Netgear Arlo Pro2 vs Nest Outdoor – 2020 Security Cameras Comparison

Welcome to Arlo Pro Vs Nest Security Cameras comparison. Nowadays, home security is a huge concern for most home owners, and due to the advanced technology in the market, more and more people are utilizing smart security devices to elevate the physical security of their premises.

This is where Netgear Arlo and Nest come into play when we talk about security cameras. These two brands are among the most popular and successful in the smart cameras arena and they’ll be the focus of our comparison article that follows. Specifically we’ll compare the latest Arlo Pro 2 Vs Nest cameras.

Arlo Pro 2 Vs Nest – Comparison Table

If you are eager to see a quick glance of the main similarities and differences, let’s have a look at the comparison table below:

Netgear Arlo Pro 2 Review

Netgear Arlo Pro 2 is the latest and improved version of Netgear Arlo series. It comes with improved features such as 1080p HD video capture, rechargeable battery, free 7-day video storage, 3 security zones etc, which has made it even more popular than before.

Specifications

Camera:

• Video resolution up to 1080p HD
• Video Format: H.264
• Full color imaging with CMOS and auto-adaptive white/black balance and exposure
• Audio speaker and microphone
• Motion detection with adjustable sensitivity and, automatic email alerts and push notifications
• Passive infrared technology, adjustable up to 23 feet for wire-free motion detection
• Video-based technology with up to 3 activity zones, 3 second preview and adjustable sound detection for plugged-in motion detection
• Digital pan and zoom with 8x digital zoom
• Night vision with 850 nm LEDs that illuminate up to 25 feet and IR cut-off filter
• Battery: 2440mAh rechargeable battery. The battery life depends on settings usage and temperature
• Battery level indication: Yes
• Field of view: 130 degrees
• Fixed focus range (2 feet to infinity)
• Works both Indoors and Outdoors.

Base Station:

• Fast Ethernet interface port
• DHCP IP configuration
• Internal antenna
• Wireless range of 300+ feet in line of sight
• 2.4 GHz 802.11n wireless

Requirements

High speed internet connection is required with a minimum uplink speed of 1Mbps.

Arlo Pro 2 Advantages over Nest

1.    Wireless Capability

Arlo Pro 2 greatest edge over Nest is that it can work wirelessly. With Arlo, you don’t need to stress over where you have power outlets or how you will connect power cables to the cameras.

This gives you significantly greater flexibility in where you mount or fix the Arlo Pro 2 cameras, which also saves in the installation time.

With Nest (particularly the Outdoor Cam), you will have to drill holes most probably, to connect the power cable to the closest power outlet. This can not only end up being huge trouble but also look aesthetically bad.

2.   Battery Life

When buying a security camera with batteries, the question pops up in the mind of every person whether it will be needed to charge the cameras on a weekly basis.

Well, we have good news for you – Netgear claims that their Arlo pro2 will last for about 3-4 months when on a full charge, which is pretty amazing if you ask us. Thus far, from what we have seen in case of Arlo Pro 2 cameras, the company isn’t making false claims.

3.   Seven days of Free Video Storage

Imagine that you just purchased your surveillance camera and got everything setup, you are feeling good about your decision, and suddenly you get to know that to view your storage you are required to pay more.

That is the situation for many individuals who buy surveillance cameras nowadays – they frequently ignore the aspect of video storage.

Most cam manufacturers charge their customers monthly fees to watch or download the recorded videos from earlier days. This is the case with Nest as well. You can watch the last 3 hours of video but for more storage you have to subscribe to their paid plan.

However, Arlo offers free video history for a whole seven days, which ought to be more than enough for most people.

Arlo additionally allows you to save the video recording locally – you can do that by simply connecting an external USB hard drive (or stick) with the base station.

Obviously, in case that you need a recording of more than seven days, Arlo offers paid plans too. The 7-days storage gets overridden with new footage so you always have the last 7-days of history.

4.   Base Station Siren

The Arlo Pro 2 cameras come together with a base station which is connected to your router/modem – this is how the cameras can communicate with Internet.

In any case, the base station gives different advantages also. It contains a 100+ decibel siren which can be either controlled remotely or activated to go off when one of your Arlo Pro 2 cameras can detect any sound or motion.

What’s more, the siren is noisy, extremely boisterous – it sure is going to scare off any potential intruders. There’s no doubt as far as I can say that the alarm sounding would prevent potential robbers from your home.

Nest on the other hand is not equipped with a security siren so this is a significant disadvantage regarding the security of the whole environment you are protecting.

5.   Activity Zones

In case of both Nest and Arlo Pro 2, you are able to setup activity zones. This means that for a range of camera view, you can setup smaller zones to specifically keep an eye on a particular area or an object.

If any movement or sound is recognized inside the zone, you will be alerted. Outside of the activity zone, movements of objects are ignored.

