UniFi Protect vs EliteCloud
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
UniFi Protect
Access your camera security system from your mobile device. Stream live feeds, manage devices, and download recordings. Offers cloudless storage and customizable alerts for residential and commercial users.
- Adopt and manage Protect devices
- Stream low-latency livestreams
- Download localized recordings
- Cloudless recording storage
- Timelapse footage scrubbing
- Personalized security notifications
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UniFi Protect brings the full functionality of our web-based camera security application to your mobile device. Adopt and manage your Protect devices, stream low-latency livestreams, and download localized recordings directly to your phone. Designed for residential and commercial use, UniFi Protect also allows you to: - Maintain complete data privacy with Cloudless recording storage. - Quickly scrub through hours of Timelapse footage to pinpoint the exact moments you're looking for. - Personalize security notifications based on a wide variety of individual, vehicular, and atmospheric-based detections.
EliteCloud
Remotely manage your EliteControl security system from your smartphone. Arm or disarm alarms, control gates, doors, and lights. Receive instant, customizable notifications for various events, ensuring peace of mind whether you're home or away.
- Arm/Disarm security system
- Control doors, gates, and lights
- Receive push notifications
- Monitor system status and history
- Manage users and sites
- Bank-level encrypted connection
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EliteCloud connects your smartphone to any EliteControl security system from almost anywhere. Arm/Disarm your alarm, control garage doors, gates, lights & more. Receive notifications directly to your smartphone should anything happen when you are at home or away. Notifications are customisable and include alarms, power failure, battery failure, panic, fire, medical and tamper alarms. App Features • Arm/Disarm • Door, Gate & Lighting Control • Push Notifications • Monitoring • Fire • System History • System Status • User Management • Bank Level Encrypted Connection • Up to 100 Users • Control Up to 100 sites • Regular Updates Hardware Required for EliteCloud Smartphone App • ESL-2, ESL, V9 or Runner alarm system • ESL-2 IoT or IoT-MODULE with internet connection • new ECi For more information regarding compatibility & supported products, please contact your preferred security installer.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: UniFi Protect at 4.8 against EliteCloud's 4.4. UniFi Protect also leads on ratings volume (74K vs 9) and review sentiment (52% vs 33%). EliteCloud's advantage is iOS requirement (15 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
UniFi Protect holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: UniFi Protect has 74K ratings behind it against 9, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 52% of UniFi Protect's written reviews are positive against 33% of EliteCloud's.
UniFi Protect ships an update every 3 weeks, EliteCloud every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 27, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | UniFi Protect | EliteCloud |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (74K ratings) — better | 4.4 (9 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 51.9% of reviews — better | 32.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 74K — better | 9 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 15 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 249 MB | 134 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Ubiquiti Inc. | Arrowhead Alarm Products |
Customer experience
UniFi Protect
EliteCloud
User reviews
UniFi Protect
From 74K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and reliable
- 👍 Intuitive interface
- 🔒 Secure local storage
- 💡 Powerful AI detection features
- 👍 Seamless integration with Unifi ecosystem
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and freezes
- 🔋 Slow to connect and load video
- 🔒 Requires cloud account for remote access
- 🔍 Limited customization options
- 🔍 Inconsistent experience across devices
EliteCloud
From 9 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 User friendly and easy to use
- 👍 Great system, very pleased
- 👍 Good value, stable and consistent
- 👍 Nice upgrade, great app
- 👍 Works well, solid and easy
Room to improve
- 🐛 Fails to connect often
