CCTVplanner is a free browser-based CCTV design tool for planning camera layouts. Milestone XProtect is enterprise video management software for recording and monitoring live feeds. Different tools for different stages of your project.
| Feature | CCTVplanner | Milestone XProtect |
|---|---|---|
| Data Residency | EU (AWS eu-west, Ireland) | Danish HQ, global AWS/Azure cloud |
| Price | Free tier available | Enterprise pricing (paid licenses) |
| Primary Purpose | CCTV system design & planning | Video management & live monitoring |
| Platform | Browser-based (any device) | Windows desktop application |
| Setup Time | Instant — sign up and start | Hours — server installation required |
| Camera Placement | Drag & drop on maps/floor plans | Not a design tool |
| Field of View Visualization | Yes, with DORI zones | No |
| Floor Plan Upload | Yes | Map views for device management |
| Satellite Map View | Yes, integrated Google Maps | Basic map integration |
| PDF Export | Professional PDF reports | System reports & logs |
| Learning Curve | Minimal — intuitive interface | Steep — requires training & certification |
| Target User | Installers, designers, consultants | Security operators, IT departments |
| Live Video | No (design tool only) | Yes (core feature) |
Plan your entire CCTV layout before purchasing hardware or configuring Milestone XProtect. Visualize camera coverage, identify blind spots, and optimize placement — saving time and money on your Milestone deployment.
CCTVplanner runs in your browser — no server installation, no Windows dependency, no IT department required. Start designing in seconds while Milestone requires hours of server setup and configuration.
Export professional PDF reports showing camera placements and coverage zones. Present your plans to clients before committing to Milestone licenses and hardware purchases.
CCTVplanner and Milestone serve different stages. Use CCTVplanner to design the system, then deploy with Milestone XProtect, whose tiers scale from Express+ (up to 48 cameras, single site) to Professional+, Expert and Corporate (unrestricted cameras, distributed multi-site) for live monitoring and recording. They work perfectly together.
Everything below is in the product today, on the free tier, and none of it needs an install. Open it in a browser and check it against Milestone XProtect on a job you already know.
No install and no workstation. Walk the site from any camera point of view, with DORI silhouettes standing at the Detect, Observe, Recognize and Identify distances so the customer sees what the camera sees. Sun and shadow study for the time of day that matters, and one-click 3D PDF export for the people who will never open a design tool.
Every cone is computed from the sensor, resolution and focal length at the mounting height (1 to 20 m) and tilt you set, then clipped by buildings, fences and real ground elevation on satellite imagery. On a flat indoor floor a 2D tool agrees with us. On a sloped yard or a sunken loading dock it does not, and that gap is exactly where the blind spots are.
Racking, containers, concrete blocks, scaffolding, solar panels, trees, and the machinery a live construction site actually parks in the shot: excavators, cranes, concrete mixers, bulldozers, vans and pickups. Each one carries real dimensions and a vertical range, and the field of view clips against it with the shadow drawn on the plan.
Stack ground floor, mezzanine, plant room and roof as separate levels. Draw walls, close rooms and read the floor area back in square metres. Cabling routes between levels, the topology graph carries across them, and each floor exports as its own DXF sheet and PDF page.
Predictive coverage for access points using ITU-R P.2040 wall transmission and a P.1238 margin, drawn as a heatmap over the same plan the cameras sit on. Point-to-point links are checked for line of sight against the buildings and terrain, so the wireless leg of the design fails on screen rather than on site.
51 specified cable types with PoE budget from loop resistance, DC voltage drop, fibre loss budget with splice and connector allowances, coax attenuation per format, speaker line loading and conduit fill. Route length is measured on the drawn route and carries straight into the bill of materials, the cable schedule and the customer offer.
The plan is validated while you draw it: DORI shortfall, blind spots, perimeter gaps, PoE budget and class escalation, cable length and category headroom, conduit bundling, fibre loss, thermal lens and pairing, EMC and environmental class, lightning protection zones, ONVIF profile mixing, NDAA compliance, bandwidth headroom and switch port capacity.
CAD-grade DXF (AutoCAD R2018 / AC1021) on named layers with BLOCK, INSERT, SPLINE, ELLIPSE, HATCH and DIMENSION preserved, inside an ISO 5457 sheet frame with an ISO 7200 title block. Multi-page PDF with bill of materials, cable schedule, equipment list, elevation views, coverage analysis, acceptance test protocol, maintenance schedule and the GDPR Article 35 DPIA worksheet.
No. CCTVplanner is a CCTV design and planning tool, while Milestone XProtect is video management software. CCTVplanner helps you plan camera layouts before installation. Milestone manages live video feeds after cameras are installed. They serve different purposes and work well together.
Absolutely! CCTVplanner is ideal for planning any CCTV installation, including Milestone XProtect deployments. Design your camera layout, calculate storage requirements, export PDF documentation, and then configure Milestone with a clear plan in hand.
Yes! CCTVplanner offers a generous free tier with camera placement, FOV visualization, satellite maps, and PDF export. Paid plans with advanced features start at €4.17/mo. Much more accessible than Milestone's enterprise licensing.
Milestone XProtect is not a design tool — it manages live cameras. Planning in CCTVplanner first lets you optimize camera positions, verify coverage, and present professional proposals to clients before purchasing any Milestone licenses or hardware.
Plan your camera layouts before deploying Milestone XProtect. Design, export PDF reports, and share with your team — all for free.
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