Synology Surveillance Station vs UniFi Protect
Two appliance-based ecosystems. Synology is a NAS with per-camera licences, AES-256 at-rest encryption and face recognition on DVA models. UniFi Protect runs on Ubiquiti consoles with free recording and AI on UniFi cameras.
Head to head
| Criterion | Synology Surveillance Station | UniFi Protect |
|---|---|---|
| Open source (auditable code) | ✗ | ✗ |
| Self-hosted (runs on your hardware) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Works without a mandatory vendor account | ✓ | ✓ |
| Works with any ONVIF/RTSP camera (no hardware lock-in) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Built-in facial recognition | ✓ | ✓ |
| Encrypts stored footage at rest | ✓ | — |
| Remote access without a vendor cloud | ✓ | ✗ |
| Web + desktop + mobile apps | ✓ | ✓ |
Choose Synology Surveillance Station
Choose Synology for at-rest encryption, broad multi-brand camera support and perpetual licences on a NAS you may already own.
Choose UniFi Protect
Choose UniFi Protect for free recording with no per-camera licence and a tightly integrated UniFi camera/AI experience — accepting the ecosystem lock-in and cloud account for AI/remote.
Bottom line
Synology bills per camera but encrypts at rest and takes any camera; UniFi is free-with-hardware but locks you in and leans on its cloud for AI.
Full reviews:Synology Surveillance Station ·UniFi Protect