Surveillance Guide

Best Cloud Video Surveillance Software for 2026 Seven Cloud VMS and VSaaS Platforms Compared on Price, Camera Lock-In, Retention and AI.

Cloud video surveillance has gone from novelty to default, and the market reflects it: analysts put VSaaS at roughly $9.6 billion in 2026, growing about 16 percent a year. But cloud platforms differ sharply on the two things that actually cost you money, whether you must buy their cameras and how they charge for retention. This guide compares seven serious cloud options on exactly those terms.

Last updated July 2026

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The Short Answer

What Is the Best Cloud Video Surveillance Software?

The best cloud video surveillance software is the one that matches your camera situation. If you are buying new and want a single-vendor system that just works, Verkada and Rhombus are the polished turnkey choices, though both lock you to their proprietary cameras. If you want cloud but need to keep a mixed fleet of cameras you already own, Eagle Eye Networks and Coram AI are camera-agnostic and connect over ONVIF and RTSP. Genetec and Milestone both offer cloud-managed options for buyers who also need access control or hybrid on-premise recording.

If your cameras are fine and you only want to add AI, plain-English search, and detection in the cloud, Surveillant runs on top of any ONVIF or RTSP camera at a published $39 to $42 per camera per month, with a free plan for one camera. The five selection factors that matter most for cloud are: no on-site servers, native AI analytics, NDAA and TAA compliance, open APIs, and predictable per-camera subscription pricing. The table below scores all seven against those.

Quick Picks by Need

Turnkey, new camerasVerkada / Rhombus

Keep mixed fleetEagle Eye / Coram

Video + accessGenetec SaaS

Hybrid on-premMilestone

AI on your camerasSurveillant

Cloud pricing is quoted per camera per month here. Bandwidth and any bridge appliance are extra.

Cloud Video Surveillance Software Compared

Platform	Camera model	Uses your cameras	Storage	Rough price / cam / mo
Verkada	Proprietary	No	Edge + cloud	~$17 license + hardware
Rhombus	Proprietary	No	Edge + cloud	~$12 to $17 license + hardware
Eagle Eye Networks	Camera-agnostic	Yes, via bridge	Cloud	~$5 to $30
Coram AI	Agnostic + own	Yes, ONVIF	Cloud + edge	Quote-based
Genetec SaaS	Agnostic	Yes, ONVIF	Cloud / hybrid	Per-camera + subscription
Milestone (Arcules)	Agnostic	Yes, ONVIF	Cloud / hybrid	Subscription
Surveillant	Any IP camera	Yes, ONVIF / RTSP	Cloud (analytics layer)	$39 to $42, free for 1

Verkada and Rhombus license figures are per-camera-per-month equivalents of their annual license, on top of hardware. Others are reseller and street estimates. Confirm a current quote for your camera count and retention window.

The Seven Cloud Platforms

Cloud platforms split into two camps: the ones that require their own cameras and the ones that run on the cameras you already have. That single distinction decides most of the cost.

1. Verkada: the polished turnkey standard

Verkada is the platform most people picture when they hear cloud surveillance: proprietary cameras record to onboard storage and stream a managed view to a clean web console, so there is no NVR and almost no setup. That simplicity is the whole pitch, and the lock-in is the price of it. You buy Verkada cameras at $700 to $3,700 each and pay a per-camera license of about $199 per year. It is an excellent fit for IT teams replacing an aging system who want one vendor, and a poor fit if you already own good cameras.

2. Rhombus: cloud-native with no NVR

Rhombus processes video at the camera and eliminates the recorder entirely, managed from one cloud console. Cameras run $300 to $1,399 with a $149 to $199 per-camera annual license. It competes directly with Verkada on ease and, like Verkada, uses proprietary cameras, so choosing it is a fresh-install decision. Buyers who like the cloud-edge design and are purchasing new hardware anyway rate it highly. Our Rhombus pricing guide has the numbers.

3. Eagle Eye Networks: cloud for the cameras you have

Eagle Eye Networks is the mature camera-agnostic option. A small on-site bridge connects your existing cameras to the cloud, so you keep the fleet you own and gain cloud recording, remote access, and analytics. Pricing runs about $5 to $30 per camera per month by resolution and retention, plus the bridge appliance. For multi-site operators who inherited a different camera brand at every location, this is often the least disruptive way to move to cloud.

4. Coram AI: agnostic cloud with an AI focus

Coram AI is a newer cloud VMS that leans on AI search and works with both its own cameras and third-party ONVIF cameras. It pitches itself on natural-language search and unified multi-site video, and pricing is quote-based rather than published. It is worth a look for teams that want cloud plus modern AI and are comparing against Verkada and Rhombus, though the closed pricing makes budgeting harder than the platforms that publish a rate.

