Security camera subscriptions: Which plans offer the best value?

One of the key differentiators between home security cameras and video doorbells has nothing to do with their specifications or even their performance. If you’re considering the long-term cost of ownership of a security camera, you’ll want to know three things: First, what functions are disabled if you don’t pay for a subscription? Second, what functions does a subscription add to the product? And third, how much will a subscription cost on a monthly or annual basis in addition to the cost of the product itself.

If you’re wondering why you’d need a subscription plan in the first place, it’s because many–maybe even most–of the manufacturers in this space limit the capabilities of their products unless you pay extra for services. These subscription plans are invariably advertised as “optional,” and many of them are sold in tiers, with varying levels of features. But the bottom line is that you probably won’t get the full benefit of the camera or doorbell unless you sign up for a plan.

This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best home security cameras and the best video doorbells.

Arlo, Ring, and many others, for example, limit you to a real-time view of the scene in front of their cameras and doorbells unless you cough up for a subscription. If you want a recording of an event you weren’t around to watch in real time, you’ll probably need to pay for a subscription so you can store the recording on the vendor’s server in the cloud. Even cameras that feature local storage on a microSD card or a storage device on your home network might require a subscription to unlock features such as person, pet, and package detection; high-resolution video recording; AI image processing; and more.

Let’s compare the plans and services from each of the biggest manufacturers, whose product lines have generally earned positive reviews from us.

Updated March 25, 2024: Ring increased the price of its Ring Protect Basic subscription plan on March 11.

Arlo

Your purchase of an Arlo home security product includes a 30-day free trial to Arlo Secure, which starts automatically after you set up the camera or doorbell. When the free trial ends, you’ll still be able to see a live view from the camera, the two-way talk feature will continue to operate, and you will receive notifications when the camera detects motion. The camera will also continue to work with smart speakers and displays, but you won’t be able to record videos and download them to share with other people unless you sign up for one of the following paid subscriptions:

Arlo Secure

Cost: $7.99 per month or $89.99 per year for a single camera; $12.99 per month or $149.99 per year for an unlimited number of cameras and doorbells.

Features: The Secure plan allows you to save video in up to 4K resolution for 30 days in the cloud. It also enables critical security features such as AI-powered object detection (people, vehicles, packages, and pets), smart notifications, customizable activity zones, and sound recognition for smoke and carbon monoxide detection alarms. Other perks include theft replacement, priority care and support, and a discount on the purchase of future Arlo devices.

Arlo Secure Plus

Cost: $17.99 per month or $199.99 per year for an unlimited number of Arlo cameras and doorbells.

Features: This plan gives you everything in Arlo Secure and adds 24/7 emergency response, which allows you to contact fire, police, or medical responders simply by pressing an alert notification.

Arlo Safe & Secure Pro

Cost: $24.99 per month or $299.99 per year for an unlimited number of cameras.

Features: Arlo’s top-tier plan includes all the features of Arlo Secure Plus and adds 24/7 professional monitoring. That last feature requires you to own an Arlo Home Security system. You’ll also get Arlo Safe, which provides a range of personal and family safety services including the ability to alert your emergency contacts or professional security experts when you need emergency help, record incidents you witness and save them to the cloud, and automatically alert emergency response agents during a car accident.

sign up for an arlo secure plan

Blink

Amazon’s Blink cameras come with your choice of two monthly cloud subscription plans, one is priced per camera and the other is a flat monthly or annual fee for an unlimited number of Blink cameras. Without a paid subscription you will only be able to view your camera’s live feed–and only for a maximum of 5 minutes after receiving a motion-detection alert.

Blink Basic Plan

Cost: $3 per month or $30 per year per camera.

Features: The Basic plan includes 60 days of rolling storage, automatic local backups (if you also purchase a $35 Blink Sync Module 2 and a USB storage device to plug into it), person detection, video sharing, and periodic photo capture.

Blink Plus Plan

Cost: $10 per month or $100 per year for an unlimited number of Blink cameras.

