AI Weapons Detection

ZeroEyes Alternative AI Weapons Detection Software Inside a Full Video Analytics Platform

ZeroEyes is a dedicated, human-verified gun-detection service. Surveillant is a broader AI video analytics platform where visible-weapon detection is one alert type among many, running as cloud software on the cameras you already own. Different tools for different jobs, compared honestly below.

Last updated July 2026

Works with any ONVIF or RTSP camera. Weapon detection plus intrusion, loitering, and search in one platform.

At a glance
What it is
Full analytics platform
Weapon detection
One alert among many
Human monitoring center
No, software alerts
Cameras
Your existing ONVIF/RTSP
Pricing
Published, per camera
In short

ZeroEyes and Surveillant solve overlapping but different problems. ZeroEyes is a specialized visual gun-detection service: its AI watches your cameras for a visible firearm, and when it sees one, a human at the ZeroEyes Operations Center verifies the image and dispatches alerts to staff and law enforcement in as little as 3 to 5 seconds. It holds full DHS SAFETY Act Designation for that mission. Surveillant is a general AI video analytics platform. Visible-weapon detection is one of its alert types, alongside intrusion, loitering, crowding, and plain-English search across all your footage, delivered as cloud software with published pricing and no human monitoring center. If a dedicated, human-verified firearm-detection service is your single priority, ZeroEyes is purpose-built for it. If you want broad AI analytics across many security needs, with weapon alerts included, Surveillant is the wider platform.

Understand the Difference First

A Managed Gun-Detection Service vs a Video Analytics Platform

ZeroEyes, founded in 2018 by a team of Navy SEALs and military veterans near Philadelphia, built the first AI gun-detection technology to earn full DHS SAFETY Act Designation. Its model is deliberately narrow and deep. The software connects to your existing IP cameras and looks for one thing: a visible firearm. When the AI flags a possible weapon, the image goes to the ZeroEyes Operations Center, staffed around the clock by trained U.S. military and law enforcement veterans, who confirm the threat and push actionable intelligence to first responders and on-site staff in seconds. You are buying a service with a human in the loop, not just a piece of software.

That focus is its strength and its limit. If your primary risk is an active shooter and you want a proven, liability-protected, human-verified alert straight to police, ZeroEyes is designed for exactly that. But it does not count people, measure dwell time, catch a fence-line intrusion at 2am, spot a slip-and-fall, or let you search months of footage for a silver van. For those jobs you would run a second system, which means a second contract, a second login, and a second bill.

Many buyers who search for a ZeroEyes alternative are really asking one of two questions. Either they want weapon detection as part of a wider analytics deployment rather than as a standalone managed service, or they want software they can run and price themselves without a per-camera monitoring subscription. Surveillant answers both.

The Surveillant Approach

Weapon Alerts as Part of One AI Platform

Surveillant runs AI weapons detection on your existing cameras and raises an alert the moment a visible firearm appears in frame. That same platform is watching for everything else at the same time: someone crossing a perimeter after hours, a person loitering by an entrance, a crowd forming, a door propped open. One system, one console, one price, covering the range of risks a real site faces rather than a single threat type.

Because the recording and analytics are the same system, every event is searchable after the fact. Your team types a plain-English question and pulls the matching clips in seconds, which matters for investigations, insurance claims, and law-enforcement follow-up long after the alert fires. It runs entirely in the cloud on ONVIF and RTSP cameras, so there is nothing to install at each site.

Be clear about one thing, because honesty is the point of a comparison page: Surveillant does not operate a 24/7 human verification center, and it does not carry SAFETY Act Designation. Our weapon alerts go to your team and your existing response workflow. If a fully managed, human-in-the-loop gun-detection service with direct law-enforcement dispatch is what you need, that is ZeroEyes' territory, not ours.

One platform covers
  • Visible-weapon detection alerts on live cameras
  • Intrusion, loitering, and line-crossing detection
  • People counting, crowding, and dwell-time analytics
  • Natural-language search across all recorded footage
Honest Comparison

Surveillant vs ZeroEyes

Where each is the right tool. Facts about ZeroEyes are from its public materials, verified July 2026.

