Comparison · Security
DIY smart home security cameras vs kit brands
Frigate, Reolink, and UniFi against Ring and Nest — what you actually trade for no monthly fee.
Our pick: Reolink + Frigate for most DIY homes
DIY smart home security cameras are having a second life because subscriptions got rude. The stack is not mysterious: cameras that speak RTSP or ONVIF, a box that records, and optionally Frigate for person detection that does not phone home.
The three DIY lanes
| Lane | Buy | You operate |
|---|---|---|
| Appliance DIY | Reolink NVR + matching cams | One vendor app, local disks |
| Prosumer | UniFi Protect | Ubiquiti network religion |
| Open | Any ONVIF cam + Frigate + Home Assistant | You, when it breaks at 11 p.m. |
When DIY loses
If nobody in the house will SSH, buy a kit brand and pay the tax — or hire an integrator. A half-finished Frigate box is worse than Nest. Guests should not debug Coral TPUs.
Our default
Reolink PoE cameras into a small NVR, Frigate later if you want Home Assistant events. Keep cameras on an isolated VLAN. Do not put the NVR on the guest SSID and call it security.
Questions we get
Is a DIY camera system cheaper than Ring?
Year one is often similar once you buy a mini PC and PoE switch. Year three is cheaper if you do not pay for cloud history. The real cost is the Saturday you spend learning VLANs.