Features: This plan includes everything in the Basic plan and adds the ability to temporarily pause motion alerts for up to 24 hours, a 10-percent discount Blink devices purchased on Amazon, and extended warranties on all your Blink devices for as long as you continue your subscription–provided the Blink product was under warranty at the time you start your subscription.

Sign up for a Blink Subscription plan

Eufy Cloud Storage

Eufy indoor cameras, floodlight cameras, and doorbells support local storage either through a small amount of onboard memory, a microSD card, or Eufy’s HomeBase 3, a NAS-type device connected to your home network that can host up to 16TB of storage via a user-supplied hard disk or solid-state drive. But Eufy also offers reasonably priced cloud-based subscriptions that add anywhere-access convenience and are useful as a backup in case your local storage is stolen, damaged, or goes offline. Not all of Eufy’s security products are subscription eligible, though, so it’s best to check your model before you purchase a plan.

Eufy Basic Plan

Cost: $3 a month or $30 a year per camera

Features: The Eufy Basic plan unlocks rolling 30 days of storage for a single camera.

Eufy Premier Plan

Cost: $10 a month or $100 a year

Features: This plan covers up to 10 Eufy cameras, providing rolling 30 days of storage for each one.

Sign up for Eufy Cloud Storage

Google Nest

Compared to most other manufacturers, Google Nest cameras generally provide more features without requiring a subscription. You get the usual event-based alerts and on-demand live viewing, for example, but some Nest cameras also provide at least some event-based recording–up to 3 hours on the Nest Cam (battery), for example–without a subscription. That’s a great feature–if you can remember to view and/or download the clip before that 3-hour window closes. And some models will produce alerts specifying whether the motion was from a a person, a vehicle, or an animal; again, without a subscription.

Here’s what you’ll get if you do spring for a subscription (you’ll get a 30-day free trial with the purchase of a device).

Nest Aware

Cost: $8 per month or $80 per year for every Google camera, speaker, and display in your home.

Features: The Nest Aware plan bumps the event video history up from 3 hours to 30 days. Your cameras can also learn familiar faces, so they can discern between family and friends versus strangers. And if you also have Nest smart speakers and displays, they’ll be able to listen for the sound of breaking glass as well as smoke or carbon monoxide detector alarms sounding off.

Nest Aware Plus

Cost: $15 per month or $150 per year for every Google camera, speaker, and display in your home.

Features: Everything in the base Nest Aware plan, but the event video history is boosted to 60 days, and you get 10 days of 24/7 continuous recording.

sign up for a google nest aware plan

Ring

Ring Protect is a comprehensive subscription service offered in three tiers, enabling everything from “rich” notifications of events (with photo preview of the event appearing in the Ring app), to cloud storage, to professional monitoring of a Ring Alarm system. A free 30-day trial begins as soon as you activate a new Ring home camera or doorbell. After the trial period, you’ll need to subscribe to continue using those features. Without a Ring Protect Plan, you can only use your Ring device’s free features such as live video, text-only push notifications, and two-way audio.

Ring Protect Basic

Cost: $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year for one camera.

Features: The Basic plan allows you to store 180 days of recorded video events for a single Ring doorbell or camera. It’s also required to enable most of your Ring product’s advanced functions, including person alerts; rich notifications; Home and Away modes; the ability to download up to 50 videos at once to your device; and Snapshot Capture, which allows your camera to capture still images of its view at predetermined intervals so you can a view slideshow of what your camera sees between motion events.

Ring Protect Plus

Cost: $10 per month or $100 per year for an unlimited number of cameras and doorbells.

Features: The Plus plan covers every Ring doorbell and camera at a single location. It offers the same features as the Basic plan, but it also gives you a lifetime warranty on all of your Ring devices–provided the devices were still covered by Ring’s standard one-year warranty on the date your Ring Protect subscription starts.

Ring Protect Pro

Cost: $20 per month or $200 per year for a Ring Alarm or Ring Alarm Pro system and an unlimited number of Ring cameras.