Factor Surveillant ZeroEyes
Product type Full AI video analytics platform Dedicated gun-detection service
Weapon detection Yes, one alert type Yes, the core mission
24/7 human verification center No, software alerts to your team Yes, the ZeroEyes Operations Center
DHS SAFETY Act Designation No Yes, full Designation
Other analytics Intrusion, loitering, counting, search Expanding, historically firearm-focused
Existing cameras Yes, ONVIF/RTSP Yes, works with existing IP cameras
Published pricing Yes, per camera per month No, quote per deployment
Best fit Broad analytics with weapon alerts Managed active-shooter defense

Straight answer: if a proven, human-verified, liability-protected firearm-detection service that dispatches to police is your single most important requirement, ZeroEyes is built for that and Surveillant is not a substitute for it. If you want AI weapon alerts as part of a broader analytics platform you run and price yourself, Surveillant is the better overall fit.

Choose Surveillant if you

  • Want weapon alerts plus many other analytics in one platform
  • Prefer software you run yourself, not a managed monitoring service
  • Need to search and investigate footage after the fact
  • Want a published per-camera price
  • Have your own response workflow for alerts

Choose ZeroEyes if you

  • Need active-shooter defense as your single top priority
  • Want a human to verify every weapon alert before it goes out
  • Value DHS SAFETY Act liability protection
  • Want alerts dispatched directly to law enforcement
  • Prefer a fully managed service over software you operate

Comparing screening and detection approaches too? Our guide to the Evolv weapons detection alternative weighs walk-through screening against camera-based detection, and the AI weapons detection page explains how software firearm alerts work.

FAQ

ZeroEyes Alternative Questions

What is the best ZeroEyes alternative?

It depends on what you actually need. If you want a dedicated, human-verified gun-detection service, the closest peers are other managed detection providers. If you want AI weapon alerts as part of a broader video analytics platform you run yourself, Surveillant is a strong alternative: it detects visible firearms alongside intrusion, loitering, and search, on your existing cameras, with published pricing.

How does ZeroEyes gun detection work?

ZeroEyes software connects to your existing IP cameras and analyzes the feeds in real time for a visible firearm. When its AI flags one, the image is sent to the ZeroEyes Operations Center, staffed 24/7 by military and law enforcement veterans, who verify the threat and dispatch alerts with location and description to first responders and staff in as little as 3 to 5 seconds.

Does Surveillant provide human-verified alerts like ZeroEyes?

No. This is the key difference. ZeroEyes includes a 24/7 human operations center that verifies every weapon alert before it goes out and can dispatch to law enforcement. Surveillant is software: its AI raises weapon alerts to your own team and response workflow, without a managed monitoring center. If human-in-the-loop verification is essential, ZeroEyes is built for that.

Is Surveillant SAFETY Act designated like ZeroEyes?

No. ZeroEyes holds full DHS SAFETY Act Designation for its gun-detection platform, which provides certain liability protections. Surveillant does not carry that designation. If SAFETY Act status is a procurement requirement for your organization, ZeroEyes meets it and Surveillant does not.

Can one platform do weapon detection and other analytics?

Yes. Surveillant detects visible weapons as one alert type while the same platform watches for intrusion, loitering, crowding, and other events, and lets you search all footage in plain English. Running detection in one platform means one console, one contract, and one bill instead of stacking a standalone gun-detection service on top of a separate analytics system.

How much does ZeroEyes cost?

ZeroEyes does not publish pricing. It quotes per deployment based on the number of camera streams, contract length, and how many sites you cover, and it is sold as an ongoing managed subscription. Buyers who want to see a price before engaging sales often compare it against software platforms with published per-camera pricing.

One Platform, Many Threats

Get weapon alerts and full analytics on your cameras

Connect a camera and see visible-weapon detection alongside intrusion, loitering, and plain-English search. 14-day free trial, no hardware to install.