ALC SightHD vs Amcrest Cloud
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
ALC SightHD
Monitor your home and loved ones remotely with live video feeds from compatible cameras. Record footage manually or automatically via motion detection, and receive instant notifications for peace of mind. Playback recorded videos directly on your smartphone or tablet.
- Live video streaming
- Motion detection recording
- Manual video recording
- Video playback
- Push notifications
- Easy setup
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Want to keep an eye on your house or your loved ones while you are away? You have made the right choice with ALC SightHD! You will not need to register for anything and you do not need a PC or laptop for installation. You will see live video within 5 minutes (starting with turning on the app)! ALC SightHD app is compatible with all ALC SightHD (AWF series) cameras. Simply install the app, follow the on-screen instructions, and start monitoring through your SightHD cameras. You will be able to watch live feeds from any cameras at any time. Manually record videos or turn on motion detection so it automatically records when something moves in front of the camera. Playback your recorded videos directly on your smartphone or tablet. Turn on notification so you will be kept up-to-date! For more information, please visit www.alcwireless.com.
Amcrest Cloud
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.
- AI-powered cloud service
- Cloud storage
- Motion detection alerts
- People, vehicle, animal detection
- Camera health checks
- 4K model support
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Amcrest Cloud is an AI-powered cloud service designed to work exclusively with the Amcrest line of IP cameras, including the latest 4K models. The service is a premium cloud video monitoring platform designed for the home and small business and includes cloud storage, advanced camera health checks, motion detection alerts and more! The Cloud AI module enables world class people, vehicle, animal and objection detection to power your cloud surveillance.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Amcrest Cloud at 4.2 against ALC SightHD's 1.9. Amcrest Cloud also leads on ratings volume (6K vs 107). ALC SightHD's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads 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.
Amcrest Cloud holds the better App Store score, 4.2 against 1.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Amcrest Cloud has 6K ratings behind it against 107, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 13% of ALC SightHD's written reviews are positive against 20% of Amcrest Cloud's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 4 months. Both last shipped on October 20, 2026.
| Parameter | ALC SightHD | Amcrest Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 1.9 (107 ratings) | 4.2 (6K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 12.9% of reviews | 20.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 107 | 6K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Freemium |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 | 13.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 46 MB | 61 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | JSW PACIFIC CORPORATION | Amcrest Technologies LLC |
Customer experience
ALC SightHD
Amcrest Cloud
User reviews
ALC SightHD
From 107 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Good picture quality (daytime)
- 👍 Easy installation/setup (initially)
- 👍 Attractive appearance (when working)
- 👍 Useful for knowing when someone is breaking in (when alerts work)
- 👍 Good customer support (rare instances)
Room to improve
- 🐛 Motion detection unreliable
- 🐛 Frequent connection issues
- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 Cannot download/view videos
- 🐛 Poor night vision
Amcrest Cloud
From 6K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- ⭐ Great camera
- 👍 Easy to set up
- 🚀 Very high resolution picture
- 🚀 Great performance in the app
- 🚀 No streaming latency
Room to improve
- 🐛 No video recorded despite motion detection
- 🐛 Cannot connect to WiFi
- 🐛 Will not record to SD card
- 🤔 Confusing app
- 🤔 Cannot add more cameras
Bugs and requests
ALC SightHD
Reported bugs
77 issues- Motion detection notifications stopped
- App keeps freezing
- Cannot log in
- App crashes when downloading/viewing videos
- No router connection
Show 72 moreShow fewer
- Motion alarms non-stop
- App never connects to camera
- Video quality poor at night
- Video has purple haze
- Button to activate motion detector removed
- Low sound volume after update
- Won't stay connected to network
- Won't ring inside house
- Doesn't notify on phone
- Randomly rings and disconnects
- Error message when disconnecting
- Customer support refuses to help
- Doesn't connect at all
- Cannot view live video
- Cannot access recordings
- Takes forever to connect
- Disconnects within 30 seconds
- Cannot connect to WiFi or BT for more than a minute
- Low WiFi connection percentage
- Connection errors all the time
- Playback video errors
- Bluetooth connection issues
- Cannot connect to camera twice
- Cannot search or view from any timeframe
- Cannot view any recordings
- Camera always disconnecting
- Download and view options impossible
- Camera freezes constantly
- App rarely has event videos
- Password disappears during setup
- Cannot set up after reset
- Playback always says error
- Takes 30 seconds to go to live feed
- Recording doesn't save
- Voice goes in and out
- Difficult to connect
- Refused to accept admin password
- Cannot reset to factory settings
- Connects then disconnects every 2 seconds
- Won't find camera on network
- Unable to connect away from home
- Doorbell disconnects every few weeks
- Have to uninstall and reinstall app
- Cannot connect after a year
- Someone is controlling my camera
- Black screen when logging in
- No emails due to security standards
- Password required for every adjustment
- Stopped connecting to app
- Says connecting then failed to connect
- Instructions inaccurate
- No troubleshooting
- Cameras only work one at a time
- Reboot bumps other camera off
- Cannot access videos
- No videos available
- Connectivity issues
- Cannot view videos
- App doesn't work after setup
- Constant loop of connected/disconnected
- Email notifications do not work
- Cannot view recorded videos after a certain date
- App lacks functionality
- Takes unacceptable amount of time to queue videos
- Cannot connect frequently
- Poorly explained pins and passwords
- Stopped functioning within 24 hours
- Cannot get it to play back
- Tapping response not working
- App crashes
- App disconnects
- Playback end error
Requested features
10 requests- Allow drawing motion mask instead of squares
- Add option to change notification sound
- Enable automatic recording on motion detection
- Allow sliding zoomed image
- Add rewind/scrubbing option for playback
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Add 90-degree rotate option
- Improve app functionality to match competitors
- Add dark mode
- Enable thumbprint login
- Add option to shut off indicator lights
Amcrest Cloud
Reported bugs
6 issues- Camera firmware update bricking cameras
- Inability to connect cameras to WiFi
- Cameras disconnecting from cloud
- App login issues
- Inability to change detection zones
Show 1 moreShow fewer
- Notifications not working
Requested features
2 requests- Multiple saved camera locations
- Ability to view more than 4 hours of recordings
In-app purchases
ALC SightHD
No in-app purchases
Amcrest Cloud
No in-app purchases
