Free, not four-figure
JVSG charges hundreds to thousands per seat. CCTVplanner has a Free tier that designs a real project with real cameras. Installer is just €4.17/mo when you outgrow it. No quote, no sales call, no annual lock-in.
JVSG Alternative
The Free Browser-Based JVSG Alternative — Switch in Minutes (2026)
Written for the week the renewal notice lands and you are deciding whether to pay it. CCTVplanner is browser-based and EU-hosted: no install, no Windows requirement, no per-machine licence key, the same DORI maths, a larger catalog, and a free tier you can prove on a live job first. JVSG publishes 360 EUR a year for a Pro seat; ours is 50. We build one of these two — check the figures before you take the verdict.
Free tier · No credit card · Open in your browser
Why switch
Six reasons integrators leave JVSG in 2026
JVSG was a strong product in 2015. It is 2026. The market has moved — to browsers, to phones, to subscription pricing, and to data sovereignty. Here is what shifts the moment you switch.
A UI built this decade
JVSG's interface looks essentially the same as it did in 2015. CCTVplanner is a modern web app — keyboard shortcuts, dark mode, 33 languages including RTL Arabic, mobile-aware canvas. Designing should feel like 2026, not Windows XP.
Any device, any OS
Open your project on the laptop in the office, the tablet on site, or the phone in the van. Same project, same canvas, same BOM. JVSG is Windows-only desktop software tied to a single machine.
Cloud sync, not USB sticks
Projects auto-save to the cloud. Switch devices and pick up where you left off. Share a read-only PDF in two clicks. No more emailing yourself a .ipv project file.
Zero install, zero IT ticket
Open a browser tab and start designing. No installer, no admin password, no antivirus exception, no licence key to babysit. Locked-down corporate laptop? Still works.
EU-engineered, EU-hosted
DEFENSAR: 100% Engineered and Hosted in EU. GDPR-aligned by default with a built-in DPIA worksheet (Art. 35), ready for procurement teams that ask about data residency.
CCTVplanner vs JVSG, in five lines
The decisive differences. For the full feature-by-feature table — including DORI, thermal, NDAA, multi-floor, languages and 23 more rows — see our dedicated comparison page.
| What | CCTVplanner | JVSG |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free tier · Installer €4.17/mo | Hundreds to thousands per licence |
| Platform | Browser — Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android | Windows desktop only |
| Install | None — just open the URL | Installer + licence key per machine |
| Updates | Continuous — refresh the tab | Manual download, sometimes paid major versions |
Want every row? See the full CCTVplanner vs JVSG comparison.
What you keep when you switch
JVSG calls our work "limited" on their comparison page. Here is what that supposedly limited tool actually ships — every item below is in the product today, not a roadmap.
DORI per EN 62676-4
Detect, Observe, Recognise, Identify thresholds at 25 / 62.5 / 125 / 250 px/m — same standard your AHJ expects, validated by 5,600+ automated tests.
65,000 cameras catalogued
Hikvision, Dahua, Axis, Bosch, Hanwha, Pelco, Uniview, Vivotek, Avigilon, Honeywell — including 100+ datasheet-verified flagship models with bitrate, lux, IP/IK, ONVIF, NDAA and environmental class metadata.
Multi-floor projects
Stack multiple floor plans, route cabling between them, and project the topology graph (cameras, NVRs, switches, WAPs, multi-closet daisy-chains) into a single BOM.
DXF in and out
Import the architect's DXF — full coverage including BLOCK, INSERT, SPLINE, ELLIPSE, HATCH and DIMENSION. Export your finished design as DXF for the electrical contractor.
Multi-page PDF with full BOM
Cover, floor plan, camera schedule, cable schedule, equipment list, elevation views, cost estimate and an auto-generated GDPR DPIA worksheet (Art. 35). Hand it to the customer as-is.
23 standards validated
EN 62676 series, EN 50130-4/5, EN 62305 lightning, IEC 60529/62262, ISO/IEC 11801, IEEE 802.3 PoE, ONVIF, NDAA §889, GDPR, BS 8418, AS/NZS 4806, Garante 2010 and more — cited and validated, not just mentioned.
What you gain that JVSG cannot give you
These are not nice-to-haves — they are structural advantages JVSG cannot match without rewriting their product from scratch.
Pure browser, zero footprint
No installer, no licence server, no Windows-only requirement. Works on every device with a modern browser. PWA caches the app for offline use after first load.
On-site mobile editing
Walk the site with the customer, drop a camera on the tablet canvas, agree on the tilt right there. Try that with a Windows-only desktop tool.
