Note: Half point deducted for the lack of a native Linux version, though WINE/Proton compatibility has improved significantly.
Enter .
If your Blue Iris 5 machine is behind a firewall and only accessed locally, you can stay put. However, if you access your cameras remotely, want better AI accuracy, or are building a new system, start with Blue Iris v6 . Support for v5 will eventually cease (official updates are already slowing in 2026). Part 3: Hardware Requirements – What You Need to Run v6 Smoothly Because v6 uses substreams so effectively, the requirements are actually lower than you might think for basic setups, but higher for AI-heavy tasks.
| Feature | Blue Iris 5 | Blue Iris v6 | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | Classic, tab-heavy, light mode only | Modern, dockable panes, native dark mode | | AI Setup | Manual via external DeepStack/CodeProject | Integrated CodeProject.AI wizard | | Mobile App Support | Requires separate purchase (Blue Iris iOS/Android) | Same (legacy), but v6 adds WebRTC for lower latency | | 2FA / Security | None (requires external proxy) | Native TOTP & Auto HTTPS | | CPU Efficiency | Good (with substreams) | Excellent (Auto-wizard optimized) | | License Upgrade | N/A (End of Life for updates after 2025) | One-time purchase (upgrade fee for existing v5 users) |