5. Genetec SaaS: cloud when you also need access control

Genetec Security Center SaaS brings the enterprise Genetec stack to a cloud-managed model, and its real strength is unifying video with access control and intrusion in one system. If you are running doors and cameras together across many sites, this is the cloud platform built for that. It is more than a pure video buyer needs, and it carries enterprise pricing, but nothing else on this list unifies as much. See our Genetec pricing guide.

6. Milestone Arcules: hybrid and open

Milestone offers cloud-managed video that works with existing ONVIF hardware and emphasizes AI-driven analytics, alongside its well-known on-premise XProtect. The draw is deployment flexibility, since you can run on-prem, hybrid, or cloud-managed and move between them. Buyers who want an open platform and are not ready to commit fully to cloud use it as a bridge. Pricing sits on the enterprise end; our Milestone pricing guide covers the on-premise license math.

7. Surveillant: the AI layer that skips the camera purchase

Surveillant is not a recording-and-storage platform, and it says so plainly. It is a cloud AI layer that connects to any ONVIF or RTSP camera and adds plain-English search across your footage, threat and anomaly detection, and alerts, with no appliance and no proprietary hardware. Pricing is published at $42 per camera per month on Plus and $39 on Pro, with a free forever plan for one camera. It is the right choice when your cameras and recording are fine but your software cannot find anything, and the wrong choice if you need the platform to also handle long-term recording, in which case pair it with a VMS that does.

The Two Costs That Decide It

Camera lock-in is the first. Proprietary systems like Verkada and Rhombus bundle cameras and software, which is simple but means every camera is a hardware purchase at $300 to $3,700 plus the license. Camera-agnostic platforms like Eagle Eye, Coram, and Surveillant run on cameras you already own, so the cost is software only. If you have a working camera fleet, going agnostic can cut the project cost by more than half because you skip the hardware entirely.

Retention is the second. Cloud recording is usually priced by how many days of footage you keep and at what resolution, so a 90-day 4K retention window can cost several times a 30-day 1080p one on the same camera. Ask every vendor for the price at your real retention window, not the headline low tier, and check whether they use edge storage on the camera to reduce cloud egress. An analytics-only layer sidesteps this because it searches and analyzes live and recorded feeds without being your primary storage.

For regulated buyers, add NDAA and TAA compliance. Federal contractors cannot use cameras from certain banned manufacturers, so confirm the camera supply chain regardless of how good the cloud software is. A camera-agnostic platform lets you choose compliant cameras independently of the software vendor.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best cloud video surveillance software?

The best cloud video surveillance software depends on your cameras. Verkada and Rhombus are the polished turnkey choices if you are buying new proprietary cameras. Eagle Eye Networks and Coram AI are camera-agnostic and keep your existing fleet. Genetec SaaS is best when you also need access control, and an AI layer like Surveillant adds cloud search and detection to any ONVIF or RTSP camera you already own.

What is VSaaS?

VSaaS stands for Video Surveillance as a Service. It means your camera footage is recorded, stored, and managed in the cloud through a subscription instead of on a local NVR or DVR you own. You get remote access from any browser, automatic software updates, and a predictable per-camera monthly fee, in exchange for an ongoing subscription and dependence on your internet bandwidth.

How much does cloud video surveillance cost per camera?

Cloud video surveillance typically runs $5 to $42 per camera per month, driven mostly by recording resolution and how many days of footage you retain. Camera-agnostic recording platforms sit at the lower end, an AI analytics layer runs $39 to $42, and turnkey systems add $300 to $3,700 per camera in proprietary hardware on top of a roughly $150 to $200 annual license. Always price at your real retention window.

Is cloud video surveillance secure?

Reputable cloud surveillance platforms encrypt footage in transit and at rest, enforce role-based access, and log every view, which is often more secure than an unpatched on-site NVR exposed to the internet. The main considerations are choosing a vendor with strong access controls and confirming where data is stored for compliance. For federal work, verify the cameras themselves meet NDAA requirements regardless of the cloud software.

Can I use cloud video surveillance with my existing cameras?

Yes, if you choose a camera-agnostic platform. Eagle Eye Networks connects existing cameras through an on-site bridge, and Coram, Genetec, Milestone, and an AI layer like Surveillant connect over the ONVIF and RTSP standards that most IP cameras support. Turnkey systems such as Verkada and Rhombus are the exception, since they only work with their own proprietary cameras.

How much internet bandwidth does cloud video surveillance need?

Plan for roughly 1 to 4 Mbps of upload per camera streaming continuously to the cloud, depending on resolution, frame rate, and compression. Many cloud platforms reduce this by storing footage on the edge at the camera and only uploading clips or on demand, so full-time cloud streaming is not always required. Size your upload link for peak simultaneous cameras, not the average.

Explore More

Add Cloud AI to the Cameras You Own

Surveillant connects to any ONVIF or RTSP camera and adds plain-English search and threat detection from the cloud, with no bridge, no proprietary hardware, and published pricing at $39 to $42 per camera per month. Start free with one camera.