Security Camera Cloud Plans Compared: Ring, Nest, Arlo
As of October 2026, the cheapest single-camera cloud plans are Wyze Cam Plus ($2.99/month), then eufy Basic and Blink Basic ($3.99) and Ring Solo ($4.99). For a whole home, Ring Multi and Wyze Cam Unlimited ($9.99) and Google Home Premium Standard ($10) cost least. Of these plans, Ring keeps video longest, up to 180 days.
Figures researched 2026-10-01; each source below carries its access date. Prices change; treat any price here as "as of" its date.
Camera cloud plan prices side by side
Every price below comes from the brand's own US plans page or support article, read on October 1, 2026. Google renamed Nest Aware to Google Home Premium in October 2025, and Arlo renamed its Arlo Secure tiers this year; both are listed under their current names.
| Brand and plan | Monthly | Yearly | Cameras | Cloud video history |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wyze Cam Plus | $2.99 | $29.99 | 1 | 14 days |
| eufy Basic | $3.99 | $39.99 | 1 | 30 days |
| Blink Basic | $3.99 | $39.99 | 1 | Up to 60 days |
| Ring Solo | $4.99 | $49.99 | 1 | Up to 180 days |
| Blink Basic ai | $6.99 | $69.99 | 1 | Up to 60 days |
| Arlo Smart Aware (single) | $9.99 | $95.88 | 1 | 60 days |
| Ring Multi | $9.99 | $99.99 | All at one location | Up to 180 days |
| Wyze Cam Unlimited | $9.99 | $99.99 | Unlimited | 14 days |
| Google Home Premium Standard | $10 | $100 | Whole home | 30 days of events |
| Blink Plus | $11.99 | $119.99 | Unlimited | Up to 60 days |
| eufy Plus | $13.99 | $139.99 | Unlimited | 30 days |
| Arlo Smart Aware (unlimited) | $19.99 | $215.88 | Unlimited | 60 days |
| Blink Plus ai | $19.99 | $199.99 | Unlimited | Up to 60 days |
| Ring Pro | $19.99 | $199.99 | All at one location | Up to 180 days |
| Wyze Cam Unlimited Pro | $19.99 | $199.99 | Unlimited | Up to 60 days |
| Google Home Premium Advanced | $20 | $200 | Whole home | 60 days of events plus 10 days 24/7 |
| Arlo Smart Secure | $29.99 | $299.98 | Unlimited | 60 days |
| Arlo Ultra Secure | $49.99 | $479.88 | Unlimited | 60 days, plus 30 days 24/7 on up to 3 cameras |
Blink's ai tiers carry first-year promotional prices ($49.99 and $149.99) on its plans page; the table shows the regular yearly rate. Ring also lists a Virtual Security Guard tier at $99 a month, which adds live video monitoring and is a different kind of service from the cloud plans above.
What each brand gives you with no plan
The free tier matters as much as the price, because it decides whether the plan is optional or effectively required.
| Brand | Records without a plan? | What the free tier includes |
|---|---|---|
| Ring | No. Ring says events are only recorded after you subscribe | Live view, real-time alerts |
| Arlo | Only to microSD with an Arlo SmartHub or Arlo Go 2 | Live view, motion alerts, two-way audio |
| Google Nest | Yes, short window: 3 to 6 hours of event history by model | Live view, talk and listen, motion, person, animal and vehicle alerts |
| Blink | Yes, locally, with a Sync Module 2 (USB drive) or Sync Module XR (microSD) | Live view (5 minutes), motion alerts, two-way audio |
| Wyze | Yes, continuously to a microSD card | Event thumbnails in the app; event videos need a plan |
| eufy | Yes, to the camera or a HomeBase, by model | Local recording with no monthly fee |
Read together, the two tables split the market in two. Ring and Arlo are subscription-first: without a plan and without extra hardware, they save nothing. Wyze, Blink and eufy are local-first, and their plans mainly add an offsite copy and smarter alerts. Google sits between, with a free buffer measured in hours.
