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Google’s Nest cameras, video doorbells and other smart devices are aesthetically pleasing, high-tech and offer dozens of home automation options, especially for Google Home and Google Assistant users, but they don’t provide the kind of protection and alerts that competitors with full security systems offer.
We tested Google Nest’s most popular equipment and appreciated the user-friendly setup and high-quality video features, but during the install we were frustrated by the need to use both the Google Home app and the Nest app, which didn’t easily transfer information. Nest devices are very high quality, but the brand is more tailored for smart home automation than home security.
Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Self-monitoring with smart alerts, familiar face detection and extra video-event cloud storage starts at $8 a month. | No alarm system or door/window sensors available, just individual cameras, doorbells and other accessories. |
Highly customizable smart-home automation, including lighting controls and on/off schedules. | Professional monitoring only offered through ADT. |
Essentially, you purchase the cameras, doorbells and detectors you want, install them yourself or hire a contractor, and then either monitor everything yourself or pay for added monitoring features or professional monitoring from ADT.
In April 2024, Google discontinued its alarm system offering, Nest Secure. Now, the tech company only offers individual products rather than cohesive alarm systems (such as door and window sensors and keypads).
Nest cameras only retain about three hours of video event history on their own. If you want extra video recording features, including facial recognition, glass-break and smoke alarm detection, and the ability to contact emergency services through the Google Home app, you’ll need to buy a Nest Aware subscription, which starts at $8 a month.
If you want professional monitoring instead, you’ll need to contact Nest partner ADT, which will likely also require buying an ADT alarm system (i.e., installing ADT door and window sensors).
Deciding factors | |
|---|---|
One-time costs | Starts at $99.99 for one indoor wired camera. |
Monthly fees | None required. |
Installation | DIY. If you don’t want to DIY it, Nest partner OnTech will install doorbells and cameras for you. That service starts at $159.99. |
Video monitoring |
|
Contract | None. |
The Nest cameras and doorbells we tested offer two-way audio, meaning you can listen and tap the Talk button on the app to speak through the devices. This can be helpful for addressing people who are at your front door when you’re not home, greeting kids when they come home from school or telling pets to get off the couch while you’re at work. With some of Nest’s older camera models, though, you’ll need to take turns speaking and listening, rather than doing both at once like on a video call.
These are the list prices of some of Nest’s popular home security equipment.
Item | Price | Description |
|---|---|---|
Nest Hub Max | $229 | Tablet screen with built-in camera, smart home automations and Google Meet capabilities. No night vision. |
Nest Cam (indoor, wired) | $99.99 | Indoor-only camera with three free hours of event history built in. |
Nest Cam (outdoor or indoor, battery powered) | $179.99 | Camera with rechargeable battery that works outside or inside. |
Nest Cam with floodlight | $279.99 | Outdoor camera with floodlight that can be automated to brighten and dim on schedule. |
Nest Doorbell | $179.99 | Comes in wired or battery-operated versions for the same price. The battery version can be wired into your existing doorbell wiring, too. |
Nest x Yale Lock | $249 | Keypad door lock that can be remotely controlled from the Nest app. Requires a Nest Connect Wi-Fi device ($69) to connect to your app. |
Nest Protect smoke and CO alarm | $149 | Smart smoke alarm that you can control from your phone; it tests itself and can differentiate between smoke and steam from the shower. |
Nest sometimes offers product bundles at a discount. The prices below are list prices of Nest’s popular home security bundles.
Package | Price | Items |
|---|---|---|
Total Security | $99.99 | Nest Doorbell (battery), Nest Cam (battery), Nest Hub Max. |
Front Door Monitoring | $129.99 | Nest Doorbell (battery) and Nest Hub (2nd gen). |
Our first impression: Nest products are beautiful. Google makes aesthetically pleasing, streamlined products that feel luxurious and high-tech.
The setup walkthrough is synced between the Google Home app and a voice assistant on the device itself. Nest equipment is on the pricier side, so this made sense.
The Google Nest Hub.
Here are a few other things we liked.
Smooth Wi-Fi connection. This might differ between users, but we had an easy time connecting the items to our network. Other providers, such as Ring, have a more complex Wi-Fi situation.
Easy integration for partner devices. The Google Home app gives you the option to set up a Nest device, a “Matter-enabled” device or a device from a long list of companies that work with Google Home. Among competitors, we think Nest had the most straightforward integration setup.
Differentiates between people and other motion, and for free. Some home security providers require a paid monthly subscription to send “smart alerts” that can be set to people-only or all motion, but Nest does this for free. You can pay $8 a month to have Nest learn “familiar faces” and send you alerts by name.
Viewer alerts. A cool feature on the Nest Hub: The camera light turns green when video streaming is available, and it blinks green when a user is actively watching the live view in the app.
Routine setting. Nest devices are made for automated schedules, and they can sync lights, music, camera recording, thermostat settings and more on set routines through the Google Home app. You can even set cameras to turn on when you and your phone leave home, and turn off when you return.
The interface for setting up routines.
Here are a few things we didn't like about the Nest setup.
Two apps aren’t better than one. Although Nest recently discontinued its Nest Secure alarm systems, you’ll still need both the Google Home app and the Nest app to use all the features on Nest devices. For example, the Google Home setup told us that without the Nest app, we couldn’t get camera notifications, see snapshots or use a Nest Aware subscription. However, we got camera notifications for the Hub through the Nest app, and we got camera and doorbell notifications through the Google Home app. We couldn’t get the camera and doorbell to sync to the Nest app. We could only use the Home/Away location-sensing feature with the Nest app or the Google Home app, not both. Some features, such as “only ring when home,” only worked with the Home app. Confused yet? We were too.
Privacy concerns. Throughout the setup process, there were a relatively high number of requests to agree to legal terms, privacy terms, sharing statistics with Google, enabling contact information so the Google Assistant can call people for you, enabling Voice Match so all Google devices can recognize and respond to your voice, enabling “personal results” (which lets Google Assistant tailor actions to your habits), supplemental terms of service for Nest itself — you get the idea.
Enabling voice match lets Google know it's you talking.
It was significantly more than required from other home security providers we reviewed, and it felt at times like we were signing away our privacy to Google. Some of these features make sense for hands-free smart home automation that tailors to your needs, but many users may be more biased toward privacy when it comes to home security.
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