Quick Answer: Monthly cloud/monitoring costs for security cameras range from $0 (eufy, Reolink, Wyze, Lorex, ANNKE, Amcrest, Tapo — all free local storage) up to $59.99/month (ADT’s top professional-monitoring tier), per each brand’s own 2026 published pricing. In between, Blink starts at $3.99/month, Ring Protect runs $4.99–$19.99/month, Google Home Premium (the Nest Aware replacement) is $10–$20/month, Arlo Secure is $9.99–$19.99/month, Wyze Cam Unlimited is $9.99/month, and SimpliSafe/Vivint/ADT monitoring plans run $22.99–$59.99/month because they bundle professional emergency dispatch, not just video storage. The right plan depends on whether you need video history, professional monitoring, or neither.
Most comparisons on this site look at cloud storage versus local storage as a trade-off (see our cloud vs. local storage guide for that angle). This one is different: it’s a single table of every subscription price on the site, brand by brand, so you can see the actual dollar gap before picking hardware.
Every subscription plan, side by side
| Brand | Plan | Monthly price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blink | Basic | $3.99 | 1 device, 60-day cloud history |
| Blink | Plus | $11.99 | Unlimited devices at one address |
| Ring | Protect Basic | $4.99 | 1 camera/doorbell, 180-day history |
| Ring | Protect Plus / Pro | $9.99–$19.99 | Whole-home, unlimited cameras |
| Wyze | Cam Plus | $2.99/camera | Per-camera person/vehicle detection |
| Wyze | Cam Unlimited | $9.99 | Whole-home, unlimited cameras |
| Arlo | Secure (1 camera) | $9.99 | 1 camera, ~$7.99 billed annually |
| Arlo | Secure (unlimited) | $19.99 | Unlimited cameras, ~$17.99 annually |
| Google/Nest | Home Premium Standard | $10 | Event history, replaced Nest Aware Oct 2025 |
| Google/Nest | Home Premium Advanced | $20 | Longer history, more AI features |
| eufy | Optional cloud add-on | $3.99 | Local storage is free by default |
| Reolink / Wyze v4 / Lorex / ANNKE / Amcrest / Tapo | None required | $0 | Free local storage (microSD/NVR/hub) |
| SimpliSafe | Free self-monitoring | $0 | Live view, arm/disarm only |
| SimpliSafe | Standard / Core | $22.99–$32.99 | Professional monitoring + video verification |
| Vivint | Monitoring | $24.99–$49.99 | Professional monitoring, billed apart from equipment |
| ADT | Monitoring | $49.99–$59.99 | Professional monitoring, often 36-month contract |
The real split: video storage vs. professional monitoring
The table above hides an important distinction. Ring, Arlo, Nest, Blink and Wyze subscriptions are video-storage plans — they extend how long recorded clips stick around and unlock AI features like person detection, but nobody is watching your feed or calling 911 on your behalf. SimpliSafe, Vivint and ADT subscriptions are monitoring plans — a company is actively watching for alarms and dispatching emergency services, which is why they cost 3–6x more than a video-only plan. Comparing a $9.99 Arlo plan to a $49.99 ADT plan on price alone misses that they’re not the same product.
eufy SoloCam S340
- Records to the included solar-charged battery camera's local storage with zero subscription.
- Optional $3.99/month cloud add-on if off-site backup matters more than saving the fee.
- Same core hardware whether or not you ever subscribe to anything.
Outfitting a rental property or small office with several of these at once? A free Amazon Business account unlocks quantity discounts and tax-exempt purchasing, which matters more once you’re buying five or six cameras instead of one.
Annual billing changes the math
Where a brand offers it, paying annually instead of monthly is consistently the better deal. Arlo Secure drops from $9.99/$19.99 monthly to roughly $7.99/$17.99 when billed annually — about a 20% discount, per Arlo’s own pricing page. Google Home Premium and SimpliSafe both publish annual options that trim a similar 10–20% off the monthly rate. Blink, Ring and Wyze don’t currently publish an annual discount on their standard tiers, so monthly billing there isn’t leaving money on the table.
The bottom line
If you just want longer clip history and smarter alerts, a $3.99–$19.99/month video plan from Blink, Ring, Wyze, Arlo or Google covers it — or skip the fee entirely with a local-storage brand like eufy, Reolink or Wyze’s own v4. Only step up to a $22.99+/month SimpliSafe, Vivint or ADT plan if you specifically want a company monitoring the system and dispatching help, since that’s a different product from video storage, not just a pricier version of it. Already leaning local-only? Our best security camera without a subscription rankings and cloud vs. local storage guide go deeper on that decision. Considering a monitored system instead? SimpliSafe vs. Ring and ADT vs. Vivint break down those two categories head to head.