Many of the best home security cameras have similar specs: 1080p cameras, night vision and person detection. But which offers the best deal when it comes to cloud storage for all the video they record?
Apart from the price, there are many differences in the companies' plans, such as the number of cameras included, the length of time video is stored, as well as extra features, such as person and package detection.
We compared the video-storage plans offered by the best home security camera companies — Arlo, Blink, Nest, Ring, and Wyze — to see which one offers the best video storage plans.
Because many of these companies also make some of the best video doorbells, these storage plans also include those devices as well, where applicable. So, for example, you could get a Ring Video Doorbell, as well as one of Ring's other cameras, and have both included on the same plan. Ring's paid plans include 180 days of saved video footage, which is by far more generous than every other plan.
Apple offers cloud storage for HomeKit-connected cameras from Eufy, Logitech, and Netatmo security cameras. Video footage will be securely analyzed on a HomePod, iPad, or Apple TV device before being encrypted and sent to iCloud for storage. If you have a 200GB iCloud storage plan ($2.99/month), you can store 10 days of footage from up to five cameras. If you have a 2TB iCloud plan ($9.99 per month), you can store footage from an unlimited number of cameras. Apple is also adding package detection this fall.
Free plans
If you don't sign up for a subscription plan, most cameras are limited not only in how much video footage you can view but also in what features are enabled. Here's a summary of the features available in each company's subscription plan (and a source for more details on each product). One notable exception is Eufy, which offers a lot of these features without requiring you to sign up for a subscription.
Arlo: View live stream and receive notifications.
Blink: Live view streaming
Nest: 3-hour history, people, animal, vehicle, and package detection, and custom activity zones.
Ring: View live video and receive notifications.
Wyze: Motion- and sound-triggered alerts, 2-way audio, smoke & CO2 alarm detection.
If you don't sign up for a plan, Nest offers the most, with three-hour history recording, as well as more detailed detection.
Paid subscription features
When you step up to paid plans, each company offers extra features in addition to cloud recordings. We'll get to the pricing in a moment, but here are the features that are enabled once you subscribe to a plan.
Arlo: 2K and 4K video; downloadable 30-day video history; Person/vehicle/animal detection; package detection; customizable activity zones, emergency response service
Blink: 60 days rolling video storage, motion detection video recording, person detection
Canary: Unlimited video downloads; desktop streaming; two-way talk; custom arming modes
Nest: 30 days of video storage; Continuous recording; Person detection; Facial recognition
Ring: 180 days of recorded video, which you can save and share, person/package alerts, 10% off products, rich notifications
Wyze: Complete motion capture. Will record the entire motion event, rather than just a 12-second clip.
Arlo users can also subscribe to a CVR (continuous video recording) Plan, which will continuously record video to the cloud. However, you can only view this video, not download it. A 14-day CVR plan costs $10/$100 per camera, and a 30-day CVR plan costs $20/$200 per camera. The price plan for each additional camera is 50 percent less.
Ring also has a 24/7 recording plan, which comes with the Ring Premium plan, which costs $19.99/month or $199/year.
Nest Aware Plus subscribers ($15/month, $150/year) can also access 24/7 video history for an unlimited number of cameras, but it only covers 10 days.
Security camera cloud storage plans compared: Basic plans
Arlo Secure: $7.99/month for an individual camera and $12.99/month for an unlimited number of cameras. This plan lets you save 30 days of recordings up to 4K in quality. You also get additional features, such as customizable motion detection zones, person, package, and vehicle detection, Smoke/CO Alarm Detection, and e911. If you subscribe to a yearly plan, the price drops to $7.49/month for a single camera and $12.49/month for unlimited cameras at one location.
Blink Basic: $3/month or $40/year for a single camera and $10/month or $100/year for unlimited cameras. This provides 60 days of recorded footage, sharing and saving video, notifications, and the option for local storage.
Nest Aware: $8/month or $80/year for every Nest camera at one location. This also includes cameras in smart displays. This plan lets you save 30 days of recordings, get intelligent alerts (familiar faces, smoke and CO2 alarm and glass breaking detection), save and share video, and create activity zones.
Ring Basic: $4.99/month or $49.99/year for a single camera, or $9.99/month $99.99/year for unlimited cameras at a single location. This provides 180 days of recorded footage, sharing and saving video, notifications, and more.
Wyze Cam Plus: $2.99/month or $19.99/year per camera, or $9.99/month and $99.99/year for unlimited cameras. Includes unlimited video length, person, package, vehicle, and pet detection, and smoke and CO2-alarm triggered alerts. However, you only get 14 days of video history. Wyze also offers a $9.99 per month/$99 per year option for an unlimited number of cameras.
For those who have a single camera, Ring offers the best value for the money; while it's $1 more per month than Wyze and Blink, it offers three times the storage. Blink is the next most cost-effective option, followed by Wyze, Nest, and Arlo.
If you want an unlimited number of cameras, Ring is still the best deal, followed by Blink. After that, Nest comes in third, followed by Arlo, with Wyze taking up the last spot.
Security camera cloud storage plans compared: Premium plans
Arlo Secure Plus: $17.99/month or $199.99/year for unlimited cameras. This plan gives you everything with Arlo Secure, but also gets you Emergency Response, which connects you to a professional call center and lets you contact fire and police with a single button press.
Blink Plus: $10/month or $100/year for unlimited cameras at one location. Includes 60 days of rolling cloud storage, as well as the ability to snooze alerts for up to 24 hours. You also get 10% off Blink devices, and an extended warranty.
Nest Aware Plus: $15/month or $150/year. This plan also covers an unlimited number of cameras, but increases storage to 60 days. In addition, you also get 10 days of continuous video; that means, you can look back at any moment over the preceding 10 days, regardless of whether there was a motion event.
Ring Premium: $19.99/month or $200/year: This plan gets you advanced video features (live view picture-in-picture, snapshot capture, multicam live view), as well as advanced notifications. It also includes 24/7 video recording.
Plans with professional monitoring
Arlo: Arlo Safe & Secure Pro ($24.99/month), includes all of the features of Arlo Secure Plus, but also has 24/7 professional monitoring and Arlo Safe (Walk with Me Protection, One Tap Protection, Crash Detection & Response, 24/7 Personal Safety Expert, Family Place Alerts, Family Check-Ins, and Family Safe Monitoring). However, Arlo Safe & Secure Pro also requires you purchase an Arlo Home Security system.
Ring: If you sign up for the Ring Standard ($9.99/month) or Ring Premium ($19.99/mo) plans, you can add professional monitoring for an additional $10 per month.
Wyze Cam Protect: $3.39/month or $39.99/year per camera. Includes 14 days of video storage, person, pet, and vehicle detection, AI-based facial recognition, and 24/7 professional monitoring from Noonlight. This plan only works with the Wyze Cam OG, Wyze Cam Pan (v1, v2, and v3), the Wyze Cam V3 Pro, and the Wyze Cam v3/v2.
Overall Recommendations
If you're going the free route:
Wyze is one of the few services that actually lets you save video in the cloud — plus, its cameras have local storage. However, there are some limitations in terms of the length of the videos and how often you can record.
Nest's newer cameras will give you three hours of free storage, but if something gets recorded in the middle of the night and you're not awake to see the alert, you may not get it.
Blink will let you save videos locally to its sync hub, which gives you the greatest flexibility.
If you want to pay for a subscription:
Ring generally gives you the best value. While it's not the least expensive plan, it does provide the longest amount of video history you can save by far.
