio has changed direction more than once.

Periscope Holdings

  • It is scaled and priced for statewide programmes, so a single city or county typically finds both the implementation effort and the cost out of proportion to its needs.
  • The interface reflects the age and regulatory weight of the platform, and suppliers routinely describe registration and bidding as harder than on newer portals, which can suppress bid response.
  • Ownership has changed twice since 2021, from independent to mdf commerce to KKR, so roadmap and support continuity should be written into the contract rather than assumed.
  • Sibling products inside mdf commerce cover adjacent procurement ground, which means an apparently competitive shortlist may contain two products with the same owner.
  • Statewide implementations are multi year projects with heavy configuration and change management, and the professional services cost commonly exceeds the software over the contract term.

Pricing, plan by plan

Milestone XProtect

Free
  • XProtect Essential+Free
    • Free for up to 8 cameras
    • No recording time limit
    • No vendor support included
  • XProtect Express+$109/one-time
    • Perpetual device licence, distributor list price
    • Single site, single server
    • Care Plus purchased separately per device per year
  • XProtect Professional+$177/one-time
    • Perpetual device licence, distributor list price
    • Multiple recording servers
    • Edge storage retrieval
  • XProtect Expert$282/one-time
    • Perpetual device licence, distributor list price
    • Failover recording servers
    • Advanced video wall and evidence handling

Periscope Holdings

On request
  • BuySpeed$undefined/year
    • Quoted per programme, scaled to entities served and transaction volume
    • Multi year statewide contracts with implementation priced separately
    • Supplier side registration fees form part of the commercial model on some programmes

Which should you pick?

Choose Milestone XProtect if

  • You need open device support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want perpetual device licences.
Milestone XProtect review

Choose Periscope Holdings if

  • You need sealed bid solicitation.
  • You also want supplier registration network.
Periscope Holdings review

Questions people ask

Is Milestone XProtect or Periscope Holdings better?
Neither clearly leads. Milestone XProtect starts at Free and Periscope Holdings at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Milestone XProtect or Periscope Holdings?
Milestone XProtect has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Milestone XProtect and On request for Periscope Holdings.
Does Milestone XProtect or Periscope Holdings run on more platforms?
Milestone XProtect runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android. Periscope Holdings runs on Web.
Can I use Milestone XProtect for free?
Yes. Milestone XProtect has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Periscope Holdings starts at On request.
What is Milestone XProtect best used for?
Milestone XProtect is most often used for a city or transport operator running tens of thousands of cameras across federated sites, an enterprise with mixed legacy camera brands that refuses to standardise on one manufacturer, a critical infrastructure site needing failover recording servers and tamper-evident evidence export, an integrator building a bespoke security application on top of an open vms platform. Of those, a city or transport operator running tens of thousands of cameras across federated sites and an enterprise with mixed legacy camera brands that refuses to standardise on one manufacturer are not what Periscope Holdings is typically brought in for.
What can Milestone XProtect do that Periscope Holdings cannot?
Milestone XProtect covers Open device support, Perpetual device licences, Federated architecture, Failover recording. Periscope Holdings covers Sealed bid solicitation, Supplier registration network, Contract catalogues, Cooperative purchasing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Milestone XProtect: Is XProtect really free for small sites?

Essential+ is free for up to eight cameras with no recording time limit, but it comes with no vendor support and no multi-server capability.

Periscope Holdings: Who owns Periscope Holdings?

mdf commerce acquired it in 2021, and mdf commerce was itself acquired by KKR in 2024.

Milestone XProtect: Are licences perpetual or annual?

Device licences are perpetual. The annual cost is Care Plus, the support and software update contract, which you need to stay on current versions.

Periscope Holdings: Is it suitable for a single city?

Usually not. It is built and priced for statewide or very large agency programmes.

Milestone XProtect: What happens if I do not renew Care Plus?

The system keeps recording, but you stop getting version upgrades, and over a few years that blocks you from adding newer cameras.

Periscope Holdings: What is BuySpeed?

The e-procurement platform behind its statewide deployments, covering solicitation through catalogue ordering and reporting.

Milestone XProtect: Who owns Milestone?

Canon. The portfolio also includes BriefCam analytics and Arcules cloud video, with Arcules replacing Milestone Kite from January 2025.

Periscope Holdings: Can we see what a state paid?

Yes. State procurement awards are public records and typically disclose the full multi year contract value.

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