Surveillance Guide
Genetec AutoVu Price Cloudrunner Runs $2,495 per Camera per Year. Here Is What Fixed and Mobile AutoVu Cost, Line by Line.
Genetec does not post AutoVu prices on its own site, but the numbers are not secret. Resellers list the Cloudrunner subscription in their web stores, and a California state contract worksheet prices the mobile SharpZ3 kit, its cameras, training and the annual software licence item by item. This guide puts those figures in one place, works out what ten cameras cost against Flock, and says plainly when a purpose-built plate reader is worth the money and when it is more than the job needs.
How much does Genetec AutoVu cost?
Genetec AutoVu Cloudrunner costs $2,495 per camera per year at MSRP, and that one annual fee covers the solar-powered plate camera, the pole mount, LTE connectivity, cloud hosting and a year of service. Traditional AutoVu is bought as hardware plus licences: a public California contract lists the mobile SharpZ3 kit at $22,996 and a separate annual software licence at $10,500.
Those are two different products with two different budgets, and most confusion about AutoVu pricing comes from mixing them up. Cloudrunner is the subscription: one line per camera per year, nothing to own, retention included. Fixed SharpV cameras and mobile SharpZ3 patrol kits are the traditional AutoVu line, managed through Genetec Security Center, where you buy hardware once, license the software, pay for installation and training, and then renew maintenance.
If you are pricing a handful of cameras at a lot entrance or a neighborhood road, Cloudrunner is the number that matters, and it lands a little below what Flock typically charges. If you are a police department fitting patrol cars, the SharpZ3 figures are the ones to budget, and the list prices below are the ceiling a negotiated contract comes down from.
Genetec AutoVu Price List, Line by Line
Every figure below comes from a named public source. The Cloudrunner lines are reseller store prices. The SharpZ3 lines are list prices from a California Department of General Services contract price worksheet for ALPR systems, published by a Genetec reseller in 2020; they are older and are best read as a ceiling rather than a current quote.
| Item | What it is | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudrunner, 1 year (CRS-CRH2-LTE-1Y) | Plate camera, pole mount, solar array, LTE, cloud hosting and one year of service | $2,495 per camera per year MSRP | Reseller stores (BSA Security Integrators, RapidFire) |
| Cloudrunner, store discount | Same one-year kit | $2,395 sale price | BSA Security Integrators store |
| Cloudrunner, 3-year option | Three years of subscription instead of one | $4,190 added to the one-year price | BSA Security Integrators store |
| SharpZ3 LAW triple base kit | Mobile patrol kit: SharpZ3 processing unit, cameras, GPS and mounts, cable excluded | $22,996 list | California DGS contract worksheet |
| SharpZ3 ALPR camera | Additional camera for a mobile kit | $3,500 list | California DGS contract worksheet |
| Light-bar mount and cables | Single light-bar mount; SharpZ3 cables in two lengths | $220 mount; $200 and $400 cables | California DGS contract worksheet |
| Training | Operator class; AutoVu technician class | $3,191 operator; $9,574 technician, list | California DGS contract worksheet |
| Annual end user access licence | One annual charge for an end user group of up to 7,000, not per user | $10,500 list; $8,610 on that contract | California DGS contract worksheet |
The contract worksheet is worth a second look for what it says about negotiation. It shows the hardware lines discounted heavily from list on that state contract, the SharpZ3 kit at $6,438.88 against $22,996, while the annual software licence moved far less, $8,610 against $10,500. That pattern is common in physical security: hardware is where the reseller has room, recurring software is where the manufacturer holds the line. Budget the licence close to list and push on everything else.
Cloudrunner or Traditional AutoVu: Which Price Applies to You
Genetec sells plate recognition two ways, and the right budget line depends on who is buying and what they already run.
Cloudrunner is the subscription product. Each unit is a self-contained camera on a pole with its own solar panel and cellular link, so there is no trenching and no network drop. You pay $2,495 per camera per year and the reseller listing describes retention of up to 90 days and an advance replacement warranty on the camera and solar panel. It suits HOAs, business parks, campuses and smaller agencies that want plate reads at a few entry points without building infrastructure, and it competes head to head with Flock.
Traditional AutoVu is the enterprise product. Fixed SharpV cameras combine two high-definition sensors, onboard processing and illumination in one sealed unit, and mobile SharpZ3 kits go on patrol cars and parking enforcement vehicles. Both feed Genetec Security Center, so plate reads sit in the same platform as video, access control and parking. You buy the hardware, license the software, pay for installation and training, and renew maintenance each year. The first-year number is large and the later years are much smaller.
The choice also changes how finance books it. Cloudrunner is an operating expense that renews every year; a SharpZ3 fleet is a capital purchase with a recurring licence underneath. If you run both kinds of spend, make sure whoever handles your expense tracking and categorization knows which line is which before the first renewal lands, because the subscription never stops and the capital line should not be renewed by mistake.
For the rest of the Genetec catalog, including Security Center camera and door connections, see our Genetec pricing guide.
