Softwr

Cybersecurity · head to head

Milestone XProtect vs Sticky Password

Milestone XProtect logo

Milestone XProtect

Cybersecurity

Open platform video management software with perpetual per-device licences

From
Free
Rated
-
Sticky Password logo

Sticky Password

Cybersecurity

Password manager with autofill, digital wallet, and dark web monitoring

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • 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.; Sticky Password offers no dedicated family plan, requiring individual licenses or a Teams plan to cover a household.
  • They diverge on capability: Milestone XProtect covers Open device support, Sticky Password covers Autofill and capture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Milestone XProtect and Sticky Password actually diverge.

Attributes where Milestone XProtect and Sticky Password differ
AttributeMilestone XProtectSticky Password
Pricing modelOne-time purchase per device licence, plus annual Care Plusfreemium
PlatformsWindows, Web, iOS, Androidweb, ios, android, windows, mac

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

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 Sticky Password

  • Autofill and capture
  • Encrypted vault sync
  • Emergency access
  • Dark web monitoring
  • Password sharing
  • Digital wallet

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 Sticky Password
  • An enterprise with mixed legacy camera brands that refuses to standardise on one manufacturernot Sticky Password
  • A critical infrastructure site needing failover recording servers and tamper-evident evidence exportnot Sticky Password
  • An integrator building a bespoke security application on top of an open VMS platformnot Sticky Password

Sticky Password

  • Storing and autofilling passwords across devicesnot Milestone XProtect
  • Securely sharing a login with a family member or colleaguenot Milestone XProtect
  • Granting emergency vault access to a trusted contactnot Milestone XProtect
  • Monitoring saved credentials for dark web exposurenot 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.

Sticky Password

  • Offers no dedicated family plan, requiring individual licenses or a Teams plan to cover a household.
  • Free tier is limited to a 30-day Premium trial rather than a permanent free feature set.
  • Lacks the browser-based item history and detailed sharing permissions offered by some larger competitors.
  • Business/Teams tooling is lighter than dedicated enterprise password managers with SSO and SCIM support.

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

Sticky Password

Free
  • Free (30-day Premium trial)Free
    • 30-day trial of Premium features
    • Basic password storage after trial
  • Premium$2.5/month
    • Vault sync across devices
    • Password sharing
    • Dark web monitoring
  • Teams$2.5/month
    • Per-user pricing billed annually
    • Usable for families or businesses
    • Centralized license management

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.

Choose Sticky Password if

  • You need autofill and capture.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on web, ios, android, windows, mac.
  • You also want encrypted vault sync.

Questions people ask

Is Milestone XProtect or Sticky Password better?
Neither clearly leads. Milestone XProtect starts at Free and Sticky Password at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Milestone XProtect or Sticky Password?
Milestone XProtect starts at Free and Sticky Password at Free.
Does Milestone XProtect or Sticky Password run on more platforms?
Milestone XProtect runs on Windows, Web, iOS, Android. Sticky Password runs on web, ios, android, windows, mac.
Can I use Milestone XProtect for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Sticky Password is typically brought in for.
What can Milestone XProtect do that Sticky Password cannot?
Milestone XProtect covers Open device support, Perpetual device licences, Federated architecture, Failover recording. Sticky Password covers Autofill and capture, Encrypted vault sync, Emergency access, Dark web monitoring.

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.

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.

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.

Milestone XProtect: Who owns Milestone?

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

Share

Related pages

Other head to heads