Brand-by-brand detail is in does Ring require a subscription, does Arlo require a subscription and does Nest Cam require a subscription. Cameras that need no plan at all are covered in no-subscription security cameras.
Which camera plan is cheapest for your setup?
Of the plans covered here, by published US price:
- One camera: Wyze Cam Plus at $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year is the lowest. eufy Basic and Blink Basic follow at $3.99, and Ring Solo at $4.99 buys the longest history, up to 180 days.
- A whole home: Ring Multi ($99.99 a year), Wyze Cam Unlimited ($99.99) and Google Home Premium Standard ($100) are within a cent to a dollar of each other. Ring Multi covers all Ring devices at one location with up to 180 days of history; Wyze keeps 14 days; Google keeps 30 days of events.
- Continuous 24/7 cloud recording: two plans in the table list it on their plan pages. Google Home Premium Advanced keeps 10 days of 24/7 history for cameras and wired doorbells at $20 a month, and Arlo Ultra Secure keeps 30 days on up to 3 plugged-in cameras at $49.99 a month.
- Professional monitoring: Ring Pro ($19.99) lists 24/7 professional monitoring, which Ring describes as emergency response when your system is triggered, and Arlo's Smart Secure and Ultra Secure include it only with an Arlo Home Security System. A camera plan alone is not alarm monitoring.
Per-camera plans add up fast. Three cameras on Ring Solo cost $149.97 a year against $99.99 for Ring Multi, and three on eufy's Basic tier cost $119.99 a year against $139.99 for unlimited Plus (our arithmetic from the prices above).
Prices in this category move. Blink raised US prices in October 2025 and Wyze raised Cam Plus Annual in March 2026; the subscription creep index tracks how camera and monitoring plans have changed over time, while this page is the current snapshot.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the cheapest security camera subscription?
- Of the plans compared here, Wyze Cam Plus at $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year for one camera, as of October 2026. For several cameras, Ring Multi and Wyze Cam Unlimited at $99.99 per year and Google Home Premium Standard at $100 per year are the lowest whole-home prices.
- Ring Protect vs Nest Aware: which costs less?
- They are close. Ring Multi is $9.99 per month and keeps up to 180 days of video for all Ring devices at a location. Google Home Premium Standard, the plan formerly called Nest Aware, is $10 per month for 30 days of event history. Google's free tier keeps 3 to 6 hours of history; Ring's free tier records nothing.
- Arlo Secure vs Ring Protect: what is the difference?
- Price and coverage. Arlo's cheapest plan is $9.99 per month for one camera with 60 days of history, and its unlimited plan is $19.99. Ring Solo is $4.99 for one device and Ring Multi $9.99 for all devices at one location, both with up to 180 days of history.
- Which camera brands record without any subscription?
- Of the brands here, eufy (to the camera or a HomeBase), Wyze (to a microSD card) and Blink (to a Sync Module 2 or XR) record locally with no plan. Google Nest keeps a 3 to 6 hour free event history. Ring records nothing without a plan, and Arlo records only with a SmartHub or the Arlo Go 2.
