Arlo’s 14 Cameras: No Plan Means No Cloud Video History

Arlo sells 14 current cameras, floodlights and a doorbell on its US store, in four families: Essential (seven models, plug-in, battery or solar), Pro 6 (two), the 4K Ultra and LTE Go 2, and a doorbell and two floodlights. Without an Arlo Secure plan, Arlo says its devices still stream live and send alerts, but keep no cloud video history; local recording depends on the model. Nine models can save to an Arlo SmartHub, the Go 2 (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) to its own microSD card, and four have no local option on Arlo’s pages.

Prices below are list prices on us.arlo.com, read 24 October 2026. Most models were on sale that day, some by over a third; 2-packs and bundles are left out.

The 14 models

Essential: indoor and plug-in

	List, arlo.com, 24 Oct 2026	Video	View	Power	Local storage
Essential Indoor (3rd Gen)	$39.99	2K (2304 × 1296)	130°	Plug-in, indoor	Not on SmartHub list
Essential Pan Tilt Indoor	$49.99	2K	360° pan, 180° tilt	Plug-in, indoor	Not SmartHub-compatible
Essential (2025)	$49.99	2K	130°	Plug-in, outdoor	Not SmartHub-compatible
Essential Pan Tilt	$59.99	2K	360° pan, 180° tilt	Plug-in, outdoor	Not SmartHub-compatible

Essential: battery and solar

	List, arlo.com, 24 Oct 2026	Video	View	Battery	Local storage
Essential (3rd Gen)	$69.99	2K (2560 × 1440)	130°	Built-in, 4,650 mAh	Via SmartHub
Essential XL (3rd Gen)	$79.99	2K	130°	Built-in, 18,600 mAh	Via SmartHub
Essential Solar	$99.99	2K	130°	Built-in, 14,790 mAh, solar	Via SmartHub

Pro, Ultra and Go

	List, arlo.com, 24 Oct 2026	Video	View	Battery	Connects
Pro 6	$124.99	2K HDR	160°	Removable, 5,655 mAh	Wi-Fi or SmartHub
Pro XL 6	$199.99	2K HDR	160°	Removable, 13,000 mAh	Wi-Fi or SmartHub
Ultra 3rd Gen	$199.99 add-on, $349.99 for two with SmartHub	4K HDR	180°	Removable, 5,655 mAh	SmartHub required
Go 2	$199.99	1080p	130°	Removable	Wi-Fi or LTE; microSD in camera

Doorbell and floodlights

	List, arlo.com, 24 Oct 2026	Video	View	Power	Light
Video Doorbell (2nd Gen)	$79.99	2K (1944 × 1944, square)	180° diagonal	Battery, optional 8–24V AC trickle charge	None
Wired Floodlight	$149.99	2K HDR	160°	Hardwired, 100–240V AC	2,000 lumens
Wireless Floodlight	$249.99	2K HDR	160°	Removable battery	Up to 3,000 lumens on a charging cable

Views are diagonal, as Arlo lists them. Arlo’s compare page lists a built-in siren, 12x zoom and two-way audio on each of the 11 cameras it compares. Of the 14, one model records 4K and one connects over LTE: the Ultra 3rd Gen (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab) and the Go 2.

How to read the names

Essential is Arlo’s cheaper line, and it now covers seven models. The 2025 releases split by power: “Essential (3rd Gen)” and “Essential XL (3rd Gen)” run on a built-in battery, with the XL’s 18,600 mAh battery four times the base model’s by Arlo’s own figures, while the plain “Essential (2025 Release)” plugs in. “Pan Tilt” models plug in too and turn 360°.

Pro and Ultra use a removable battery you can swap, and XL means a bigger battery: the Pro XL 6 lists 13,000 mAh against the Pro 6 (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)’s 5,655 mAh. Arlo says the Ultra (3rd Gen) needs an Arlo SmartHub; its multi-camera kits include one, a single add-on camera does not, and the microSD card for the hub is sold separately either way.

Go 2 is the odd one out: 1080p, Wi-Fi or LTE, and a microSD slot in the camera itself. The Wireless Floodlight is sold under the product address and SKU of the older Pro 3 Floodlight, and Arlo’s SmartHub list still calls it that.

What needs an Arlo Secure plan

Arlo’s knowledge base lists what survives without one: “Live Streaming, Push Notifications, Two-way Audio, Auto Zoom & Tracking, Local Storage Recording”, the last two “not available for all Arlo devices”. Without a plan or trial you lose “Video History and Activity Zones”, and the product FAQs add cloud video storage, interactive notifications and object detection to that list. On the pan-tilt models, Arlo notes, following a moving subject needs a plan or trial: Auto Track is a paid feature there. Each new camera comes with a one-month trial.

