Comparison

Nest vs Alfred Camera

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Nest

Control your smart home devices, including thermostats, security systems, cameras, and smoke detectors, all from a single app. Receive alerts, manage schedules, and automate actions based on your presence.

Highlights
  • Remote thermostat control
  • Arm/disarm security system
  • Live camera feeds
  • Smoke/CO alerts
  • Automated actions
  • Visitor notifications
Currently charting
Read full description

At Google Nest, we make products that are beautiful, helpful and easy to use. The Nest app is no exception. Control your Nest thermostat, arm and disarm your Nest Secure alarm system, see your home with Nest Cam, and get an alert if Nest Protect goes off – all in one place. And receive notifications on your iPhone or iPad. Nest uses sensors, algorithms and the location of your phone to do the right thing automatically, turning off the heat and turning on the camera when you leave. Forget to set the alarm? It will notice, and send you a Remind Me alert. Nest Learning Thermostat and Nest Thermostat E Thermostats that program themselves to help you save energy. - Change the temperature from the subway or the sofa using your phone. - See how much energy you used, and why. - View and edit your schedule. - Get extreme temperature alerts before your home gets too cold. Nest Secure alarm system - Arm and disarm your home remotely from the app. - Receive a Remind Me alert if you leave home and forget to set the alarm. - Receive a security alert on your phone telling you what triggered the alarm – a door or window opening, or someone entering a room. Nest Protect The smoke and carbon monoxide alarm that thinks, speaks, and alerts your phone. - Get an alert if Nest Protect senses smoke or carbon monoxide. (Requires Wi-Fi and a working internet connection.) - Silence an alarm from your phone with App Silence. (Nest Protect 2nd gen only.) - See the status of your batteries, sensors, and Wi-Fi connection. - Run a Safety Checkup to test all your alarms at once. (Nest Protect 2nd gen only.) - See your Safety History so you know when alerts happened and why. Nest Cam IQ Indoor and Outdoor, Nest Cam Indoor, Nest Cam Outdoor, and Dropcam The security cameras that let you see your home on your phone, inside and out. - Get alerts when there’s activity, and talk back to get someone’s attention. - See what you missed with snapshots of the last three hours. - Check in 24/7 with crisp 1080p HD video (Nest Cam and Dropcam Pro only). - Get person alerts (or familiar face alerts with Nest Cam IQ) and up to 30 days of video history when you subscribe to Nest Aware. (Subscription service sold separately.) Nest Hello Know who’s knocking. - 24/7 video streaming means you’ll never miss a moment. - Designed to show you everything at your doorstep – people head to toe, or packages on the ground. - Knows the difference between a person and a thing. - Notifies you about visitors, even if they don’t ring the bell. - HD Talk and Listen lets you have a seamless conversation with someone at your door. - When you can’t answer the door, quick responses let you reply to visitors with prerecorded audio messages. Nest x Yale Lock The lock for a more secure connected home. - Instead of sharing keys, assign passcodes to people you trust in the Nest app. - Get an alert when someone locks or unlocks the door. - With Home/Away Assist and Auto-Lock, your door can lock itself when you leave. Some features require a working internet connection, Wi-Fi, and/or Bluetooth.

About

Alfred Camera

Transform old smartphones into a comprehensive home security system. Monitor live feeds, receive motion alerts, and communicate remotely. Ideal for baby monitoring, pet surveillance, and general home security.

Highlights
  • 24/7 Live Streaming
  • Smart Intruder Alerts
  • Low-Light Filter
  • Walkie-Talkie Functionality
  • 360 Camera Coverage
  • Motion Detection Alerts
Read full description

We are the world’s most popular and top-rated security camera app for iOS phones, with over 90 million families around the world choosing AlfredCamera to turn their old phones into powerful home security cameras, baby monitors, pet cams, and more. AlfredCamera is an all-in-one home security camera app providing more features than a expensive CCTV security camera system. It's live cam with instant intruder alert is perfect as a security camera, baby monitor, nanny cam, pet monitor, dog monitor, and more. AlfredCamera is well-recognized as: “One of the Best App Options for Setting up Your Phone as a Security Camera” - CNET (Feb 2023) “Home Protection is Achieved at Low Cost and Without Many Complications” - Infobae (June 2021) FEATURES Whether you’re looking for a surveillance camera app or webcam app to keep an eye on your belongings, a baby camera app to look after your newborn, a pet cam app or dog camera app to entertain your lovely pets, the AlfredCamera home security camera app is the perfect solution for your smart home. 24/7 LIVE STREAM: Watch high-quality live video from anywhere with Alfred's live camera stream. SMART INTRUDER ALERT: Get instant alerts when movement is detected LOW-LIGHT FILTER: Enhanced visibility at night for your nanny cam, pet monitor. WALKIE-TALKIE: Deter thieves, interact with visitors or pets, and soothe babies. 360 CAMERA: Cover a larger area with both lenses. ZOOM, SCHEDULE, SOUND DETECTION, REMINDER, TRUST CIRCLE, SIREN, and more... Works smoothly via WiFi, 3G, and LTE. SUPER EASY TO SET UP AlfredCamera is the easiest-to-install surveillance camera system with professional-grade features that allows you to DIY your own home security camera, pet cam, baby cam or nanny cam in few minutes: STEP 1: Install Alfred Camera App on two devices, your old phone becomes the camera, your current device is the viewer STEP 2: Scan a QR code to pair them. STEP 3: Your two devices connect and work together effortlessly ANYTIME, ANYWHERE Unlike traditional CCTV cameras or home surveillance cameras, AlfredCamera app is a portable CCTV camera, place it anywhere for extra security. It works great as a nanny cam, baby camera, or dog monitor while traveling, renting an Airbnb, or simply checking in during work hours. SIMPLE SECURITY AT YOUR FINGERTIPS With a crystal clear live camera stream, instant alerts and events recorded, Alfred will help you to always know what’s happening and keep evidences in any incident. Monitor pets when you're away with a reliable dog camera or pet cam Check on elderly family with real-time remote video access Sound alerts and night vision on your pet cam, baby camera, or dog camera Protect your home with smart motion-triggered alerts Create a smart CCTV system, your own pet cam, baby camera, or dog camera using just two phones and the Alfred app. SMART, CONVENIENT, ECO-CONSCIOUS First time choosing a CCTV camera app or home security system? The best home surveillance camera app you can ever find: reliable, versatile, and easy to use. Everyone is taking advantage of their old smartphones by turning them into video players, GPS navigators, or fitness devices. So why not use yours as a pet monitor, dog monitor, baby monitor, nanny cam, webcam, or IP cam? Alfred Premium offers a subscription service that will be charged to your account. The account will be automatically charged for renewal. You can manage your subscription and auto-renewal by going to Account Settings. Want to learn more about how to monitor your home? Please visit our official website https://reurl.cc/jvKWrM Some features of this app require Device Administrator permission. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula

Screenshots

Nest4 screens
Alfred Camera4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Nest at none against Alfred Camera's 22. Nest also leads on ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (2.6M vs 111K). Alfred Camera's advantage is update cadence (every 6 days vs every 2 months) and review sentiment (54% vs 24%). On price, monetization model, chart position 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Alfred Camera sells 14 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Nest asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Alfred Camera holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nest has 2.6M ratings behind it against 111K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 24% of Nest's written reviews are positive against 54% of Alfred Camera's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nest ships an update every 2 months, Alfred Camera every 6 days. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Nest versus Alfred Camera: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNestAlfred Camera
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.6 (2.6M ratings)4.8 (111K ratings) — better
Positive reviews24.2% of reviews53.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2.6M — better111K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#90 — better#134
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS14.013.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size240 MB165 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNest LabsAlfred Systems Inc.

Customer experience

Nest

All ratings2,564,294 ratings
Positive90.4%
Neutral3.2%
Negative6.4%
Written reviews4,310 reviews
Positive24.2%
Neutral9.3%
Negative66.5%

Alfred Camera

All ratings111,013 ratings
Positive94.7%
Neutral3.4%
Negative1.9%
Written reviews758 reviews
Positive53.6%
Neutral9.5%
Negative36.9%

User reviews

Nest

From 2.6M App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 🔒 Reliable security features
  • 📽️ Good video quality
  • 🔔 Useful alerts and notifications
  • 🌐 Convenient remote access

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent connectivity issues
  • ⏱️ Slow app performance
  • 🔒 Overly complex setup and login process
  • 💰 Expensive subscription required for full functionality
  • 🔋 Battery life issues with cameras

Alfred Camera

From 111K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to set up and use
  • 🚀 Able to use old phones as cameras
  • 🔒 Provides security and peace of mind
  • 💡 Useful for monitoring pets and homes
  • 👍 Affordable premium subscription

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent disconnections and offline issues
  • 🔋 Drains battery on camera device
  • 🔍 Limited video quality on free version
  • 🔍 Inconsistent motion detection
  • 🔍 Ads can be intrusive

Bugs and requests

Nest

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Inconsistent home/away detection
  • Thermostat schedule resets unexpectedly
  • Smoke detector false alarms
  • Camera feed freezes or fails to load

Requested features

4 requests
  • Improved scheduling and automation options
  • Better integration with other smart home devices
  • More customization options for alerts and notifications
  • Offline viewing and recording capabilities

Alfred Camera

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Camera orientation changes unexpectedly
  • Recorded videos sometimes freeze or have missing footage
  • Compatibility issues with certain phone models and networks

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add multi-view support
  • Improve night vision and low-light performance
  • Allow remote reconnection of offline cameras
  • Provide more video recording options
  • Integrate with smart home devices

In-app purchases

None

Nest

No in-app purchases

14 purchases

Alfred Camera

Subscriptions14
  • Alfred Premium$3.991 Month
  • Alfred Premium 1 month$4.991 Month
  • Alfred Premium$4.991 Month
Show 11 more
  • Alfred Premium2 variants$5.991 Month
  • Alfred Premium 1 month$5.991 Month
  • AlfredCamera Standard 1 month$5.991 Month
  • Alfred Premium3 Days trial$5.991 Month
  • AlfredCamera Plus 1 month$8.991 Month
  • Alfred Premium 12 months$23.991 Year
  • Alfred Premium 12 months2 variants$25.491 Year
  • Alfred Premium 12 months2 variants$29.991 Year
  • Alfred Premium 12 months3 Days trial$29.991 Year
  • AlfredCamera Standard 12 months$30.491 Year
  • AlfredCamera Standard 12 months3 Days trial$35.951 Year

Questions

Is Nest free?
Nest is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Alfred Camera free?
Alfred Camera is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Nest or Alfred Camera?
Alfred Camera is rated higher. Nest averages 4.6 out of 5 from 2.6M ratings, while Alfred Camera averages 4.8 from 111K ratings.
Do Nest or Alfred Camera have ads?
Alfred Camera shows ads; Nest does not.
Which is updated more often, Nest or Alfred Camera?
Nest ships an update every 2 months, and Alfred Camera every 6 days. Most recently, Nest was updated on September 24, 2026 and Alfred Camera on September 24, 2026.
Which is more popular, Nest or Alfred Camera?
Nest currently peaks at #90 in the App Store charts, and Alfred Camera at #134. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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