This is useful for individuals who have a camera setup in a bustling room where there is a considerable amount of pedestrian activity such as pets walking around etc. This feature is available for free in the Arlo Pro 2 cameras.

If you want to enable Activity Zones on Nest cameras, this is a paid subscription feature.

Arlo Pro 2 Disadvantage over Nest

Netgear Arlo pro 2 is more expensive than Nest but you won’t need the monthly subscription plan of Nest Aware for having the extra features.

Nest Security Camera Review

Nest offers you three types of security cameras; Nest Cam Indoor, Nest Cam Outdoor, and Nest Cam IQ. Here we will compare Nest Cam Outdoor with the Netgear Arlo Pro 2 security camera.

Specifications

• 1920 x 1080p HD resolution
• A wide-angle field of view of 130 degrees
• IR LED Night-Vision available
• Activity zone feature available with Nest Aware paid plan.
• Built-in microphone and speaker
• Motion and sound alert
• Works with IFTTT
• Works Outdoors (you need to purchase a specific model for this).

Requirements

High-speed internet connection is required with a minimum uplink speed of 2 Mbps.

Nest Advantage

All of the Nest cameras are quite cheaper when compared to the Netgear Arlo Pro 2 and have been out on the market a lot longer than the Netgear products. Nest cameras are often put on discount where you can get a Nest Cam Indoor or outdoor for much lower price.

However, one must not forget the monthly subscription plans in case of Nest, for example, $100 per year subscription plan for cloud storage of 10-day. With Arlo Pro 2, you get free storage for seven days.

Nest Disadvantages

• Activity zone feature requires fee
• Only 3 hours of free footage, for more you need to make a subscription
• No wireless feature. You must plug it in power outlet.
• Loss of clarity while using zoom.
• No alarm siren supported.
• Pricey subscriptions

Arlo Pro 2 Vs Nest – Comparison

When pondering over the choice between Netgear Arlo Pro 2 versus Nest Camera, the most important things that you need to take into consideration are power cable versus wireless operation and footage storage.

Both of these cameras allow you to monitor them 24×7, shoot 1080p video, are weatherproof, use a wide-angle lens, have 2-way audio feature, and have night vision.

The Arlo Pro 2 however can be utilized either through a wired network or wireless, and it claims to have a battery life of about 3 to 4 months when operated on low-usage.

Arlo Pro 2 gets another point over Nest security cameras for its wireless and wired connection, as Nest cannot be operated wirelessly.

With respect to video storage, Netgear Arlo Pro 2 provides you free 7-day video footage of audio plus motion, and in addition, you can connect a USB drive to the Arlo Base Station to store film locally too.

Nest loses many points for its expensive subscriptions for video storage, as it only provides 3 hours of free video storage which is not really of much help. The 10-day video footage history will cost you around $10/month, and the 30-day footage will cost you $30 for Nest security cameras.

If you take a yearly subscription, the 10-day video footage storage will cost you $100 which is a turn-off when you compare Nest with Arlo Pro 2.

Even though the Netgear Pro 2 security system is more expensive than Nest security cameras, people prefer to buy Arlo Pro 2 because it has no such subscriptions and offers many free features. In the long run, Arlo Pro 2 is a cost-effective choice.

In spite of the fact that it is to some degree baffling that you require a Base Station for your Arlo Pro 2 and the Base Station needs be connected with the Internet by means of an Ethernet port, Arlo still has the upper hand over Nest. The Arlo Pro additionally has a 100+ decibel siren that can be remotely controlled by the home owner, or triggered by outside movement or sound, something that Nest does not give you access to.

As for the setup of the cameras, both of them are DIY security cameras and pretty easy to install. However, Nest Cam Outdoor requires more installation time than Netgear Arlo Pro 2 since it needs a power source to function and hence requires some planning of suitable mounting/placing of the camera.

The setup process of both the cameras is available on YouTube tutorials and user guides. Both the setups are pretty straightforward and Nest Cam outdoor will only take 20-30 minutes of extra time when compared with Netgear Arlo Pro 2.

When it comes to customer support of both companies, they both are quite well-known for having an outstanding customer care service. You can either call them, email or have a live chat.

Final Verdict

Arlo Pro 2 and Nest Cam Indoor/Outdoor, both are among the best-selling cameras in the market and have their own powerful and distinct features. One might prefer one over the other when it comes to buying, and it all depends upon your requirements.

In our opinion, Netgear played smart and added the wireless and battery feature which makes it a better option for outdoor mounting.

While Arlo Pro 2 also has a night vision, is weatherproof and provides 1080p footage, it also offers a 7-day free video storage, and one does not need to sign up for a subscription unless and until they want a feed for more than seven days.

Although you will pay more for Arlo initially, in the long run Pro2 is more cost effective than Nest since you won’t need the monthly or yearly subscription plans that are essential when buying a Nest camera.