Do Kasa Cameras Work Well Without A Subscription?

It makes sense that you’d prefer a security camera that does not require any subscription plan when considering the rising inflation. Lucky for you, Kasa Cameras work well without a subscription.

Instead of relying on the cloud for footage storage, these cameras store clips and videos locally, usually on an SD card.

This way, you get more control over your recordings and don’t have to incur any form of monthly payment. Let us explore the subscription services offered by Kasa Cameras and see if you really need one.

Do Kasa Cameras Work Well Without A Subscription?

Yes! Kasa cameras work impressively well without having any subscription plan. This might come as a surprise but with no subscription; you can still get a lot of use out of your camera as long as you have a microSD card. You get to enjoy capturing clips and the ability to record 24/7 based on the Kasa camera’s standard motion detection. 

With a Kasa camera, you can install a card with up to 256 GB local storage capacity. However, there is a cloud storage subscription available via Kasa Care.

This plan is optional in case you would like activity-based clip recording or cloud-based storage. 

👉 Related reading: Do Kasa Cameras Support Blue Iris or iSpy?

Is There a Free Trial for the Kasa Care Plan?

All Kasa accounts can sign up for a free trial (free cloud storage) with the new Kasa Care service.

According to the platform, you get access to 2 days or 12 hours of video history for the Kasa cameras with the free service.

To see your Kasa Care plan:

• Open the Kasa APP and scroll downward.
• Select ’Me’, and then tap on Kasa Care.

It’s worth noting that once you register, you’ll only enjoy the free Kasa Care services according to your camera’s model number.

The new models supporting microSD cards do not have a free trial.

What Subscription Services Does Kasa Cameras Offer?

Kasa cameras come with a free Kasa Plan that gives you access to two days of Kasa camera recordings.

There are also other paid Kasa subscription plans that provide different Kasa care services.

Kasa Care is a cloud-based service that allows you to store your camera’s activity recordings on the cloud.

You can download, review, and share these recordings within a specific period in the activity center on your Kasa App.

Let’s break down this topic in the section below.

1. Cloud storage subscription plans

The Kasa cloud subscriptions have the basic plan, simply called the Free Plan, Plus Plan, and Premium Plan. 

• The Free Plan

With the Free or basic plan, you get 1 GB storage and view time of up to 2 days of video history with a maximum of three cameras.

Please note that if you want to access your Kasa camera video history even after 2 days, you’ll have to upgrade to the paid subscription plans.

• The Plus Plan and the Premium Plan

Formerly the Standard Plan, is priced at $3 a month and $30 per year. It has 14 GB of storage data with 30 days of video history.

The Premium Plan, on the other hand, costs $10 a month or $100 for a year and comes with 30 GB of storage data and a 30-day video history. 

Both paid subscription plans offer:

• Activity notifications with snapshots: The camera alerts you with a push notification and a snapshot of the activity whenever a motion or sound has been detected. It also lets you decide if you can respond at the moment or later.
• Video sharing: You can share your Kasa camera clips on your social media platforms or with your friends and family. Easily do this by simply tapping the share button. Also, for long-term storage, you can conveniently download the clips to your device.
• 30 days of video history: You can see every event captured by your camera through a clip with this feature. The video history includes snapshots of detected activities, activity recording clips, and the time the activity was recorded over the past 30 days.

However, while the Plus Plan only provides a connection to a maximum of 3 Kasa cameras, the Premium Plan provides a connection of up to 10 cameras.

This is a fantastic value for multi-camera households.

Now here is the interesting part! When you buy a Kasa camera, it comes with a 30-day free trial of the Premium Plan. 

There are two plans available for the cloud storage service, as stated on the Kasa Care website:

How Do You Subscribe to Kasa Care Plan?

You can upgrade to any plan through the app or the Kasa Care web portal during your trial period.

If you choose not to upgrade, the Kasa camera will roll over to the Free plan once the trial period is over. 

To subscribe to the Kasa Care Plan on IOS devices, open the Kasa app, go to “Me” then select “Kasa Care.”

Now tap “Add Plan” and select your purchase plan. Go ahead and click “Subscribe”, then pay for the service from the App Store.

Pick the Camera you want to add to the plan, and the Kasa Cam features subscribed to will be applied to it.

Just like the procedure above, the Kasa Care Plan subscription process is quite similar for Android devices. To subscribe on an Android or Kasa Care Web Portal, visit the web portal and log in to the Kasa Care website using your TP-Link ID. If you are using the App, open it to access “Me” and then “Kasa Care.”

The next step would be to add a service and select the plan you want.

Pick the cameras you want to include in the plan and choose the billing cycle you prefer, either monthly or yearly. Finally, add your card info to pay for it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Bottom Line

We get it: Sometimes, you just need to save a little money.  The Kasa Cam is quite unbeatable for anyone who wants to avoid monthly subscription fees.

With no subscription, you can still use a microSD card to enjoy capturing clips and recording 24/7 based on the camera’s motion detection. 

However, Kasa cameras offer subscription plans for those looking to store their footage with additional protection.

This plan is completely optional if you want activity-based clip recording or cloud-based storage.