- 🐛 Unreliable connection
- 🐛 Regularly disconnects
- 🐛 Slow to connect
- 🐛 "Unhealthy Connection" errors
Bugs and requests
UniFi Protect
Reported bugs
5 issues- Geofencing not working as expected
- Doorbell audio/video not syncing properly
- Frequent disconnections from cameras
- Playback issues and video not loading
- Notifications not reliable or timely
Requested features
5 requests- Add option to snooze/silence notifications
- Improve video scrubbing and playback controls
- Integrate with Apple HomeKit
- Add custom notification sounds
- Enhance multi-view and layout options
EliteCloud
Reported bugs
89 issues- 🐛 Fails to connect
- 🐛 "Unhealthy Connection" errors
- 🐛 Regularly disconnects
- 🐛 App crashes
- 🐛 Stops communicating with keypad
Show 84 moreShow fewer
- 🐛 Locked out of app
- 🐛 Does not work with multiple iPhones
- 🐛 Recent update shut down app
- 🐛 "Failure to connect" consistently
- 🐛 "Unhealthy Connection" after firmware upgrade
- 🐛 "Server offline" errors
- 🐛 "Disconnected from server"
- 🐛 "Trouble" light with "Line"
- 🐛 "App keyboard not working"
- 🐛 "Unable to type or scan code correctly"
- 🐛 "Bad alarm" goes off for no reason
- 🐛 Offline alerts when no internet issue
- 🐛 Constant problems, keeps disconnecting
- 🐛 "Trouble" problems switching off remotely
- 🐛 "Connection issues" shows unhealthy
- 🐛 "Server communication errors"
- 🐛 "App doesn’t work" incorrect status
- 🐛 "Controls keep disappearing"
- 🐛 "Arming" shows disarmed on app
- 🐛 "Connection issues" logs you out
- 🐛 Brief blue tick for executed actions, easy to miss
- 🐛 Struggles to connect despite strong wifi
- 🐛 App fails to connect, then works when active, fails again after screen lock
- 🐛 Cannot connect since iOS 17
- 🐛 Reboots needed for keypad beeping
- 🐛 Lost connection
- 🐛 Issues with multiple sites
- 🐛 "Unhealthy Connection" after firmware upgrade
- 🐛 "Failure to connect" 99.99% of the time
- 🐛 "Unhealthy Connection" yet works when connected
- 🐛 "Failure to connect" 100% of the time since iOS 17
- 🐛 "Server offline" more times than can count
- 🐛 "Disconnected from server" constantly
- 🐛 "Unreliable" makes me re-login a lot
- 🐛 UI glitching, wouldn't disarm
- 🐛 "Poor app" regularly crashing
- 🐛 "Fail to connect often"
- 🐛 "Cannot connect at all"
- 🐛 "Connection is still connection"
- 🐛 "App doesn’t work"
- 🐛 "Arming" shows disarmed on app
- 🐛 "Connection issues" continuously logs out
- 🐛 "Internet Connection" for 15 days app could not connect
- 🐛 "Time wasters" server offline
- 🐛 "Scam company" no support
- 🐛 "Worse than ever" nothing but problems
- 🐛 "Elite cloud" too many issues
- 🐛 "Mr" unstable connection
- 🐛 "Trouble" problems switching off remotely
- 🐛 "Basic functionality works, but lacks practical features"
- 🐛 "Connection issues" shows unhealthy
- 🐛 "Locked out of app" after cancelling subscription
- 🐛 "Minor bugs fixed?" recent update shut down app
- 🐛 "Still not working properly" fails to connect
- 🐛 "Disappointed" will not work with two iPhones
- 🐛 "Unreliable" app crashed
- 🐛 "Slow" very slow to connect
- 🐛 "Connection issues" shows unhealthy
- 🐛 "Warning! Scam company" do not support
- 🐛 "Worse than ever" nothing but problems
- 🐛 "Elite cloud" too many issues
- 🐛 "Mr" unstable connection
- 🐛 "Trouble" problems switching off remotely
- 🐛 "Not good!" terrible app
- 🐛 "Fails to Connect" since iOS 17
- 🐛 "Constant problems" keeps disconnecting
- 🐛 "Routinely won't connect"
- 🐛 "Cloud reliability" not reliable
- 🐛 "I can’t open the app"
- 🐛 "Online" drops in and out
- 🐛 "Time wasters" server offline
- 🐛 "Network issues" disconnected from server
- 🐛 "Issues with adding alarm" keyboard not working
- 🐛 "Needs for programming options" trouble light
- 🐛 "Unreliable" makes me re-login
- 🐛 "Poor app" crashing
- 🐛 "Fail to connect often"
- 🐛 "Almost Perfect!" needs panic button
- 🐛 "To many server communication errors"
- 🐛 "Internet Connection" could not connect
- 🐛 "App doesn’t work" incorrect status
- 🐛 "Controls keep disappearing"
- 🐛 "Arming" shows disarmed on app
- 🐛 "Connection issues" logs you out
Requested features
8 requests- 💡 Per-mode notifications
- 💡 Geofencing automation for arming/disarming
- 💡 Sensor history logs
- 💡 Show garage door open/closed status
- 💡 Panic button option in the app
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- 💡 Ability to activate Face ID
- 💡 Schedule arming/disarming times remotely
- 💡 More programming options in the app
In-app purchases
UniFi Protect
No in-app purchases
EliteCloud
No in-app purchases
