Surveillance Pricing: What Homeowners and Businesses Really Pay
Surveillance pricing can be confusing. Between cameras, recorders, cloud storage, and monitoring, many home and business owners struggle to understand what they should be paying for video surveillance.
In the US, basic home surveillance systems often cost $300–$3,000 upfront, with optional monitoring from about $20–$80 per month. On the other hand, business systems typically start around $5,000 and can exceed $100,000 for multi-site deployments, depending on camera count, infrastructure, and cloud subscriptions. Ongoing surveillance pricing is driven by monitoring, storage, and labour, not just hardware. These figures were taken from a source at the beginning of year, January 2025, and have likely increased since then.
What Actually Drives Surveillance Pricing?
Before looking at numbers, it helps to split surveillance pricing into a few buckets:
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Hardware – cameras, recorders (NVRs), hubs, sensors, relays.
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Installation – cabling, mounting, configuration, and networking.
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Monitoring – professional third-party response vs self-monitoring.
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Storage – local NVRs, on-prem appliances, or cloud VSaaS.
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Labour – security guards and control room operators.
Most quotes simply bundle these together, which makes it hard to compare options. This is also where cloud-first platforms can hide long-term costs behind low upfront pricing.
Home Surveillance Pricing in the US
Upfront system and installation
Recent guides put typical home security system hardware in the $300–$3,000 range, depending on camera quality and smart features.
Professional installation often starts around $99 and can be included for higher-end, professionally monitored systems, as evaluated by NerdWallet.
DIY systems reduce labour costs but may trade off on camera placement quality and setup time. You can read more about how to set up your own cameras here.
Ongoing monitoring and storage
For US homeowners:
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Many providers charge $20–$80 per month for professional monitoring.
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Some DIY platforms offer cloud video recording and smart notifications from around $4–$20 per month.
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Legacy monitoring brands such as ADT still start around $28.99 per month on long-term contracts.
Over 3–5 years, these subscriptions often cost more than the original hardware.
Want predictable surveillance pricing without cloud lock-in?
Business and SME Surveillance Pricing
For small and mid-sized businesses, the price jumps because:
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Camera counts grow
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Coverage and compliance requirements increase
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Uptime and retention expectations are higher
Typical system costs
Recent US commercial cost guides show:
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Professionally installed business systems often start around $5,000 and can exceed $100,000 for large facilities, as noted by E-N Computers back in 2024.
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Safe and Sound Security shared that a commercial camera system can easily fall in the $1,000–$5,000+ range for smaller deployments, depending on camera types and features.
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4K AI-enabled cameras alone can cost $180–$650 per device, with NVRs for 16–64 channels in the $1,200–$4,500 band. This undoubtedly is pushing the higher end of the budget.
Installation can add another $300–$1,200 depending on cabling, lift work, and network upgrades.
Cloud VSaaS costs for businesses
Cloud video surveillance (VSaaS) is increasingly sold per camera, per month. Many business-focused guides show:
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Basic cloud plans typically starting at $10–$15 per camera per month, with higher costs for longer retention or higher resolution, as shared by ESI Technologies.
For a site with 20 cameras, that can mean $200–$300+ every month just for cloud storage and access, before monitoring or analytics.
Enterprise Surveillance Pricing and the Labour Factor
At enterprise scale, hardware and software are only part of the picture. You also pay for people and their graft.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $38,370 for security guards as of 2024 (roughly $18–$19 per hour) across the country.
Several industry calculators, such as that of Deep Sentinel, put guard billing rates higher, often:
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$15–$30 per hour for unarmed guards.
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$25–$50+ per hour for armed or specialised guards.
Even a single 24/7 guard post can run into tens of thousands of dollars per year.
This is where video analytics, on-prem Edge AI, and automation start to pay off:
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Fewer false alarms going to guards and ARCs.
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More effective use of existing staff.
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Better coverage at night or in remote locations without hiring extra personnel.
Cloud vs On-Prem Surveillance Pricing: Total Cost of Ownership
Cloud-first platforms often appear cheaper at first glance. You may see:
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Low-cost or subsidised cameras
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Bundled NVRs with limited functionality
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“Per camera, per month” plans with attractive entry prices
However, over 3–5 years, the combination of:
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Per-camera cloud charges
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Storage upgrade fees
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AI feature add-ons
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Licensing tiers
…can create a cost curve that grows faster than your actual risk.
On-prem Edge AI hubs like Monitoreal flip that model:
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Upfront hardware purchase that works with existing RTSP/ONVIF cameras, meaning no need to rip-and-replace
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Local processing and storage, avoiding per-camera cloud fees
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Freedom to choose separate monitoring partners and ARC integrations
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Predictable pricing based on devices and channels, not cloud add-ons
The result is a lower and more controllable total cost of ownership, particularly for sites with many cameras or strict privacy requirements.
We discuss the benefits of both Edge AI and Cloud AI systems in a previous post, which you can read about here.
How to Budget for Surveillance Without Overpaying
When planning a new or upgraded surveillance system, it helps to think in three time horizons:
1. First 12 months
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Hardware, installation, and commissioning.
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Any one-off licensing costs.
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Training and configuration time.
2. Years 1–3
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Monitoring fees (if any).
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Cloud VSaaS or storage charges.
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Maintenance and occasional camera replacements.
3. Years 3–5+
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Scaling costs as you add cameras, sites, and analytics.
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Integration work (ARCs, VMS, access control).
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Potential migration away from vendors with heavy subscription models.
Key questions to ask vendors:
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What will I pay per month if I double my camera count?
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Can I keep the hardware if I ever leave your cloud platform?
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How much of my system still works if the internet goes down?
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Where is my footage processed and stored—on-site or in the cloud?
Want a surveillance pricing model that doesn’t punish growth?
FAQ:
In the US, many homeowners spend $300–$3,000 on hardware, plus optional monitoring from $20–$80 per month, depending on whether they choose DIY or professional installation and response services.
Professionally installed business camera systems often start around $5,000 and can exceed $25,000 as camera counts, storage needs, and integration complexity increase. AI-enabled cameras, high-resolution recording, and redundant storage add cost but also improve security outcomes.
Cloud video surveillance can be attractive initially, with plans often starting around $10–$15 per camera per month, but costs grow quickly as you add cameras and retention. For multi-camera sites, a local Edge AI hub with optional integrations often delivers a lower total cost of ownership over three to five years.
In many US markets, security guards cost $15–$50+ per hour, depending on training and risk level. Even one 24/7 post can exceed the cost of a full video analytics system over a year, which is why many organisations use Edge AI to augment guards instead of replacing surveillance with human patrols alone.