K-12 Buyer Guide
Verkada Alternatives for Schools With K‑12 Pricing per Camera
Most districts start looking at Verkada alternatives at the same moment: a license renewal quote lands after Verkada's June 2026 price increase. This guide prices the realistic options for one school building, shows what happens to Verkada cameras if the license lapses, and explains which grants can pay for what.
Surveillant runs on the IP cameras a school already has, from $49 a month, with weapon and intrusion alerts included.
After-hours side doors are where a school camera system earns its budget, whichever vendor runs it.
What is the best Verkada alternative for schools?
If the district is replacing cameras anyway, Rhombus is the closest like-for-like swap: cloud cameras from $399 with a $149 per camera yearly license. If the cameras on the walls still work, pick software that runs on them: Volt AI publishes $45 per camera per month for K-12, and Surveillant publishes plans from $49 a month. Avigilon Alta suits districts that want cameras and door access from one vendor.
The decision usually turns on one question that the renewal quote does not ask: do you want to buy cameras again? Verkada sells hardware and a per-camera license together, so leaving Verkada normally means new cameras too. Every option below is priced so you can see that cost in writing.
For the renewal side of the decision, our guide to Verkada license renewal cost walks through term lengths and what the June 2026 change means for licenses you already hold.
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1
License end dateEverything still works. Renewal goes through your Verkada partner or rep.
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30-day grace periodTime to renew or plan the switch.
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3
Most Command features stopCameras keep recording to onboard storage. Settings cannot be changed until access is restored.
Source: Verkada help center articles on license expiration.
The grace period is the real deadline for a switch, not the renewal date.
Verkada Alternatives for Schools Compared on Price
Prices come from each vendor's own pricing page where one exists. Verkada and Avigilon do not publish license prices, so those cells are reseller figures and labeled that way. None of these vendors paid to be listed, and the table says where each one beats us.
| Vendor | How it is priced | Keeps existing cameras | Best fit in a district |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verkada (baseline) | Camera MSRP $699 to $5,299 plus a per-camera license sold in 1, 3, 5 and 10 year terms; resellers quote about $15 to $20 per camera per month | No, Verkada cameras only | Districts that want one vendor for cameras, doors, visitor management and alarms |
| Rhombus | Cameras from $399 (R120) to $3,299 (R600); Professional license $149 per camera per year, which excludes AI features and cloud archiving; Enterprise priced per camera model | Partly, through its N100 relay ($2,999) | A camera refresh at a lower hardware price than Verkada, with vape and air sensors available |
| Avigilon Alta | Reseller list about $179 per camera for 1 year, $499 for 3, $799 for 5, plus Avigilon cameras at roughly $400 to $2,000 for common models | Mostly no | Districts that also want door access and lockdown from the same vendor |
| Volt AI | Published $45 per camera stream per month for K-12, "starting at", final price by camera count and agreement | Yes, RTSP cameras | Districts that want alerts verified by Volt's own monitoring staff before anyone is called |
| Surveillant | Published plans from $49 a month (1 camera) to $1,499 a month (20 cameras), half that billed yearly; each plan includes a set number of AI analysis hours | Yes, any RTSP or ONVIF camera | Buildings whose cameras still work and need after-hours intrusion, loitering and weapon alerts without new hardware |
Rhombus prices from rhombus.com/pricing, Volt AI from volt.ai/pricing, Surveillant from our pricing page. Verkada camera MSRP from verkada.com/pricing. Full Verkada detail is in our Verkada pricing and price list guide.
How much does a Verkada alternative cost for one school?
For a 20-camera school building, five years of a Verkada alternative costs roughly $23,000 to $56,000 if you buy new cameras, and about $45,000 to $54,000 if you keep the cameras you have and pay a software subscription. New-camera options add $250 to $600 per camera for installation, which the table shows separately.
That is the honest picture: on a full camera refresh, Rhombus is often the cheapest line on paper. Keeping cameras wins when the existing ones are recent enough to be worth keeping, because there is no hardware to buy, no ceiling work during the school year and nothing to dispose of.
| 20 cameras, 5 years | Cameras | Software over 5 years | Total before installation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verkada, cheapest camera model | $13,980 at $699 each | $18,000 to $24,000 (reseller estimate) | $31,980 to $37,980 |
| Rhombus Professional | $7,980 to $19,980 ($399 to $999 models) | $14,900 | $22,880 to $34,880 |
| Avigilon Alta, 5-year term | $8,000 to $40,000 | $15,980 (reseller list) | $23,980 to $55,980 |
| Volt AI, existing cameras | $0 | $54,000 at the $45 starting rate | $54,000 |
| Surveillant Elite, billed yearly | $0 | $44,940 ($8,988 a year) | $44,940 |
Two things the totals hide. First, Rhombus Professional excludes AI features, so a like-for-like AI comparison means its Enterprise license, priced per camera model. Second, our Elite plan includes 750 hours of AI analysis a month on monthly billing and 535 on yearly. That covers after-hours analysis on entrance and perimeter cameras every night, not round-the-clock AI on all twenty. Most schools point it at exactly those cameras, and record the rest.
