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Compare Outdoor Home Security Video Cameras: Google Nest Cam vs. Arlo Pro vs. Ring Spotlight Cam
 ARLO PRO Security Camera (Photo Credits: Arlo Technologies) If you have been looking for an outdoor home security camera and don't know which to get, you don't need to look further than Google Nest Cam, Arlo Pro and Ring Spotlight Cam which were the top sellers on Amazon at the time of this writing. But when it comes to choosing between the three, it may not be that easy. Though all three cameras have received raving reviews from most Amazon customers who have been using them, they present some major differences:
When you get Nest Cam, you get a camera that needs to be plugged to an electrical outlet using the provided adaptor. The cam connects directly to your Wi-Fi network, and will send the captured videos to the cloud where they will be stored under your account. Using your smartphone, tablet or computer, you will be able to view both live and recorded videos (for recorded videos a subscription to Nest Aware is required). With Arlo Pro, you get a camera and a base station. The camera contains a battery and does not need to be plugged to an electrical outlet. It communicates with the base station which is connected to your Wi-Fi network. The base station collects the videos captured by the camera and transmits them through your router and Internet service to your cloud storage account. The advantage here is that you can place the camera anywhere, as long as it is not more than 300 ft. away from the base station; no electrical outlet is required for the camera itself. Note that the base station is hardwired to your router and needs to be plugged using the provided adaptor. With Ring Spotlight Cam, you get a battery powered outdoor camera that connects directly to your Wi-Fi network, and will send the captured videos to the cloud where they will be stored under your account. Using your smartphone, tablet or computer, you will be able to view both live and recorded videos (for recorded videos a subscription is required). Armed with HD video, lights and a siren, Spotlight Cam protects your home around the clock – day or night, rain or shine. This article will compare in more detail the GOOGLE NEST CAM, ARLO PRO and RING SPOTLIGHT CAM outdoor security cameras/systems. These were not just the most popular among Amazon customers at the time this article was written, but they had also received excellent reviews from most Amazon buyers (an average rating of at least 4 stars out of 5 stars each!).
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Comparing Nest Cam, Arlo Pro Outdoor and Ring Spotlight Cam Security Cameras/Systems
The following pictures show the Nest Cam, Arlo Pro and Ring Spotlight Cam security cameras/systems:
(Photo Credits: Nest)
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(Photo Credits: Arlo Technologies)
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(Photo Credits: Ring)
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The following table compares the main features of the security cameras (please read the table notes that follow for a thorough understanding of the features offered by each):
Table Notes 1-15 Explained:
Note 1:
All three cameras support Wi-Fi and allow watching live or recorded video using your smartphone, tablet or laptop.
All three are Alexa compatible, but having Alexa is not a requirement to use these three cams.
Note 2:
- With Nest Cam, if you have the Nest Aware subscription, you will get continuous 24/7 recording of live video for either 10 or 30 days depending on your subscription. You can watch the recordings from your phone, tablet or computer using the Nest App. The subscription allows you also to create, save and share clips form your recorded video. A free one-month Nest Aware subscription trial period is offered.
- With Arlo Pro, free cloud storage of videos is provided for the life of the Arlo Pro cameras. Note that the recording is not 24/7 continuous, but takes place only when the camera detects motion or sound. Note that using the Arlo Pro App, you can set the amount of time of the recording when sound or motion is detected. With the free Basic service, you get a rolling 7 days of recordings that are stored in the cloud. To get cloud storage for the last 14 days or 30 days, you will need to subscribe to their Premier or Elite services. You can access these recordings from anywhere you are, using a mobile device, or on a Windows or Mac computer.
- Ring Spotlight Cam will record to the cloud when motion is detected. It also records when you live-stream video; it will record whatever you are streaming. For $3 per month, you can access your videos anytime and anywhere, save all your videos and share them with friends, family and neighbors.
Note 3:
Nest Cam and Arlo Pro cameras allow modification of the resolution.
