# DS cam vs Amcrest Cloud

The clearest difference is rating: Amcrest Cloud at 4.2 against DS cam's 3.0. Amcrest Cloud also leads on ratings volume (5.9K vs 172) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). DS cam's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and review sentiment (32% vs 20%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Amcrest Cloud holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 3.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Amcrest Cloud has 5.9K 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 20% of Amcrest Cloud's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | DS cam | Amcrest Cloud |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [3.0 (172 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-cam/id349087111/reviews) | **[4.2 (5.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/amcrest-cloud/id992489382/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 172 | **5.9K** |
| Positive reviews | **31.8% of reviews** | 20.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Monetization | **Free** | Freemium |
| Size | 85 MB | 61 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | **13.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Synology Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/321493109) | [Amcrest](https://appshunter.io/developer/930807300) |

## What reviewers say

### DS cam

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ds-cam/id349087111)

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.

**Highlights:** Real-time camera monitoring, Alert notifications, PTZ, patrol, and lens control, Advanced recording filters, Essential management tasks, Snapshot management

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Works great
- 👍 Good and useful app
- 🚀 Fast and stable
- 👍 Completely control camera recordings
- 👍 Toggle through events easily

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Regular app crashing
- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Cannot scroll back in timeline without issues
- 🐛 Event viewer rarely works
- 🐛 Slow and clunky

**Reported bugs**

- Regular app crashing
- Cannot scroll back in timeline without issues
- Event viewer rarely works
- Keeps buffering
- Crashes constantly

**Requested features**

- Selective motion notifications
- Custom notification sounds
- Ability to categorize alerts
- Live scrubbing on timeline
- Bookmarks and advanced filtering


### Amcrest Cloud

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/amcrest-cloud/id992489382)

This AI-powered cloud service provides advanced video monitoring for IP cameras. It offers cloud storage, motion detection alerts, and sophisticated object detection for enhanced security.

**Highlights:** AI-powered cloud service, Cloud storage, Motion detection alerts, People, vehicle, animal detection, Camera health checks, 4K model support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- ⭐ Great camera
- 👍 Easy to set up
- 🚀 Very high resolution picture
- 🚀 Great performance in the app
- 🚀 No streaming latency

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 No video recorded despite motion detection
- 🐛 Cannot connect to WiFi
- 🐛 Will not record to SD card
- 🤔 Confusing app
- 🤔 Cannot add more cameras

**Reported bugs**

- Camera firmware update bricking cameras
- Inability to connect cameras to WiFi
- Cameras disconnecting from cloud
- App login issues
- Inability to change detection zones

**Requested features**

- Multiple saved camera locations
- Ability to view more than 4 hours of recordings


## Frequently asked questions

### Is DS cam free?

DS cam is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is Amcrest Cloud free?

Amcrest Cloud is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, DS cam or Amcrest Cloud?

Amcrest Cloud is rated higher. DS cam averages 3.0 out of 5 from 172 ratings, while Amcrest Cloud averages 4.2 from 5.9K ratings.

### Do DS cam or Amcrest Cloud have ads?

Neither DS cam nor Amcrest Cloud shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, DS cam or Amcrest Cloud?

DS cam ships an update every 4 months, and Amcrest Cloud every 4 months. Most recently, DS cam was updated on October 8, 2026 and Amcrest Cloud on October 15, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*