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YOLOv4-tiny Overview

YOLOv4-tiny is a lightweight variant of YOLOv4 developed by Academia Sinica, released in November 2020. It retains the core YOLOv4 design principles while significantly reducing the number of convolutional layers and feature map channels to produce a model suitable for inference on devices with limited compute, including embedded hardware and mobile CPUs. It uses a simplified CSP backbone with fewer layers and two detection scales rather than three.

YOLOv4-tiny is optimized for scenarios where inference speed is prioritized over peak accuracy, achieving substantially higher FPS than full YOLOv4 at the cost of reduced AP on standard benchmarks. It is commonly used in robotics, embedded vision systems, and applications where real-time detection is required without GPU acceleration.

YOLOv4-tiny Details & Performance

Vision Tasks

Object Detection

Features

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YOLOv4-tiny License

Custom License · Model-specific license

YOLOv4-tiny ships under a custom, model-specific license rather than a standard permissive or restrictive one, so the YOLOv4-tiny license has to be read directly. Custom model licenses range from effectively permissive to research-only.

Commercial use
Varies. Custom model licenses commonly restrict commercial use, cap monthly active users, or carve out specific industries — check the YOLOv4-tiny terms before you build on it.
Modification
Usually permitted for fine-tuning, but check whether derivative weights inherit the same license and naming requirements.
Redistribution
Often restricted. Look for attribution, naming, and acceptable-use requirements that apply to any copy you share.

Uncertainty around licensing can delay or stop a project, and acceptable-use policies attached to custom licenses are binding terms rather than guidance. Review them alongside the YOLOv4-tiny license before production deployment.

Do I need a commercial license for YOLOv4-tiny?

If the custom terms rule out your use case, a commercial license from the rights holder is the way through. Roboflow's licensing page lists the supported models whose commercial license is included in a Roboflow plan, so it is worth checking whether YOLOv4-tiny — or a permissively licensed alternative — fits your deployment.

Do not hesitate to reach out with questions for your commercial project — our team will help you start solving business problems on the first call. See Roboflow commercial licensing for the models included in each plan.

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This model is released under a custom license that does not match a standard open-source identifier. Read the full license text linked from the model documentation.

Custom licenses vary widely in what they permit. Many model-specific custom licenses include commercial-use restrictions (e.g., non-commercial weights, named-user limits, or jurisdiction restrictions). Read the full license before deploying commercially.

Custom licenses are model-specific. Always check the per-model License Notes section above and the linked official license text.

License information is provided as a guide and is not legal advice.