- With Nest Outdoor Cam, you can switch to 360p, 720p, 1080p or auto.
- With Arlo Pro, the default video resolution is 720P, but you can change this setting to a higher or lower resolution.
- With Ring Spotlight Cam, the resolution is 1080p and can not be modified.
Note 4:
All three cameras have buit-in microphone and speakers and they feature two-way voice communications. That is a great feature: not only you can talk to the people coming to your home before you let them in, but you can also scare them away by talking or shouting, if you don't recognize the person, or if the person looks suspicious.
Note 5:
- Both Nest Cam and Arlo Pro can send push notifications to your mobile device, send you e-mail alerts, or do both when anyone steps on your property.
- Ring Spotlight Cam will send push notification alerts with chime and vibration to your mobile device when anyone steps on your property and triggers Ring’s built-in motion sensors. You can change the App setting to get a silent notification, in which case you can click on the notification to see what caused the alert.
Note 6:
All three cameras comes with Apps that allow configuring the alerts so that they are sent during specific time periods. The Apps can be configured around a schedule, per day, in which you specify when it's on and off.
- With Nest Cam and Arlo Pro, you can also select whether you want e-mails or phone push notification or both to be sent.
Note that, because Arlo Pro comes with a base station which is like a computer in itself, it allows more detailed provisioning than can be done with the Nest Cam, in particular for setting up modes and rules used to activate the cameras, for managing multi-cameras, and for sending alerts. - Ring Spotlight Cam will send push notification alerts with chime and vibration to your mobile device when anyone steps on your property and triggers Ring’s built-in motion sensors. You can change the App setting to get a silent notification, in which case you can click on the notification to see what caused the alert.
Note 7:
- With Nest Cam, you will need to subscribe to Nest Aware for creating and sharing clips. Note that Nest Aware comes with a one month free trial period.
- With Arlo Pro, the Basic service allows creating clips and snapshots from live video that are stored in the Arlo cloud. These can also be downloaded and shared.
- With Ring Spotlight Cam, you will need to subscribe to a Ring Video recording Plan to access your videos anytime and anywhere, save all your videos for 2 months and share them with friends, family and neighbors.
Note 8:
- With Nest Cam you can assign multiple zones: you can select areas, name them, and choose how you're alerted to activity in those areas.
- Ring Spotlight Cam allows you to create and customize up to 3 motion zones to protect the most important areas of your home.
- With Arlo Pro, you can set the sensitivity, but you can not at this time define isolated motion zones.
Note 9:
The spotlight on the Ring cam is motion activated spotlight.
Note 10:
- The Arlo Pro base station includes a siren. You can manually activate or turn off the siren. You can also set up motion detection rules to trigger the siren and select the siren volume level when you set up the rule. The siren has three volume level settings: Loud, Very Loud, and Extremely Loud.
- Ring Spotlight Cam also supports a 110-decibel siren that can be remotely activeated.
Note 11:
- Arlo Pro Cam does not need to be plugged. Because it contains a battery, it can be placed wherever you wish, as long as it's not more than 300 ft. away from the base station. No electric outlet is required. To recharge the battery, a cable and a wall adapter is included. No need to remove the battery to recharge it: the entire camera is plugged in when charging.
The cam communicates with the base station which will be inside your home and needs to be plugged using the provided adapter. - Nest Cam needs to be plugged to an electric outlet.
- Ring Spotlight Cam is powered wuth a rechargeable battery that is included. To recharge the battery, you remove the battery and charge either via USB or connection to wall outlet.
Note 12:
Apps are available for all three cameras so that you can watch live and recorded videos from your smartphone, tablet or computer.
To view video from your computer, logging into the camera's website is required. The procedures and website addresses are detailed in the product guides.
The Apps are also used to provision various camera related parameters and camera activity related conditions.
