Local recording vs cloud recording: which is better for home cameras?
Local recording keeps video on a recorder in your home, so there is no storage fee and footage stays on site unless you back it up. Cloud recording keeps video on the camera maker's servers behind a plan, and the plan sets how long it is kept: Ring keeps motion events for up to 180 days.
UniFi Protect records locally and can also archive clips to cloud storage you choose.
Last checked
01 / THE BREAKDOWN
Cloud recording (Ring as the example)
- Ring stores motion event videos in the cloud for up to 180 days from recording. [1]
- Ring 24/7 recording is a paid add-on for each camera, and those recordings are kept in the cloud for up to 14 days. [1]
- If a Ring plan is not paid before it expires, the stored recordings are lost and cannot be retrieved. [1]
Local recording (UniFi Protect)
- Recordings stay on your UniFi console, with no cloud backup by default. Ubiquiti states it cannot view, store or access your video streams. [2]
- You set retention yourself. Enhanced Retention (Protect 5.1 or later) keeps recent footage at full resolution and downgrades older footage to save space. [3]
- Archiving to Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive or a local NAS is available when you want an off site copy. [5]
How long local storage lasts
- Ubiquiti's calculator puts a 4K camera at 109.92 GB per day at standard encoding, so a 4 TB drive holds about 36 days of one 4K camera recording all day. The storage planner runs this for your cameras. [4]
Common follow-ups
With Ring, stored recordings are lost and cannot be retrieved if the plan lapses.
Yes. UniFi Protect connects your phone to your console over an end to end encrypted channel while the video stays local.
Sources
- Ring Protect subscription plans checked Oct 20, 2026
- Ubiquiti Help Center: How UniFi Protect Protects Your Data checked Oct 20, 2026
- Ubiquiti Help Center: Managing Storage and Retention in UniFi Protect checked Oct 20, 2026
- UniFi resource calculator checked Oct 11, 2026
- UniFi Physical Security checked Oct 20, 2026
Written by Gbit Tech, a UniFi Certified Partner in Los Angeles. Every fact on this page links to the manufacturer's own page and is rechecked on a schedule.
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More answers
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