Comparison

CrowsEye vs Swiftcam

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

CrowsEye

Monitor your home security cameras with AI-powered object detection. Receive real-time alerts, stream live footage, and review recorded events from your iOS devices. Manage multiple NVR installations and track server health.

Highlights
  • AI-powered object detection
  • Real-time push notifications
  • Live camera streaming
  • Recording playback
  • Multi-server support
  • System monitoring
Features
Read full description

CrowsEye is a native iOS client for Frigate NVR, the popular open-source network video recorder with AI-powered object detection. Monitor your security cameras, review recordings, and stay on top of your home surveillance with real-time push notifications, all from your iPhone or iPad. ** Push Notifications (Beta) Receive instant alerts when Frigate detects events on your cameras. Configure notifications per camera with granular controls, temporarily suspend alerts when you expect activity, and stay informed even when the app is closed. Requires Frigate 0.15 or later. Live Camera Viewing Stream live footage from all your Frigate cameras with smooth MJPEG playback. The adaptive grid layout automatically adjusts for standard and ultra-wide camera formats, giving you the best view of your property at a glance. Real-time activity indicators show motion and object detection as it happens. Picture-in-Picture support lets you keep watching while using other apps. Recording Playback Browse and play back recorded footage with an intuitive calendar interface. Easily navigate through hours of recordings and find exactly what you're looking for. Pinch to zoom for detailed inspection of any moment. Review & Detection Events Stay on top of alerts and detections with the dedicated Review page. Browse AI-detected events including people, vehicles, animals, and more. Frigate's powerful detection capabilities are at your fingertips, helping you quickly find important moments without scrubbing through hours of footage. Multi-Server Support Manage multiple Frigate installations from a single app. Quickly switch between home, office, or client locations with saved credentials and auto-login support. Perfect for users managing multiple properties or security professionals. Smart Network Switching Automatically detects when you are on your home network and uses your internal server URL for faster local access, then seamlessly switches to your external URL when you are away from home. No manual configuration needed. System Monitoring Keep tabs on your Frigate server health with real-time metrics including: - Detector inference speed and performance - CPU and GPU utilization - Storage usage across all drives - Per-camera recording storage breakdown - Process monitoring Key Features - Push notifications for real-time event alerts (Beta) - Native iOS experience optimized for iPhone and iPad - Multi-server management with quick switching and auto-login - Automatic network switching between internal and external URLs - Cloudflare Zero Trust support (browser login and service tokens) - Picture-in-Picture for live camera streams - Live motion and detection activity indicators - PTZ controls: Pan, tilt and zoom now appear as a compact horizontal strip on the live view for any camera that supports it - Secure connection to your self-hosted Frigate server - Support for self-signed SSL certificates - Pan and view support for 360 degree security cameras with dewarping and mount position selection. - Save snapshots and clips directly to your Photos library Requirements - Frigate NVR server (v0.14 or later, v0.15+ for push notifications) - Network access to your Frigate instance CrowsEye is designed for users who run their own Frigate NVR installation and want a dedicated, native mobile experience for monitoring their cameras on the go.

About

Swiftcam

Features
Read full description

Live home-camera viewing, without the lag. Swiftcam is a fast, privacy-focused viewer for self-hosted camera systems. Connect to Frigate NVR, go2rtc, MediaMTX, or another WHEP-compatible server and get to your live feeds with minimal delay. Open your camera grid quickly, jump into a stream in one tap, and see what is happening close to real time. Swiftcam is designed around speed: less waiting, less friction, and a more responsive view of your home cameras. Extensive view transforms help you make unusual camera feeds usable, including oddly sized, rotated, mirrored, or imperfectly framed streams. Keep a stream playing in Picture in Picture while you use other apps, so you can stay aware without staying in the app. Swiftcam requires an existing self-hosted Frigate NVR, go2rtc, MediaMTX, direct JPEG/HTTP snapshot source, or compatible WHEP server installation. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://docs.swiftcam.app/privacy/

Screenshots

CrowsEye4 screens
Swiftcam4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Swiftcam at Free against CrowsEye's $2.99. Swiftcam also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). CrowsEye's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Swiftcam is free to download; CrowsEye costs $2.99 up front. Swiftcam sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. CrowsEye asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CrowsEye ships an update fortnightly, Swiftcam every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
CrowsEye versus Swiftcam: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCrowsEyeSwiftcam
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating4.6 (10 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews81.8% of reviews—
Number of ratings10 — better—
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS17.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size21 MB45 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperBao Tuan DoanAlexander Klautke

In-app purchases

None

CrowsEye

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Swiftcam

Subscriptions2
  • Swiftcam Pro (monthly)7 Days trial$0.991 Month
  • Swiftcam Pro (yearly)7 Days trial$8.991 Year

Questions

Is CrowsEye free?
CrowsEye costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Swiftcam free?
Swiftcam is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do CrowsEye or Swiftcam have ads?
Neither CrowsEye nor Swiftcam shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CrowsEye or Swiftcam?
CrowsEye ships an update fortnightly, and Swiftcam every 4 days. Most recently, CrowsEye was updated on October 13, 2026 and Swiftcam on October 7, 2026.

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