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Cybersecurity · head to head

Rhombus Systems vs Spacelift

Rhombus Systems logo

Rhombus Systems

Cybersecurity

Cloud-managed cameras, sensors and access control with a per-camera annual licence

From
$149/year
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Spacelift logo

Spacelift

Developer Tools

Infrastructure-as-code orchestration for Terraform, OpenTofu, Pulumi and Kubernetes

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Spacelift has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Rhombus Systems the per-camera annual licence never ends and a camera without an active licence stops working, so the total cost over a ten-year hardware life is several times the hardware price.; Spacelift users are unlimited and private workers are metered, so deployment concurrency rather than headcount drives the bill, which inverts how most engineering budgets are built and is easy to under-forecast.
  • They diverge on capability: Rhombus Systems covers On-camera storage, Spacelift covers Multi-tool orchestration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Rhombus Systems and Spacelift actually diverge.

Attributes where Rhombus Systems and Spacelift differ
AttributeRhombus SystemsSpacelift
Starting price$149/yearFree
Pricing modelPer camera per year licence plus hardwareBy private worker and tier, not by user
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Self-hosted, Cloud
CategoryCybersecurityDeveloper Tools

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 Rhombus Systems

  • On-camera storage
  • No NVR or server
  • AI search
  • Access control
  • Environmental sensors
  • Unlimited users
  • Ten year hardware warranty
  • Optional cloud archiving

Only in Spacelift

  • Multi-tool orchestration
  • Policy as code
  • Private workers
  • Spaces
  • Blueprints
  • Drift detection

What people use each for

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

Rhombus Systems

  • A school district running video across dozens of buildings with no local IT at each sitenot Spacelift
  • A clinic group needing door access and cameras in one console under a single audit trailnot Spacelift
  • A logistics operator that wants to search for a specific vehicle across sites without scrubbing footagenot Spacelift
  • An office estate replacing ageing NVRs where nobody remains who knows how to maintain themnot Spacelift

Spacelift

  • Platform teams running infrastructure changes through approval gates rather than through application CInot Rhombus Systems
  • Organisations standardising Terraform and OpenTofu across many teams with policy enforcementnot Rhombus Systems
  • Estates needing private runners so cloud credentials never leave the networknot Rhombus Systems
  • Teams wanting drift detection and reconciliation rather than plan-time checks alonenot Rhombus Systems

Where each one falls short

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

Rhombus Systems

  • The per-camera annual licence never ends and a camera without an active licence stops working, so the total cost over a ten-year hardware life is several times the hardware price.
  • Cameras must be Rhombus, so there is no reuse of existing IP cameras and migrating away means replacing every device rather than changing software.
  • Cloud archiving is priced separately by retention and stream count, and long retention on multisensor cameras runs into five figures per camera, which can dwarf everything else in the quote.
  • On-camera storage is the default retention, so a camera physically stolen or destroyed takes its unarchived footage with it unless cloud archiving was paid for on that camera.
  • Analytics and integrations are good for mid-market needs but shallower than a dedicated enterprise VMS with a large third-party ecosystem, so specialist requirements like advanced LPR or forensic search hit limits.

Spacelift

  • Users are unlimited and private workers are metered, so deployment concurrency rather than headcount drives the bill, which inverts how most engineering budgets are built and is easy to under-forecast.
  • There is no affordable paid entry point. The free tier stops at two users and the next tier is a five-figure commitment with nothing in between.
  • Three of the five tiers are quote-only, so a shortlist cannot be costed without entering a sales process with each vendor on it.
  • The self-hosted build lags the hosted one, has no public worker pool and lacks the Azure and Google Cloud integrations available in the SaaS product, with OIDC federation offered as the workaround.
  • Stacks, Rego policies, Blueprints, Spaces and Spacelift-managed state are proprietary constructs, so leaving means rebuilding the orchestration layer rather than pointing it at a different runner.

Pricing, plan by plan

Rhombus Systems

$149/year
  • Professional$149/year
    • Per camera per year
    • Cloud console and management
    • On-camera storage retention
  • Enterprise$199/year
    • Per camera per year
    • Everything in Professional
    • Flexible cloud archiving options
  • Cloud archiving$undefined/year
    • Priced separately by retention period and stream count
    • Multisensor cameras cost several times a single sensor camera
    • Long retention on multisensor models can reach five figures per camera

Spacelift

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Two users
    • Public workers only
    • No private workers
  • Starter Plus$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Two public workers
    • One to two private workers
  • Business$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Three private workers
    • Quoted
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • Unlimited users
    • Five to thirty private workers
    • Self-hosted option

Which should you pick?

Choose Rhombus Systems if

  • You need on-camera storage.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want no nvr or server.
Rhombus Systems review

Choose Spacelift if

  • You need multi-tool orchestration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud.
  • You also want policy as code.
Spacelift review

Questions people ask

Is Rhombus Systems or Spacelift better?
Neither clearly leads. Rhombus Systems starts at $149/year and Spacelift at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Rhombus Systems or Spacelift?
Spacelift has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $149/year for Rhombus Systems and Free for Spacelift.
Does Rhombus Systems or Spacelift run on more platforms?
Rhombus Systems runs on Web, iOS, Android. Spacelift runs on Web, Self-hosted, Cloud.
Can I use Spacelift for free?
Yes. Spacelift has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Rhombus Systems starts at $149/year.
What is Rhombus Systems best used for?
Rhombus Systems is most often used for a school district running video across dozens of buildings with no local it at each site, a clinic group needing door access and cameras in one console under a single audit trail, a logistics operator that wants to search for a specific vehicle across sites without scrubbing footage, an office estate replacing ageing nvrs where nobody remains who knows how to maintain them. Of those, a school district running video across dozens of buildings with no local it at each site and a clinic group needing door access and cameras in one console under a single audit trail are not what Spacelift is typically brought in for.
What can Rhombus Systems do that Spacelift cannot?
Rhombus Systems covers On-camera storage, No NVR or server, AI search, Access control. Spacelift covers Multi-tool orchestration, Policy as code, Private workers, Spaces.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Rhombus Systems: Do I need an NVR or a server?

No. Cameras record on board and connect directly to the cloud console, which is the main operational reason organisations pick it.

Spacelift: How is Spacelift priced?

By tier and by private worker count rather than per user. Users are unlimited on every paid plan. The published figure on the pricing page carries no period label, and the FAQ describes the tier as an annual subscription, so confirm the period in writing.

Rhombus Systems: What does the licence cost?

Roughly $149 per camera per year for Professional and about $199 for Enterprise, typically sold in one, three, five or ten year terms.

Spacelift: Does it support OpenTofu?

Yes, and Spacelift sponsors the OpenTofu project, which is a substantive hedge for anyone avoiding Terraform under the Business Source Licence.

Rhombus Systems: Is cloud storage included?

No. On-camera storage is the default. Cloud archiving is a separate charge priced by retention duration and number of streams.

Spacelift: Is there a self-hosted version?

Yes, described as carrying Enterprise functionality, but it is priced on request and lags the hosted product on cloud integrations.

Rhombus Systems: Can I use my existing cameras?

No. The platform works only with Rhombus hardware, which is the trade-off for the zero-server architecture.

Spacelift: Why not just use the CI system we already have?

That is the real comparison. General purpose CI handles state, drift, approval gates and concurrency control for infrastructure poorly, and whether that is worth a five-figure floor depends on how much infrastructure change your organisation actually ships.

Spacelift: What happens to our pipelines if we leave?

They do not port. Rego policies, Blueprints, Spaces and managed state are Spacelift constructs and the orchestration has to be rebuilt elsewhere.

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