DS cam vs Abode
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
DS cam
Monitor and receive alerts from your Synology surveillance cameras. Control PTZ, patrols, and lens functions in real-time. Easily filter recordings and manage essential tasks like disabling cameras or deleting snapshots.
- Real-time camera monitoring
- Alert notifications
- PTZ, patrol, and lens control
- Advanced recording filters
- Essential management tasks
- Snapshot management
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You must own a Synology NAS or NVR to run this app, and be running the latest Surveillance Station to get the complete set of features. DS cam makes it possible to monitor and receive alert notifications from all your surveillance cameras set up on a Synology DiskStation. Smart features such as PTZ, patrols or lens control allow for perfect control of your cameras in real-time, while advanced filters make it easy to pinpoint any specific event from large lists of recordings. You can even perform all essential management tasks, from disabling a camera to unlocking and deleting a snapshot. Find all detailed features about the app on our website: www.synology.com > Solutions > Surveillance > Surveillance Mobile > Specifications https://www.synology.com/dsm/7.2/software_spec/surveillance_station
Abode
Control your home security system remotely. Arm and disarm your system, view live and recorded video, and receive instant alerts. Automate your home with custom actions and notifications, all from your mobile device.
- Arm & disarm system
- View live & recorded video
- Receive security alerts
- Home automation
- Customizable notifications
- System setup & expansion
- Timeline event filtering
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The Abode App gives you complete peace of mind when it comes to your security by allowing you to arm & disarm, view live and recorded video, get a timeline history of your system, and receive immediate security alerts all right from your iPhone or iPad. It’s your security at your fingertips. EASY SETUP abode’s starter kits are incredibly easy to set up using our app. Simply open your kit and app and follow the guided instructions to be up & running in under 30 minutes. DASHBOARD Your system at a glance. The dashboard allows you to arm & disarm, pull up live video, view your most recent timeline events, and run quick actions all without leaving this screen. CUE HOME AUTOMATION Create powerful automations with your connected devices. From turning on lights and raising thermostats for your morning routine to arming your system and locking your doors for bedtime, you can do it all right from the app. EXPAND YOUR SYSTEM Much like the setup process, adding new devices to your system couldn’t be easier via the app. Just follow the guided instructions and build out the system of your dreams in minutes. CUSTOMIZABLE NOTIFICATIONS Determine what you’d like to receive notifications for. From doors opening & closing to water leaks detected, how much (or little) you are alerted to is totally up to you. SET UP CUSTOM WIDGETS & SHORTCUTS Add system arming & disarming, quick actions, and camera images to your homescreen or control center so you can quickly take care of your most important actions without ever having to open the abode app. FILTER YOUR TIMELINE EVENTS View only the events you want with the ability to filter by device type, device grouping, and date. Want to see only what happened at your front door? How about last weekend? With these filters, you can. PUT YOUR SYSTEM ON AUTOPILOT Use your phone’s location to automatically arm and disarm your system as you come and go. Set up the locations important to you and let abode do the rest. IN-APP PANIC ALARMS Manually trigger your alarm audibly or silently to immediately alert our professional monitoring center and other users on your system in emergencies.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Abode at 4.2 against DS cam's 3.0. Abode also leads on ratings volume (4.8K vs 172) and update cadence (every 6 weeks vs every 4 months). DS cam's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 8) and review sentiment (32% vs 23%). On price, ads and device support 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. Abode sells 8 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. DS cam asks for nothing beyond the download.
Abode holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Abode has 4.8K ratings behind it against 172, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 32% of DS cam's written reviews are positive against 23% of Abode's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
DS cam ships an update every 4 months, Abode every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | DS cam | Abode |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 3.0 (172 ratings) | 4.2 (4.8K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 31.8% of reviews — better | 23.4% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 172 | 4.8K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 6 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 85 MB | 258 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Synology Inc. | Abode Systems, Inc. |
Customer experience
DS cam
Abode
User reviews
DS cam
From 172 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Works great
- 👍 Good and useful app
- 🚀 Fast and stable
- 👍 Completely control camera recordings
- 👍 Toggle through events easily
Room to improve
- 🐛 Regular app crashing
- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Cannot scroll back in timeline without issues
- 🐛 Event viewer rarely works
- 🐛 Slow and clunky
Abode
From 4.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent security system
- 👍 Easy to install and set up
- 🔒 Reliable monitoring and notifications
- 💡 Flexible automation and integration options
- 🚀 Smooth and user-friendly app
Room to improve
- 🐛 Unreliable camera connectivity and performance
- 🔋 Inconsistent geofencing and location services
- 💸 Paywall for basic features and notifications
- 🐛 Buggy app with frequent crashes and issues
- 👎 Poor customer support and responsiveness
Bugs and requests
DS cam
Reported bugs
16 issues- Regular app crashing
- Cannot scroll back in timeline without issues
- Event viewer rarely works
- Keeps buffering
- Crashes constantly
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- Battery drain
- Push notifications not reliable
- Cannot click on push notifications
- Cannot download h265 videos
- Notifications missing thumbnails
- Slow login process
- Loses remembered connections
- Slow to connect
- Notifications stopped working
- Crashes iPhone 14 Pro
- Incompatible with older Surveillance Station versions
Requested features
11 requests- Selective motion notifications
- Custom notification sounds
- Ability to categorize alerts
- Live scrubbing on timeline
- Bookmarks and advanced filtering
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- Ability to download h265 videos
- Faster login process
- Ability to retain remembered connections
- Apple TV app
- Dark mode for all screens
- Ability to quickly switch between cameras
Abode
Reported bugs
4 issues- Frequent app crashes and freezes
- Inconsistent device connectivity and offline issues
- Inaccurate sensor and alarm notifications
- Incompatibility with certain Wi-Fi network configurations
Requested features
4 requests- Improved HomeKit integration
- More customization options for sensors and automations
- Better battery life indicators and management
- Ability to rename devices within the app
In-app purchases
DS cam
No in-app purchases
Abode
- Single Camera1 Month trial$3.991 Month
- Standard Plan1 Month trial$8.491 Month
- 24/7 Recording14 Days trial$9.991 Month
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- Pro Plan1 Month trial$26.991 Month
- Single Camera1 Month trial$34.991 Year
- Standard Plan1 Month trial$79.991 Year
- 24/7 Recording14 Days trial$109.991 Year
- Pro Plan1 Month trial$249.991 Year