Is Genetec AutoVu Cheaper Than Flock? Ten Cameras, Three Ways
Here is the same ten-camera job priced three ways: Cloudrunner at MSRP, Flock at the per-camera rates that show up in public contracts, and plate reads added to security cameras you already own. Install costs are left out of the Cloudrunner and Surveillant rows because they depend on your site.
| Option | Per camera | 10 cameras, year one | Hardware | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genetec AutoVu Cloudrunner | $2,495 per year MSRP | $24,950 | Included, solar and LTE | Purpose-built plate capture with no power or network run, and a path into Security Center |
| Flock Safety Falcon | About $2,500 to $3,000 per year, quoted | About $25,000 to $30,000, plus $150 to $1,900 per camera to install | Leased, solar and LTE | A wide law-enforcement sharing network, which matters if police are the audience |
| Surveillant on your cameras | $49 to $75 per month ($588 to $900 per year) | $5,880 to $9,000 | None; uses the RTSP or ONVIF cameras you own | Plate lookup and watchlist alerts beside intrusion, loitering and search on the same cameras |
So yes, at list price Cloudrunner comes in slightly under a typical Flock contract, and it publishes a number where Flock does not. Our Flock camera cost breakdown has the Flock figures in full, and Genetec vs Flock compares the two platforms beyond price.
The third row is a different tool, and it is only a fair comparison if your cameras already see the plates. A dedicated ALPR camera uses infrared illumination and a fast shutter to read plates on moving cars at night; a general security camera pointed at a gate where vehicles slow down will read many plates, but not at highway speed and not in every light. If you need plate reads at a slow entry point you already cover, adding them to existing cameras costs a fraction of a dedicated unit. If you need reads on an open road, buy the purpose-built camera.
Where AutoVu Is Worth the Price, and Where It Is Not
An honest shortlist starts with the job. AutoVu wins several of these outright.
| Requirement | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Reads on moving traffic, day and night | Genetec AutoVu | Dedicated ALPR optics and illumination are built for it |
| Patrol cars and parking enforcement | Genetec AutoVu (SharpZ3) | Mobile kits with GPS; no general camera platform does this |
| Already run Genetec Security Center | Genetec AutoVu | Plate reads land in the platform your operators already use |
| No power or network at the entry point | Cloudrunner or Flock | Solar and LTE remove the trenching cost entirely |
| Plates at a slow gate you already cover | Surveillant | Uses the existing camera, $49 to $75 per camera per month, no new hardware |
| Plates plus people, intrusion and search | Surveillant | One subscription covers vehicles and the rest of the scene |
| A published price before any sales call | Cloudrunner or Surveillant | Both list a number; traditional AutoVu and Flock are quoted |
The pattern is simple. Pay for a dedicated plate reader when the read itself is the product: open roads, patrol, enforcement. When the plate is one detail among many at a site you already watch, a per-camera analytics layer is the cheaper and broader buy. Our license plate recognition on existing cameras page shows how that works, and the best license plate recognition software roundup covers Rekor, Plate Recognizer and the rest.
Questions Buyers Ask About Genetec AutoVu Pricing
What does AutoVu Cloudrunner include?
The $2,495 annual Cloudrunner subscription includes the plate capture camera, a pole mount, a solar array, LTE connectivity, cloud hosting and one year of service. Reseller listings describe up to 90 days of data retention and an advance replacement warranty on the camera and solar panel. Installation labor is quoted separately by the reseller.
Is Genetec AutoVu cheaper than Flock?
At list price, slightly. Cloudrunner is $2,495 per camera per year, while Flock contracts in public records typically run about $2,500 to $3,000 per camera per year plus installation. The bigger difference is transparency: Genetec resellers publish the Cloudrunner rate, and Flock quotes every deal. Compare the full contract, including install and term, before deciding.
How much does a mobile AutoVu system cost?
A California state contract worksheet lists the SharpZ3 LAW triple base kit, with processing unit, cameras, GPS and mounts, at $22,996 list, and extra SharpZ3 cameras at $3,500 each. The same contract priced the kit far lower, at $6,438.88. Add cables, training and the annual software licence to get a real per-vehicle number.
Does AutoVu require Genetec Security Center?
Traditional AutoVu, meaning fixed SharpV cameras and mobile SharpZ3 kits, is managed through Genetec Security Center, so budget for that platform if you do not run it already. Cloudrunner is delivered as a cloud service with its own hosting included in the subscription, which is why it can be deployed at sites with no Genetec infrastructure at all.
Can I read license plates with my existing security cameras?
Often, yes, at entry points where vehicles slow down and the camera sees the plate clearly. Surveillant reads plates from RTSP and ONVIF cameras you already own and alerts on watchlist matches, at $49 to $75 per camera per month. It will not match a dedicated infrared ALPR camera on fast traffic at night, so use purpose-built hardware for open roads.
Why is the AutoVu software licence so expensive?
The annual end user access licence on the California contract is a single charge for a user group of up to 7,000, not a per-user fee, so it is priced for agencies and large organizations. At $10,500 list it is expensive for a small deployment and inexpensive per person for a large one. Small buyers are usually better served by Cloudrunner.
Plate Reads on the Cameras You Already Own
Surveillant adds plate lookup, watchlist alerts and AI detection to your RTSP and ONVIF cameras at a published per-camera price, with nothing to mount on a pole. Connect a camera and check the reads yourself.