EU origin, GDPR-clean
Engineered and hosted in the European Union. Passes EU public-sector and critical-infrastructure origin filters. Per-camera NDAA §889 flags for US federal use cases.
An honest free tier
Not a 14-day trial — a permanent Free tier with 2 projects and 6 cameras. Enough to test the math, render a PDF and decide for yourself before you ever pay a euro.
A UI you actually want to use
Modern keyboard shortcuts, dark mode, snap-to-grid, auto-save, undo/redo, side-by-side floor stacks, hover-aware fields. Designed in 2025-2026, not retrofitted from 2015.
Migration guide
Switch from JVSG in five steps
Most installers redo a 20-camera site in 15-30 minutes. Bring the floor plan, pick the cameras, render the PDF, send the customer.
1. Export your floor plan from JVSG
From your JVSG project, export the floor plan as DXF, PDF or PNG (File → Export). If you only have the source CAD or a printed plan, that works too — skip to step 2.
2. Import into CCTVplanner
Open CCTVplanner in your browser, click New Project, and drop the DXF / PDF / PNG / JPG. We import full DXF geometry — BLOCK, INSERT, SPLINE, ELLIPSE, HATCH and DIMENSION entities all preserved. Set the scale once and you are ready.
3. Re-place your cameras
Pick the same models from our 65,000-camera catalog, drop them on the plan, set mounting height and tilt. DORI rings, FOV cones and obstacle shadows render in real time. Most installers redo a 20-camera site in 15-30 minutes.
4. Export PDF and DXF
Generate a multi-page PDF with floor plan, BOM, cable schedule, equipment list, elevation views and DPIA worksheet. Export DXF for the electrical contractor. Send to the customer.
5. Cancel JVSG
Once your next project is in CCTVplanner and your team is comfortable, cancel the JVSG renewal. Reinvest the saved licence cost — it covers a lot of €4.17/mo subscriptions.
Shipping today
The engineering behind the drawing
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 JVSG on a job you already know.
A full 3D site, in the browser
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.
Coverage solved in 3D, not drawn on a flat plan
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.
22 site objects that genuinely block the view
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.
Interiors: stacked floors, walls, rooms
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.
Wi-Fi and radio links designed with the cameras
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.
Cabling engineered, not estimated
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.
67 automatic design checks
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.
Deliverables a contractor can hand over
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.
66,489
camera models
113
manufacturers
33
interface languages
5,600+
automated tests
100% EU
hosted and operated
JVSG alternative — frequently asked questions
Is CCTVplanner really free, or is this a free trial?
Really free. The Free tier is permanent — 2 projects and 6 cameras, no credit card required, no expiry date. It is enough to design a small site, render a real PDF and verify the DORI math against your own datasheets. When you need more projects or more cameras, Installer is €4.17/mo. That is the entire pricing model.
Can I import my existing JVSG project?
There is no direct .ipv import — JVSG's project format is closed and proprietary. What works in practice: export the floor plan from JVSG as DXF, PDF or PNG, import that into CCTVplanner, then re-place the cameras using our 65,000-camera catalog. For a typical 20-camera site, plan on 15-30 minutes. The five-step migration guide above covers it.
Do I need to install anything?
No. CCTVplanner is a pure web app. Open the URL in any modern browser — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge — on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS or Android. No installer, no admin password, no licence key. After the first load, the PWA caches the app so it also works offline.
Where is my data hosted?
Inside the European Union. CCTVplanner is operated by DEFENSAR: 100% Engineered and Hosted in EU. Core account and project data is stored on EU servers; any sub-processors (payments, analytics, email) are covered by GDPR transfer safeguards (SCCs / EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework). GDPR-aligned by default, with a built-in DPIA worksheet (Art. 35) for your customer deliverables.
What about offline access?
Once the app has loaded once, the PWA caches it so you can keep designing offline — useful in basements, remote sites, on long flights. Cloud sync resumes automatically when you reconnect. JVSG is offline by design but locked to one machine; CCTVplanner is online-first with offline as a bonus, on every device you own.
Stop renewing JVSG. Start designing in your browser.
Free tier, no credit card, opens in your browser. Import your floor plan, drop your cameras, render a real PDF — in the next 30 minutes. Paying customers from all over the world already made the switch.
Also explore: Full CCTVplanner vs JVSG comparison · CCTV Design Tool · Camera placement tool · CCTV layout software · CCTVplanner vs IP Video System Design Tool