Features: The Pro plan gets you the same features as the Protect plan, but is primarily designed for owners of a Ring Alarm or Ring Alarm Pro home security system. It includes 24/7 professional monitoring for break-ins and fire emergencies, which can include an emergency dispatch of first responders. You can also contact the monitoring service to request help in the event of a medical emergency.

The other significant addition to the Pro plan is 24/7 backup to your broadband connection. In the event your broadband connection should fail, a Ring Alarm or Ring Alarm Pro will automatically switch over to a cellular network to maintain the system’s connection to the internet. If you have a Ring Alarm Pro system, you’ll also have the option to install a microSD card in the hub, so that all recordings from your Ring cameras and doorbells are stored and processed locally, instead in the cloud.

sign up for a ring protect plan

SimpliSafe

SimpliSafe offers a pair of paid monitoring plans for its home security cameras. You can forgo one to save some money, but you will be limited to viewing your camera’s live video feed and arming/disarming it from the SimpliSafe App. Considering a paid monitoring plan unlocks critical features such as push notifications and video recording, as well as enhancements like live guard monitoring, it’s worth considering one of the subscription offerings if you own SimpliSafe cameras.

Self Monitoring with Camera Recordings

Cost: Around $10 per month.

Features: As the name of this plan indicates, you are still monitoring your system via the SimpliSafe mobile app with this entry-level subscription, but you unlock additional camera features, including unlimited video recording, 30-day cloud storage, and instant alarm alerts pushed to your mobile device. In the event of an emergency, it’s up to you to call first responders.

Fast Protect Professional Monitoring

Cost: Around $30 per month.

Features: This plan comes with SimpliSafe’s whole-home professional monitoring service, so you probably want to be using your camera with one of the company’s DIY home security systems before you consider it. The crux of the service is 24/7 live guard protection; during an active alarm, professional agents can access your camera’s video feed and microphone and attempt to divert the threat. If they’re unsuccessful, they can dispatch police, and their verified report will likely result in a faster response. Similarly, agents can dispatch fire, or medical help after verifying an emergency. Meanwhile, you can still track camera activity on your own via the features unlocked in the self-monitoring plan; plus, you get a lifetime subscriber warranty on SimpliSafe hardware.

Sign up for a SimpliSafe plan

TP-Link and Tapo

TP-Link and its Tapo brand of home security cameras are typical in that buyers can choose between a free self-monitoring plan that doesn’t include push notifications or cloud storage, or a paid plan that includes both. Many of those cameras, however, are equipped with microSD card slots that provide local storage for video clips–provided you supply the microSD card. Unlike Arlo, Ring, SimpliSafe, and Wyze Labs, TP-Link does not also offer a complete home security system, so it doesn’t offer a professional monitoring subscription.

Tapocare

Cost: $3.49 per month or $34.99 per year for up to 10 cameras.

Features: In the U.S., a Tapocare plan provides 30 days of video clip storage in the cloud, push notifications when the cameras detect motion and record video (including a snapshot from the video), and users can sort tag and sort their cameras’ recordings.

Sign up for Tapocare

Wyze Labs

Wyze Labs offers some of the most inexpensive home security cameras on the market, and the same goes for its subscription plans. It even offers a free plan—the only major security camera brand to do so—that enables more than just your camera’s most basic features. Wyze offers five subscription plans:

Wyze Cam Basic (aka Lite)

Cost: Free.

Features: Wyze cameras and doorbells come a free basic plan that includes 14 days of free cloud storage, general motion and sound detection, and notifications when the devices hear the sound of a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm sounding off. There is a catch, however: You don’t get video recordings with this tier; instead, the camera will capture a static image when an event triggers it, with a 5-minute cool-down between each event-triggered capture. In other words, if a person walks in front of the camera and triggers a snapshot, the camera will not produce any more snapshots for five minutes, no matter what happens in front of it.

Wyze Cam Plus

Cost: $2.99 per month per camera, $19.99 per year per camera.

