VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

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

As of 1 September 2026, VIVOTEK VAST Security Station's pricing is not published; the vendor quotes on request. The current VIVOTEK VMS, and the reason to check before buying: the older VAST 2 has entered end of maintenance, so anyone quoting VAST 2 licences is selling software that no longer receives support or files. Softwr lists it under Cybersecurity. VIVOTEK VAST Security Station is made by VIVOTEK, available on Windows, Web, iOS, Android.

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Overview

What VIVOTEK VAST Security Station does

VAST Security Station, usually just VSS, is VIVOTEK's video management software and the successor to VAST 2. It comes in three editions. VSS Lite is free and runs up to 32 VIVOTEK cameras per server, with no support for third-party devices and no capacity above 32. VSS Standard scales to 256 cameras per server and includes eight licences that can be used for VIVOTEK or third-party cameras, with additional channels purchased individually. VSS Professional targets large deployments with failover and TV matrix capability and includes no licences at all, so every channel is purchased or upgraded from Standard. The fact that changes a buying decision is the VAST 2 transition. VAST 2 has entered its end of maintenance phase, with technical support and software files no longer provided, and VIVOTEK directs users to VSS instead. Distributors still list VAST 2 channel licences, so a quote can quite easily contain licences for software that is out of maintenance. Anyone renewing or expanding an existing VAST 2 site should treat this as a migration project rather than adding channels, and should confirm which edition of VSS their existing camera models are supported under. VIVOTEK is Taiwanese and publishes an NDAA and TAA compliant product list, which matters directly for United States federal, state and public sector procurement where Section 889 restrictions exclude several large camera manufacturers outright. That compliance position, plus the free 32-channel tier, is the practical reason a small public sector site or a school specifies VIVOTEK over cheaper alternatives. The trade-off is that VSS is a camera manufacturer's VMS: it is at its best driving VIVOTEK hardware, and the moment the estate becomes genuinely mixed brand the licence arithmetic and the feature depth both favour an independent platform.

What people use it for

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

Where it falls short

Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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.

Cross-shopped

What people choose instead of VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.

VIVOTEK VAST Security Stationvs
Milestone XProtect
Milestone XProtect: If you need a genuinely brand-neutral platform with the widest camera and integration support
VIVOTEK VAST Security Stationvs
Salient CompleteView
Salient CompleteView: If you want per-camera perpetual licensing with unlimited client workstations on mixed hardware
VIVOTEK VAST Security Stationvs
Rhombus Systems
Rhombus Systems: If you would rather have cloud management and no Windows server to maintain

Pricing

What VIVOTEK VAST Security Station costs

Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.

VSS Lite

Free

Free of charge
Up to 32 VIVOTEK cameras per server
No third-party camera support
No capacity beyond 32 channels

VSS Standard

On request

Up to 256 cameras per server
Eight camera licences included for VIVOTEK or third-party devices
Additional channel licences purchased individually
Priced through distribution, no public list price

VSS Professional

On request

Large scale deployments with failover and TV matrix
No camera licences included at all
Every channel purchased or upgraded from Standard
Priced through distribution, no public list price

Capabilities

Features

VSS Lite free tier
Up to 32 VIVOTEK cameras per server at no licence cost
Per-channel licensing
Standard and Professional channels bought individually as the site grows
Third-party camera support
ONVIF and third-party devices supported on Standard and Professional, licence per channel
Failover and TV matrix
Professional edition adds recording failover and video wall matrix control
Vision object analytics
On-camera analytics from VIVOTEK devices surfaced in the VMS
Embedded NVR licensing
Separate licence type for VIVOTEK embedded NVR deployments
NDAA and TAA compliance
Published compliant product list for restricted public sector procurement

Answered, with sources

Questions people ask

Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.

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.

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.

How many licences come with Standard?

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

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.

Keep looking

Where to go from VIVOTEK VAST Security Station

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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for VIVOTEK VAST Security Station, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.

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