A district buying for many buildings pays the same way per building. Elite is the largest self-serve plan, and when a district needs more cameras on one account, support raises the limit by email.
Can a school use grant money for security cameras?
Yes, but not from every program. The COPS Office School Violence Prevention Program (SVPP) lists security cameras and systems as allowable equipment and allows software and prepaid maintenance for up to 36 months. E-Rate does not pay for cameras, and the BJA STOP School Violence program excludes cameras as target hardening.
The SVPP rules matter for the vendor choice, so here they are from the COPS Office FY25 application resource guide:
"Security cameras and/or systems (and accompanying equipment)" are on the equipment list.
Software and prepaid warranties or maintenance agreements are allowed, not to exceed 36 months. A three-year subscription prepaid fits.
Recipients contribute a cash match of at least 25 percent of the project cost unless the COPS Office waives it in writing.
Automatic license plate recognition software, and any video surveillance equipment covered by Section 889 (Hikvision, Dahua and the other named makers).
The 36-month software rule is why the term you sign matters. A one-year Verkada renewal and a three-year prepaid subscription are both fundable; a ten-year license is not, as a single prepaid line. The 25 percent match also has to be paid in cash during the award, so finance usually wants the vendor invoice schedule early. If your business office runs grant reimbursements through its accounts payable process, line up the invoice dates with the award period before you sign.
One more check before you apply: SVPP asks that equipment be American-made to the maximum practicable extent. Software that runs on cameras you already own avoids most of that question, because there is no new equipment line at all.
Which Verkada Alternative Fits Which School
Four common district situations, and the option that usually wins each one.
Cameras are old or failing
You are buying hardware either way, so compare full refresh quotes. Rhombus is usually the lowest hardware price; Avigilon makes sense if door access is in the same project. Ask both for an Enterprise or AI-included price, not just the base license.
Cameras are recent and still sharp
Keep them and buy the intelligence. Our guide on retrofitting versus replacing security cameras covers how to test whether a camera is worth keeping. Surveillant and Volt AI both run on RTSP cameras.
Gun detection is the board's priority
Decide first whether you need a vendor's staff to verify every alert. Volt AI and ZeroEyes include human verification; Surveillant flags weapons automatically and sends the alert to your own team. Our guide to AI gun detection for schools compares the models and their contract prices.
You want to stay on Verkada
That is a fine outcome if the renewal is priced fairly. Ask for a multi-year term quote next to the one-year number, since resellers report longer terms price lower per year, and keep the 36-month grant limit in mind when choosing the term.
Questions School Buyers Ask About Verkada Alternatives
How much does Verkada cost for a school?
Verkada cameras list at $699 to $5,299 each, and each camera needs a license that Verkada does not price publicly. Resellers commonly quote about $15 to $20 per camera per month, so a 20-camera building with the cheapest camera runs roughly $32,000 to $38,000 over five years before installation.
Can we keep our Verkada cameras if we switch platforms?
Plan on no. Verkada cameras are built to be managed by Verkada Command, and switching vendors normally means replacing them. Before you budget, ask Verkada in writing whether your specific models can stream to a third-party platform. If they cannot, the camera cost belongs in every alternative's quote.
What happens if a school does not renew its Verkada license?
According to Verkada's help center, most Command functionality is lost after a 30-day grace period. The cameras keep recording, and that footage becomes available again once access is restored, if it is still inside the camera's retention window. Settings cannot be changed while the license is lapsed.
Does E-Rate cover security cameras?
No. E-Rate does not fund cameras, video surveillance or access control. The network cabling and switches that cameras run on can fall under Category Two internal connections, so a district can sometimes fund the network side through E-Rate and the cameras or software through another source such as SVPP or local funds.
Can SVPP grant money pay for a camera software subscription?
Yes, within limits. The COPS Office SVPP resource guide allows software and prepaid warranties or maintenance agreements, not to exceed 36 months, as other costs approved case by case. A prepaid three-year subscription fits that rule. License plate recognition software is listed as unallowable.
Is there a Verkada alternative that works with existing cameras?
Yes. Surveillant works with any IP camera that offers an RTSP or ONVIF stream, from $49 a month, and Volt AI runs on RTSP cameras at a published $45 per camera per month for K-12. See our Verkada alternative page for the full comparison across vendors.
Do Verkada alternatives detect guns?
Several do, in different ways. Volt AI and ZeroEyes route detections through their own staff for verification before alerting. Surveillant flags weapons automatically during analysis and alerts your team by email, SMS or Slack within about a minute. Our weapons detection for schools page explains the setup.
Are Verkada alternatives NDAA compliant?
Compliance attaches to the camera hardware. Section 889 bars federal money, including SVPP awards, from covered equipment made by Hikvision, Dahua and the other named makers. Software platforms that run on your cameras inherit whatever those cameras are, so check the camera list. Our NDAA compliant cameras page lists what to look for.
Test AI Alerts on One School Entrance Before the Renewal
Connect one existing camera to Surveillant and judge the after-hours alerts on your own footage. From $49 a month, published, with nothing to install in the ceiling.