Plan (arlo.com, 24 Oct 2026)	Price	Cameras	Adds
Smart Aware, single camera	$9.99/mo or $95.88/yr	One	60-day video history, Arlo Summary, activity zones, person, vehicle, animal and package detection
Smart Aware, unlimited	$19.99/mo or $215.88/yr	Unlimited	The same, on every camera
Smart Secure	$29.99/mo or $299.98/yr	Unlimited	24/7 professional monitoring, emergency response, Threat Assessment
Ultra Secure	$49.99/mo or $479.88/yr	Unlimited	30 days of 24/7 recording on up to three cameras

Arlo’s plans page says professional monitoring needs its Home Security System, sold separately, and that 24/7 recording needs cameras “plugged into AC power”, with recordings that “cannot be downloaded”. Person recognition and event captions are unavailable in some regions, by the page’s footnotes.

Recording without a plan

Through a SmartHub. Arlo’s compatibility article lists the Essential (3rd Gen), Essential XL (3rd Gen), Essential Solar, Pro 6, Pro XL 6, Ultra 3rd Gen, both floodlights and the Video Doorbell as working with its two current SmartHubs. The Pro SmartHub stores to a USB drive and the Ultra SmartHub to a microSD card. The two hubs list at $99.99 and $149.99 respectively on arlo.com.

On the camera. The Go 2 records to a microSD card you add.

Neither. Arlo’s compare page marks the Essential Pan Tilt, Essential Pan Tilt Indoor and Essential (2025) as not SmartHub-compatible, and the Essential Indoor (3rd Gen) is missing from the SmartHub list. None of their product pages names another local option, so for these four, saved video is a plan feature.

Who each one suits, by the specs

• No outlet outdoors: an Essential (3rd Gen), XL or Solar, or a Pro 6, all battery-powered; the Pro and Ultra batteries come out to charge.
• Saving video without a monthly fee: a model on the SmartHub list plus a hub, or the Go 2 with a microSD card.
• Nowhere to reach Wi-Fi: the Go 2, the one model with LTE.
• Continuous recording: a plugged-in camera and the Ultra Secure plan.

Whether to pay for a plan at all is a wider question, and which cameras record without a subscription sets out what Ring, eufy, Wyze and others keep for free. Over several years a plan can outcost the hardware; the long-run cost of doorbell plans runs that sum, Arlo included. For reviewers’ scores rather than specs, the Pro 6 is on our security camera shortlist, and Ring’s range, set out the same way, shows how a rival splits its cameras, and Wyze’s 18 models are set out the same way. SimpliSafe sells its cameras only as part of an alarm system; its packages and plans show how the two depend on each other.

Questions people ask

What is the difference between Arlo Essential, Pro and Ultra?

Resolution, view and battery. On Arlo’s compare page the Essential (3rd Gen) is 2K with a 130° view and a built-in battery; the Pro 6 is 2K HDR with a 160° view and a removable battery; the Ultra 3rd Gen is 4K HDR with a 180° view and needs an Arlo SmartHub to connect.

Do Arlo cameras work without a subscription?

Partly. Arlo says that without a plan you keep live streaming, push notifications and two-way audio, but lose video history and activity zones. Some models also record locally to an Arlo SmartHub, and the Go 2 to a microSD card in the camera.

Which Arlo cameras can record locally?

The nine models on Arlo’s SmartHub list, through a SmartHub with a USB drive or microSD card, and the Go 2 to its own microSD card. Arlo marks the Essential Pan Tilt cameras and the Essential (2025) as not SmartHub-compatible, and the Essential Indoor (3rd Gen) is not on the list.

Does the Arlo Ultra need a SmartHub?

Yes. Arlo’s product page says an Arlo SmartHub is required for the Ultra (3rd Gen). Multi-camera kits include one; a single add-on camera does not, and the microSD card for the hub is sold separately in both cases.

Which Arlo plan includes 24/7 recording?

Ultra Secure, the top plan. Arlo says it adds 30 days of 24/7 recording for up to three cameras, which must be plugged into AC power, and that those recordings cannot be downloaded. Arlo’s plans page lists 24/7 recording under no other plan.

Is the Arlo Video Doorbell wired or battery?

Both, in a sense. Arlo says the Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) always runs on its battery; wiring it to an existing doorbell at 8 to 24V AC trickle-charges the battery and rings your chime. Its spec block lists a 1944 × 1944 square video and a 180° diagonal view.