The guide in the interesting section What is Nest Aware and is it worth paying for a subscription? contains information, tips and hints that will help you learn the most important points and subtleties of the question.
If you want your Nest Cam to store videos in the cloud so you can retrieve them later, you’ll need to subscribe to Nest Aware’s subscription service. But is it worth buying in the long run?
Update: We originally wrote this article in 2017. In May 2020, Google made Nest Aware less expensive.
What is Nest Aware?
Nest Aware is a Nest subscription service for Nest Cam users that, among other features, allows you to store videos in the cloud for up to 30 days. When you buy a Nest Cam, you get a free 30-day trial, but after that, you’ll have to start paying for it if you want to continue using it.
The biggest feature of Nest Aware is round-the-clock recording – without Nest Aware, you can only view snapshots that are taken when motion is detected, and even then, they are stored for no more than three hours.
Nest Aware is also practically necessary if you have a new Nest Cam IQ and want to take advantage of its facial recognition technology, as this is the only way to get this feature.
In addition, you can also take advantage of “activity zones”, which allow you to highlight a certain part of what the Nest Cam can see and receive motion alerts if anything is detected in that particular area. This can be great if you want to turn off passing cars and focus only on the driveway or footpath.
There are two different subscription packages that you can choose from. Both have the same functions, with the only difference being that how long records are stored in the cloud. There is an inexpensive tariff plan that allows you to store videos for up to 10 days. It costs $10 a month (or $100 a year), and any additional Nest Cam camera costs $5 a month (or $50 a year).
The more expensive plan allows you to store videos for up to 30 days, and it costs $30 per month (or $300 per year), and additional cameras cost $15 per month (or $150 per year).
Is it worth buying?
I’ll be honest: Nest Aware is quite expensive. And even if it were cheaper, there are plenty of other companies that offer some sort of free cloud storage for video recordings with their own Wi-Fi cameras, like Logi Circle, Netgear Arlo, and Blink.
However, $8.33 a month isn’t all that bad (if you opt for the $100 per year option) — you’ll probably spend that much on various streaming services like Spotify, Netflix, and YouTube anyway. Red. So if round-the-clock recording is what you really need or need, there’s really nothing to argue about here, especially if motion shots that only last for three hours just won’t handle it at all.
On the other hand. On the other hand, if you ever add additional Nest Cams cameras to your setup, the cost of Nest Aware could skyrocket quickly. If you have three Nest Cams cameras and they all record 24/7, you’ll spend about $16.50 a month on Nest Aware, at a minimum, which would end up at $200 a year. After just a few years, the cost of ownership would quickly exceed $700, which at that point would have allowed you to buy a really good autonomous surveillance system with more than three cameras.
On the other hand, you can ‘I’ve really argued about how easy it is to install and use the Nest Cam, so you’ll definitely pay for the convenience. But if you’re looking for a more budget option, it might be better to get a Wi-Fi camera with free cloud recording.