Features: This plan includes the same 14 days of event cloud storage, but the camera will record video instead of just capturing still frames with 5-minute cool-downs between capture (there is no cool-down period at this tier). You’ll be able to record the entirety of a motion-triggered event without missing any activity. This also adds person, pet, package, and vehicle detection, and you’ll be offered exclusive subscriber discounts.

Cam Plus Unlimited

Cost: $9.99 per month for up to 99 Wyze cameras, $99.99 per year for up to 99 Wyze cameras.

Features: This is the same plan as Cam Plus, but it includes licenses for up to 99 Wyze cameras; so, if you have more than three Wyze cameras, this plan is more economical than paying for each camera separately.

Wyze Cam Protect

Cost: $3.99 per camera per month or $39.99 per camera per year. (There is no tier for an unlimited number of cameras.)

Features: This plan includes all the features of cheaper plans and adds AI-based facial recognition and a 24/7 professional monitoring service that will notify you via text message and phone call in the event an alarm goes off. This tier is for cameras only. If you want a security system that includes cameras as well as discrete motion, door/window, water leak, and other types of sensors, plus a central hub with a keypad for arming/disarming, you’ll want the complete Wyze Home Monitoring system. Pair that with a Wyze Home Monitoring subscription at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year, and you’ll have the beginnings of a robust home security system.

sign up for a wyze subscription

Our take

Arlo’s $7.99-per-month single-camera subscription price is now one of most expensive on the market, following a 60-percent price increase in January, 2024. Arlo’s unlimited camera plan is also high, at $17.99 per month. Arlo’s professional monitoring subscription is reasonable at $24.99, even though it’s $5-per-month more than Ring’s, but Arlo’s home security system is much more basic than Ring’s.

Blink has the least expensive per-camera plan, at $3 per month, and you get local video backups if you purchase the Blink Sync Module 2. The unlimited camera plan costs the same as Ring’s service at $10 per month. Unlike Arlo or Ring, Blink does not offer a complete home security system, although it does have a video doorbell and a couple of floodlight cameras. We’ve found that Blink’s product line delivers a lot of value for the money.

Eufy has recently introduced several new advanced security cameras–indoor and outdoor models outfitted with both wide-angle and telephoto lenses–and everything in its lineup is affordably priced. The price for its subscription service is comparable to that of the competition, but its 10-camera limit could be an issue if you have a lot of cameras deployed around your home. That said, 10 cameras seems like a lot. It’s also worth noting that Eufy does not currently offer a professional monitoring service, since it doesn’t currently offer a complete home alarm system.

A Google Nest Aware subscription for a single camera costs the same as Arlo’s, but since few households end up deploying just one camera or video doorbell, Google’s plan ends up being more affordable than most because it covers all the Google cameras, doorbells, speakers, and displays in your home. But Google no longer builds a home security system, so it doesn’t offer a professional monitoring plan either.

Ring will soon increase its single-camera plan by $1 per month to $4.99 per month/$49.99 per year, while its unlimited-camera plan will remain low at just $10 per month; we’ll see how long that lasts. Ring’s $20-per-month professional monitoring plan is one of the most affordable of its type, and the ecosystem for the Ring Alarm and Ring Alarm Pro security systems is more comprehensive than most and includes indoor and outdoor smart lighting, smart entry locks, smoke detectors, and more, including certified third-party devices.

SimpliSafe charges even more for self monitoring of its security cameras and security system than Arlo: around $10 per month. And that’s what they charge even if you have just one camera. If you do have a complete SimpliSafe home security system and want professional monitoring, you’ll pay $10 per month more than you would for a Ring Alarm system.

TP-Link/Tapo has one of the least-expensive subscriptions, but it doesn’t offer a professional monitoring option because the company doesn’t have a complete home security system on the market today; it only offers security cameras and video doorbells.

Wyze Labs is the another budget brand (Blink being the other), and we’ve had no complaints about the quality of its very well-priced hardware. The Wyze Home Monitoring system isn’t as sophisticated as some other products, but it is an incredible value. And the $10-per-month cost of its professional monitoring plan is the best in the industry.