Note that because Arlo Pro comes with a base station which is like a computer in itself, it allows a lot more detailed provisioning than can be done with the other two cameras, in particular for setting up modes and rules used to activate the cameras, and for managing multi-cameras.
Note 13:
All three cameras allow multi camera management. But as mentioned, because Arlo Pro comes with a base station which is like a computer in itself, it allows more detailed provisioning than can be done with the other two cameras, in particular for setting up modes and rules used to activate the cameras, for managing multi-cameras, and for sending alerts.
Note 14:
With Arlo Pro, all recordings are stored in the cloud, but you can optionally connect a USB storage device to the Arlo Pro base station and use the USB storage device as a backup location to store recordings. Simply connect a USB storage device and the base station automatically enables all the settings for you. The USB storage device cannot be used on its own as a substitute for cloud recording. If you connect a USB storage device, the camera records to both the cloud and the USB storage device for motion-triggered and audio-triggered recordings. If the camera and base station are powered on, but the Internet goes down, the camera continues to record to the USB storage device. The Arlo App notifies you if the USB storage device is full.
Note 15:
All three products come with a 1-Year limited warranty.
Ring Spotlight Cam also comes with a lifetime replacement warranty if stolen. This theft protection is not transferable and applies only to the original consumer purchaser.
So which outdoor security camera is best for your needs?
All three outdoor cams considered here are excellent products as shown by the average rating each had received from Amazon customers at the time this article was written. As mentioned, all three had received at least 4 stars (out of 5 stars). There is a good chance that you would be quite happy with anyone of these outdoor cams.
However, there are some important differences that you might want to consider before making up your mind.
Here are some good reasons for choosing Nest Cam:
Here are some good reasons for choosing Arlo Pro:
Here are some good reasons for choosing Ring Spotlight Cam:
However, there are some important differences that you might want to consider before making up your mind.
Here are some good reasons for choosing Nest Cam:
- The place where you need to place your camera is equipped with an electrical outlet.
- You don't want to worry about recharging batteries.
- You prefer continuous 24/7 live video even when there is no motion or sound.
- You don't mind a subscription fee for viewing recorded videos as well as creating and sharing clips .
- You prefer a 2-Year limited warranty.
Here are some good reasons for choosing Arlo Pro:
- If you need to place the camera where there is no electrical outlet (the camera runs on battery).
- You want to be able to have free access to the recorded videos, generate and share clips/snapshots.
- You'd like your security system to have a siren to scare the intruders off (note that the siren activation and siren volume level can both be configured).
- You want to be able to download your videos to a local USB device that can be connected to the base station.
- You want to be able to do more sophisticated and detailed provisioning of alerts and other camera related features. The base station is like a computer; it allows detailed provisioning of the system, in particular for setting up modes and rules that are used to activate the camera(s), and for managing multi-cameras.
Here are some good reasons for choosing Ring Spotlight Cam:
- If you need to place the camera where there is no electrical outlet (the camera runs on battery).
- Has a motion activated spotlight.
- Has a siren to scare the intruders off.
- Allows you to create and customize up to 3 motion zones to protect the most important areas of your home.
- You don't mind a subscription fee for viewing recorded videos as well as creating and sharing clips .
- You have a lifetime replacement warranty if stolen.
Nest Cam, Arlo Pro and Ring Spotlight Cam Security Cameras/Systems on Amazon
Please click below the product of your choice for price information or to purchase.
Note: Amazon often provides a good discount on the List Price of sold products. If a discount is available, the List Price and the actual Amazon price will be shown when you click the images below:
Note: Amazon often provides a good discount on the List Price of sold products. If a discount is available, the List Price and the actual Amazon price will be shown when you click the images below:
GOOGLE NEST CAM |
ARLO PRO |
RING SPOTLIGHT |
All-new RING STICK UP Cam |
You might also be interested in the following indoor security cameras comparison:
If you are looking also for an indoor security camera, you may want to read the following article:
A Comparison of Popular Indoor Security Cameras
