You would be hard-pressed to find a reason for not signing up for Nest Awar
Best answer: While useful without the subscription, you should invest in Nest Aware for your various Nest Cams. Doing so gives you the ability to store recordings in the cloud for use at a later time.
- For a smarter home: Nest Aware (From $5/month at Google Store)
- Keep your home safe: Nest Cam ($165 at Amazon)
Nest Aware is a subscription service offered by Nest that works in tandem with the various Nest Cams. This service provides a few different benefits, especially for those who want to be able to store recordings for use in the future.
Previously, there were three different subscriptions available. There's the standard plan, which was priced at $5 per month or $50 per year. The mid-tier subscription started at either $10 per month or $100 per year, while the top-tier subscription started at $30 per month or $300 per year.
However, this is where things already get tricky, as these base subscription prices only apply to one camera. Any additional camera costs $5 per month or $50 per year, which can add up rather quickly if you own a lot of cameras. Things can get even more expensive if you have the pricier subscription, as additional camera support costs $15 per month or $150 per year.
All of this is changing with the arrival of Nest Aware 2.0, which is slated to launch in early 2020. While we have more information about this subscription service compared to late last year after Google re-absorbed the Nest hardware division, you can't sign up just yet.
The biggest benefit of the new Nest Aware is that you won't have to worry about paying for coverage on a per-camera basis. Instead, all of your Nest products, including the Nest Cam, Nest Hello and Nest Secure, will be covered and you will have access to all of the best features. There are now only two subscriptions to pick from, instead of having to pick between three different ones.
Nest Aware vs New Nest Aware
When looking at the original service, your subscription was on a "per camera" basis, whereas Aware 2.0 is based on a "per home" basis. There are a lot of new features that'll be automatically included, such as Sound Detection, Emergency Calling, and Event-based recording (EBR). EBR begins recording only after your Nest Cam has detected activity, and is available with both the standard and Plus versions.
Outside of the subscription pricing being based on a "per home" account, the new Nest Aware changes how it handles your video history. The standard Nest Aware plan is priced at either $6 per month or $60 per year. This provides you 30 days of video event video history, additional camera features including intelligent alerts, sound detection, and emergency calling.
As for Nest Aware Plus, you'll pay either $12 per month or $120 per year, but are provided with a pretty important benefit compared to the standard version. Plus subscribers will get 10 days of 24/7 video history, which was a part of any of the "old" subscriptions for the original Nest Aware plans. Additionally, Plus subscribers have access to up to 60 days of event-video history, which is only recorded when motion is detected.
Can you keep your original Nest Aware subscription?Those who previously had the first-generation Nest Aware subscription are able to use and renew those subscription plans moving forward. However, if you migrate your Nest account to your Google account, you will be forced into using the new Nest Aware.
What we don't know is how long Google will allow Nest Aware subscribers to keep their original subscription plans. We are expecting for this to change at some point, but for now, Google has not provided any information as to how long it will be before everyone has to migrate to the New Nest Aware subscription plans.
Should you subscribe to Nest Aware?
It almost seems like subscribing to Nest Aware will run your wallet dry after paying the premium for the Nest Cams and other Nest products. But there's just something about having video recordings easily available in case that something major and catastrophic does happen.
Having access to features like event video history, sound detection, and emergency calling is important for the security of your home. Plus, instead of the pricing being based on the number of cameras in the home, moving to covering your "home" of products is rather beneficial. However, at $6 per month (or $60 per year), you will miss out on having 24/7 video history and are limited to 30-days of event video history.
Those who want all of the features, will want to subscribe to the new Nest Aware Plus. For $12 per month, or $120 per year, you get 10-days of 24/7 video history and up to 60-days of event video history. This can prove to be rather beneficial and helpful in your attempts to keep your home safe and find anyone who did wrong-doing at your house.
Access your recordingsNest Aware
Get started with Nest Aware
If you want to get the full Nest security package, you'll want to sign up for Nest Aware. This subscription starts at $6 per month but you'll likely want to go Premium for 24/7 recording.
Keep your home safeNest Cam Indoor
You need the camera
Nest Aware is useless unless you have the Nest Cam to go along with it. This camera can be placed just about anywhere and will help you keep an eye on what's going on.