Sources
- Ring plans: Solo $4.99/mo or $49.99/yr one device; Multi $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr all devices at one location; Pro $19.99/mo or $199.99/yr with 24/7 professional monitoring; Virtual Security Guard $99.00/mo with live video monitoring; up to 180 days video playback: https://ring.com/plans (accessed 2026-10-01)
- Ring: without a subscription you can view live video and respond to alerts as they happen; events are only recorded after you subscribe: https://ring.com/support/articles/lw54x/Understanding-Ring-Protect-subscriptions (accessed 2026-10-01)
- Google Home Premium Standard $10/month or $100/year, 30 days event history; Advanced $20/month or $200/year, 60 days event history plus 10 days 24/7 for cameras and wired doorbells; free tier 3 to 6 hours event history by device with live view, talk and listen, motion/person/animal/vehicle alerts: https://store.google.com/us/product/google_home_premium?hl=en-US (accessed 2026-10-01)
- Nest Aware (2nd gen) renamed Google Home Premium as of October 1, 2025: https://support.google.com/googlehome/answer/16581343?hl=en (accessed 2026-10-01)
- Arlo plans: Smart Aware single $9.99/mo or $95.88/yr, unlimited $19.99/mo or $215.88/yr; Smart Secure $29.99/mo or $299.98/yr; Ultra Secure $49.99/mo or $479.88/yr; 60-day video history; Ultra Secure 24/7 recording up to 3 cameras kept 30 days; professional monitoring requires Arlo Home Security System: https://us.arlo.com/pages/arlo-secure (accessed 2026-10-01)
- Arlo without a subscription: live feed, motion alerts, 2-way audio, local microSD recording with Arlo Go 2 or SmartHub; cloud storage is a subscription feature: https://blog.arlo.com/home-security-tips/can-you-use-a-home-security-camera-without-a-subscription/ (accessed 2026-10-01)
- Wyze: Cam Plus $2.99/mo or $29.99/yr 1 camera 14 days; Cam Unlimited $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr 14 days; Cam Unlimited Pro $19.99/mo or $199.99/yr up to 60 days: https://www.wyze.com/pages/compare (accessed 2026-10-01)
- Wyze without a subscription: Events tab shows thumbnails rather than event videos: https://support.wyze.com/hc/en-us/articles/23791308908571-Can-I-still-access-the-Events-tab-without-a-subscription (accessed 2026-10-01)
- Wyze microSD card enables continuous local recording: https://support.wyze.com/hc/en-us/articles/7372980709275-How-do-Cam-Plus-and-a-microSD-card-compare (accessed 2026-10-01)
- Blink: Basic $3.99/mo or $39.99/yr; Plus $11.99/mo or $119.99/yr; Basic ai $6.99/mo or $69.99/yr ($49.99 first year); Plus ai $19.99/mo or $199.99/yr ($149.99 first year); up to 60 days cloud storage; live view limited to 5 minutes without a subscription: https://blinkforhome.com/plans (accessed 2026-10-01)
- Blink local storage without a plan via Sync Module 2 USB drive or Sync Module XR microSD; no-storage features live view, motion alerts, two-way audio: https://support.blinkforhome.com/using-your-camera/blink-storage-options (accessed 2026-10-01)
- eufy Cloud Backup: Basic 1 device $3.99/mo or $39.99/yr, 3 devices $11.99/mo or $119.99/yr; Plus unlimited $13.99/mo or $139.99/yr; rolling 30-day history: https://service.eufy.com/article-description/Introducing-Cloud-Storage (accessed 2026-10-01)
- eufy local storage with no monthly fee on the device or HomeBase: https://www.eufy.com/eufy-local-security (accessed 2026-10-01)
Related guides
- Does Arlo Require a Subscription? What Works Without One Arlo cameras work without a plan, but some features do not. What Arlo Secure adds, what it costs as of 2026, and what stays free.
- Does Blink Require a Subscription? Sync Module vs Plan Blink cameras can save clips locally with a Sync Module 2. What the Blink plans add and cost as of 2026, and what stops without one.
- Does Eufy Require a Subscription? Local Storage vs Cloud Most Eufy cameras record locally with no plan. What Eufy's cloud plans add and cost as of 2026, and which models need a HomeBase.
- Does Google Nest Cam Require Nest Aware? What's Free Nest cams keep a short event history with no plan. What Nest Aware adds and costs as of 2026, from Google's own pages.
- Does Ring Require a Subscription? Does Ring require a subscription? What doorbells and cameras do free, what needs a Ring plan, and current plan prices as of August 2026, from Ring's pages.