PerchCam vs Guardian Eye WebCamera
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
PerchCam
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Turn a spare iPhone or iPad into a private home security camera. PerchCam gives you local live view, event recording, and smart alerts without forcing your video through a cloud account. OLD PHONE AS CAMERA Use an unused iPhone or iPad as a live camera for your home, baby room, pets, shop, garage, or office. Place it where you need a view, plug it in for long sessions, and keep monitoring. LOCAL LIVE VIEW Watch from another PerchCam device, a browser, or compatible local players. PerchCam monitor devices can provide web, HLS, and RTSP outputs on your local network, so you can use another phone, a computer browser, VLC, an NVR, Home Assistant, or compatible tools in your own setup. SMART DETECTION Get notified when something important happens: - Motion detection - Person detection - Baby cry detection - Alarm and unusual sound detection - Pet and animal activity - Camera obstruction and scene changes Events can be saved locally with snapshots and video clips, so you can review what happened without scrolling through hours of footage. PRIVACY FIRST Your camera feed is processed locally whenever possible. PerchCam does not require a third-party cloud account to monitor your own space, and your recordings stay on your device unless you choose to share or back them up. USEFUL FOR - Home security - Baby monitoring - Pet watching - Elder care check-ins - Small shop monitoring - Garage, driveway, and entryway checks - Reusing an old iPhone or iPad - Local browser, HLS, and RTSP playback PRO FEATURES Upgrade to unlock the full monitoring workflow, including live streaming features, smart detection, extended event history, email alerts, webhook alerts, and advanced monitoring options. PerchCam is for people who want a simple camera app with real local playback options, local privacy, and practical alerts. Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Guardian Eye WebCamera
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Guardian Eye WebCamera turns an old iPhone into a standalone network IP camera — no cloud, no account, no subscription. Use it directly or connect it to Guardian Eye and other compatible ONVIF recorders over your local network. WORKS WITH • Guardian Eye — native integration for live viewing and local recording • Compatible ONVIF clients and network video recorders • VLC and modern web browsers LIVE VIEWING & PROTOCOLS • Secure direct viewing in a web browser using WebRTC — no cloud relay or browser plug-in • JPEG snapshots, MJPEG, and RTSP • H.264 and H.265/HEVC video with optional AAC microphone audio • ONVIF-compatible server with automatic WS-Discovery • Digital zoom, image settings, events, and object metadata over ONVIF • Efficient 640x360 preview sub-stream for recorder grids (Pro) • Core live viewing through ONVIF, RTSP, HTTP/MJPEG, and WebRTC is available without Pro LOCAL ARCHIVE & SYNCHRONIZATION • Keep recordings directly on the iPhone, including audio and event information • Record continuously or only around detected events • Choose one synchronization mode: no synchronization, ONVIF Profile G, or FTP/FTPS • Profile G allows a compatible recorder to search, replay, and retrieve recordings from the iPhone • FTP/FTPS sends completed recordings to your own server • FTPS supports certificate validation for protected transfers • Profile G and FTP/FTPS archive synchronization require Pro SMART ON-DEVICE DETECTION • People and pets recognised on the device using Apple Vision • Motion, tamper, and classified sound detection with adjustable sensitivity • Sound classification such as glass breaking, alarms, or barking (iOS 15+) • Detection zones: define exactly where the camera should watch • Event history with configurable retention • Detection runs locally and is published as standard ONVIF analytics events, allowing a compatible recorder to record, alert, or trigger actions • Smart detection, classification, and detection zones require Pro CAMERA & VIDEO CONTROLS • Front or back camera, torch, and pinch-to-zoom • Resolution up to 1080p and frame rate up to 30 fps • Adjustable JPEG quality • Automatic or locked focus • Automatic, portrait, or landscape orientation • H.264 or H.265/HEVC encoding • Optional microphone audio • On-screen display with a timestamp or label burned into the stream SECURITY & PRIVACY • Local-network operation — video is not sent through our cloud • Username and password are required; there are no default admin credentials • RTSP Digest and ONVIF WS-Security authentication • WebRTC uses a camera-specific local certificate • Credentials are stored encrypted on the device using iOS Keychain • FTP without encryption is restricted to private local-network addresses; FTPS is recommended PERSONALIZATION • 18 languages, switchable inside the app • System, Light and Dark themes Guardian Eye WebCamera includes a status and health dashboard. Streaming runs while the app is in the foreground. Reuse an old iPhone as a private security camera in minutes.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is iOS requirement: Guardian Eye WebCamera at 15.0 against PerchCam's 17.0. 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. PerchCam sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per year and Guardian Eye WebCamera sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
PerchCam ships an update every 2 weeks, Guardian Eye WebCamera fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 10, 2026 and October 11, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | PerchCam | Guardian Eye WebCamera |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Fortnightly — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 32 MB | 25 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | 原野 葛 | ANDREI POSOKHOV |
In-app purchases
PerchCam
- PerchCam Pro · Annual$0.991 Year
- PerchCam Pro · مدى الحياة$2.99
Guardian Eye WebCamera
- Guardian Eye WebCamera Pro$4.99
Questions
Is PerchCam free?
Is Guardian Eye WebCamera free?
Do PerchCam or Guardian Eye WebCamera have ads?
Which is updated more often, PerchCam or Guardian Eye WebCamera?
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