You can use Wyze cameras without paying for a subscription, but you lose cloud storage and some features
Wyze cameras record video and send alerts to your phone without a paid plan. The camera stores footage locally on a microSD card (sold separately) or streams live to your phone over your home network. You get motion and sound detection, two-way talk, and night vision at no extra cost.
The subscription — called Wyze Plus or Wyze Plus Pro — adds cloud backup of video clips, longer cloud storage history, and AI features like person detection and package detection. Without it, you see motion alerts but the video clip itself lives only on the microSD card inside the camera. If the card fills up or the camera is stolen, those clips are gone.
Key Takeaways
- Wyze cameras record and send motion alerts without a subscription, storing video on a microSD card you provide.
- Wyze Plus ($1.99 per camera per month or $14.99 per year) adds cloud storage of video clips and person detection.
- Wyze Plus Pro ($2.99 per camera per month or $24.99 per year) includes all Plus features plus AI detection for packages, vehicles, and animals.
- Local recording on a microSD card works even if your internet goes down, but cloud features require an active connection.
- You can use multiple cameras on the free plan, but each camera needs its own subscription if you want cloud backup for that camera.
What you get without paying
The free version of Wyze cameras includes live view from anywhere, motion and sound alerts sent to your phone, and the ability to talk through the camera's speaker and listen through its microphone. Night vision works without a subscription. You can adjust settings like detection sensitivity and create schedules to arm and disarm the camera at certain times.
Video records continuously to a microSD card installed in the camera. You can watch that footage by opening the camera in the Wyze app and scrubbing through the timeline. The card stores roughly 24 to 48 hours of video depending on the card's size and the camera's resolution — a 32GB card typically holds about one day of continuous recording at 1080p.
If the camera detects motion, it sends a notification to your phone and saves a short clip. Without a subscription, that clip is stored only on the microSD card. You cannot view it in the cloud or access it if you're away from home and the card fails.
Wyze Plus: cloud storage and person detection
Wyze Plus costs $1.99 per month per camera or $14.99 per year per camera. It uploads motion-triggered video clips to Wyze's cloud servers, where they stay for 14 days. You can watch these clips from anywhere without needing the microSD card, and they are not deleted if the card fails or fills up.
Wyze Plus also adds person detection, which filters out motion alerts caused by trees, cars, or animals and only notifies you when a person appears. This reduces false alerts significantly. You also get AI-powered detection for packages, vehicles, and animals, though the person detection is the most useful for most users.
The 14-day cloud history means you can look back two weeks to see when motion occurred. After 14 days, clips are deleted from the cloud, though they may still exist on your microSD card if the card has not overwritten them.
Wyze Plus Pro: advanced AI detection
Wyze Plus Pro costs $2.99 per month per camera or $24.99 per year per camera. It includes everything in Wyze Plus plus advanced AI detection for packages, vehicles, and animals. The camera can distinguish between a person walking by and a package sitting on your porch, or alert you specifically when a car pulls into your driveway.
Pro also includes sound detection for glass breaking and smoke alarms, which can send alerts if the camera hears these specific sounds. This is useful for security monitoring but requires the camera to be positioned where it can hear these events clearly.
Like Wyze Plus, Pro stores clips in the cloud for 14 days and requires an active internet connection to upload and access them.
How to choose between free, Plus, and Pro
Use the free plan if you only need to check on your camera occasionally and do not mind losing footage if the microSD card fails. This works for monitoring a garage, shed, or low-traffic area where you do not need historical records.
Choose Wyze Plus if you want cloud backup of motion clips and person detection to reduce false alerts. Most home security users find this the best balance of cost and features. At $14.99 per year, it costs less than a dollar per month.
Pick Wyze Plus Pro if you want to distinguish between different types of motion — a package versus a person, a car versus a bike — and you want alerts for specific sounds like breaking glass. The extra $10 per year over Plus is worth it if you rely on the camera for security decisions.
If you have multiple cameras, you can mix plans. Put Plus on your front door camera and keep the garage camera on the free plan, for example. Each camera's subscription is separate.
What happens if your internet goes down
Local recording on the microSD card continues even if your home internet is offline. The camera will keep recording and storing video on the card. You cannot view it remotely until your internet comes back, but the footage is safe.
Cloud features stop working when the internet is down. Motion alerts will not send, and you cannot access cloud-stored clips. Once your internet returns, the camera resumes uploading clips to the cloud and sending alerts normally.
This is why the microSD card is important even if you have a subscription. It acts as a backup if your internet fails or if Wyze's cloud service experiences an outage.
Comparing Wyze subscription costs across cameras
| Plan | Monthly Cost Per Camera | Annual Cost Per Camera | Cloud Storage | Person Detection | Package/Vehicle/Animal Detection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | No | No | No |
| Wyze Plus | $1.99 | $14.99 | 14 days | Yes | No |
| Wyze Plus Pro | $2.99 | $24.99 | 14 days | Yes | Yes |
If you have three cameras and want all of them on Wyze Plus, the annual cost is $44.97. On Pro, it is $74.97 per year. Wyze also offers a Cam Plus Unlimited plan for $9.99 per month that covers unlimited cameras in your account, which becomes cheaper if you have five or more cameras.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a Wyze camera without a microSD card?
Yes, but you lose local recording. Without a card and without a subscription, you can only view live video. Motion alerts will still send, but no clip is saved anywhere. A microSD card costs $5 to $15 depending on capacity and is the cheapest way to keep a backup of your footage.
Do I need a subscription to view live video from my Wyze camera?
No. You can open the Wyze app and watch live video from anywhere without a subscription. The subscription only affects cloud storage of recorded clips and AI detection features.
What size microSD card should I buy?
A 32GB card stores roughly one day of continuous 1080p recording and costs around $5 to $8. A 128GB card stores about four days and costs $10 to $15. Wyze recommends cards rated for video recording (look for "V30" on the label). The camera will overwrite old footage when the card fills up, so larger is better if you want to keep more history.
Can I share my subscription with another person?
Yes. Anyone you add to your Wyze account can see all your cameras and their cloud clips. You do not need separate subscriptions for shared users — one subscription per camera covers everyone with access to that camera.
Does Wyze offer a free trial of Plus or Pro?
Wyze occasionally offers trial periods, but these vary by region and change over time. Check the Wyze app or website to see if a trial is currently available in your area.