AI box for CCTV cameras compared by price per camera across Hanwha, IDIS, Rhombus, Verkada and Avigilon
- Prices from vendor price pages and live US reseller listings
- Camera support read from each vendor's own datasheet or FAQ
Interior, after hours
Fixed camera, low light, two subjects
Analysing the clip
Clip
Decoded in your browser. Your video is never uploaded.
Sets the luma delta threshold and the smallest region that counts.
Kills the one frame flicker that no operator wants paged about.
Exclude zone
Put it over the road, the tree, the neighbour's window. Events inside it stop alerting.
The frame an event was found on shows up here.
Nothing selected yet
Hover a row in the event table to preview its frame, click it to hold the frame and jump the clip there.
- Length
- 0.0s
- Confidence
- 0%
- Area
- 0.0%
0
Motion events found
0
Dropped by zone
0
Dropped, too short
0
Alerts you would get
| # | Start | Length | Class | Conf. | Area |
|---|
Reading the clip. Events appear here as they are found.
Get these alerts from your own cameras.
Three questions decide which AI box fits your cameras, before price does.
Every box on this page adds detection to cameras that lack it. They differ on how many cameras each unit takes, which cameras it will talk to, and whether a license renews every year.
How many cameras per box?
IDIS takes 4, Hanwha 8, Rhombus and the smallest Verkada connector 10. The price per camera jumps every time your count passes a multiple, so 9 cameras on Hanwha means two boxes.
Can it read cameras behind my NVR?
Hanwha lists every NVR and DVR as unsupported and Verkada says its connector never talks to an existing NVR or VMS. IDIS is the reverse: its box works only through an IDIS DirectIP NVR, with IDIS cameras.
Is there a yearly license?
Hanwha and IDIS sell the box once. Rhombus charges $149 per camera per year on its Relay, Verkada $249. Over five years the license, not the box, is most of the bill.
AI box prices for existing CCTV cameras, unit by unit.
US prices before tax and shipping. Vendor MSRP where the vendor publishes one, otherwise a named US reseller listing.
IDIS DV-1304-A
- Cameras per unit
- 4, IDIS DirectIP cameras only
- US price
- $986 at Surveillance-Video, $1,120.50 at Network Camera Store
- Yearly license
- None
- Records video
- No
Hanwha AIB-800
- Cameras per unit
- 8
- US price
- $2,548.23 at Surveillance-Video
- Yearly license
- None
- Records video
- No
Hanwha AIB-800A
- Cameras per unit
- 8, rack mount
- US price
- $3,309.77 to $4,166.88
- Yearly license
- None
- Records video
- No
Rhombus Relay N100
- Cameras per unit
- 10
- US price
- $2,999 MSRP
- Yearly license
- $149 per camera
- Records video
- Yes, 2 or 4 TB
Verkada CC300
- Cameras per unit
- 10 at 5MP or less
- US price
- $4,499 MSRP
- Yearly license
- $249 per camera
- Records video
- Yes, 30 to 60 days
Verkada CC500
- Cameras per unit
- 25 at 5MP or less
- US price
- $6,999 MSRP
- Yearly license
- $249 per camera
- Records video
- Yes, 30 to 60 days
Avigilon AI NVR 2 Standard 16TB
- Cameras per unit
- 9 non-AI cameras analyzed, 18 with a $6,053 kit
- US price
- $29,925 at Bluff City Electronics
- Yearly license
- $311 VAC per camera, once
- Records video
- Yes, it is the NVR
| AI box | Cameras per unit | US price | Yearly license | Records video |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IDIS DV-1304-A | 4, IDIS DirectIP cameras only | $986 at Surveillance-Video, $1,120.50 at Network Camera Store | None | No |
| Hanwha AIB-800 | 8 | $2,548.23 at Surveillance-Video | None | No |
| Hanwha AIB-800A | 8, rack mount | $3,309.77 to $4,166.88 | None | No |
| Rhombus Relay N100 | 10 | $2,999 MSRP | $149 per camera | Yes, 2 or 4 TB |
| Verkada CC300 | 10 at 5MP or less | $4,499 MSRP | $249 per camera | Yes, 30 to 60 days |
| Verkada CC500 | 25 at 5MP or less | $6,999 MSRP | $249 per camera | Yes, 30 to 60 days |
| Avigilon AI NVR 2 Standard 16TB | 9 non-AI cameras analyzed, 18 with a $6,053 kit | $29,925 at Bluff City Electronics | $311 VAC per camera, once | Yes, it is the NVR |
The first three rows are pure analytics boxes. They read the camera stream, decide what is a person or a car, and hand events to the VMS you already run, which keeps recording. The Rhombus and Verkada units are recorders too: the old camera's video moves into their cloud platform, and the per camera license is what keeps it there.
Avigilon is the outlier. The AI NVR 2 replaces your recorder outright and its analytics capacity for cameras without AI is a fixed channel count per model. Our Avigilon AI NVR price breakdown has every model, and the Hanwha AI Box price page covers the AIB-800 family in full.
What fifteen existing cameras cost over five years on each AI box.
Same fifteen cameras, the cheapest unit count that covers them, five years of any yearly license, no installation labor.
Five year totals in US dollars. Recording licenses are not included for the analytics only boxes, since your current recorder keeps doing that job.
Avigilon AI NVR 2 Standard
- Arithmetic
- $29,925 + $6,053.40 kit + 15 x $142.50 camera + 15 x $311.05 VAC
- Five years
- $42,782
Verkada CC500-8TB
- Arithmetic
- Hardware + 15 five year licenses at MSRP
- Five years
- $23,484
Rhombus Relay
- Arithmetic
- 2 x $2,999 + 15 x $149 x 5 years
- Five years
- $17,173
Hanwha AI Box
- Arithmetic
- 2 x $2,548.23 (16 channels)
- Five years
- $5,096
IDIS AI Box
- Arithmetic
- 4 x $986 (16 channels, IDIS cameras only)
- Five years
- $3,944
MotionDetection, Operate tier
- Arithmetic
- $888 a year x 5
- Five years
- $4,440
| Route | Arithmetic | Five years |
|---|---|---|
| Avigilon AI NVR 2 Standard | $29,925 + $6,053.40 kit + 15 x $142.50 camera + 15 x $311.05 VAC | $42,782 |
| Verkada CC500-8TB | Hardware + 15 five year licenses at MSRP | $23,484 |
| Rhombus Relay | 2 x $2,999 + 15 x $149 x 5 years | $17,173 |
| Hanwha AI Box | 2 x $2,548.23 (16 channels) | $5,096 |
| IDIS AI Box | 4 x $986 (16 channels, IDIS cameras only) | $3,944 |
| MotionDetection, Operate tier | $888 a year x 5 | $4,440 |
The two cheap boxes and our tier land within about $500 of each other, so for fifteen cameras the honest deciding factor is fit, not price. A box is bought once and runs with no internet connection. Our route needs no hardware and reads the RTSP stream of each camera or of each NVR channel, so cameras plugged into the recorder are covered without rewiring. The cloud connector rows cost four to five times more because they replace your recorder and platform, which only makes sense if you were leaving them anyway.
Match the AI box to the cameras and recorder you already have.
One honest recommendation per situation. Where a box beats us, it says so.
Mostly Hanwha cameras on a switch
Hanwha AI Box
Certified for Hanwha non-AI cameras and encoders, events go straight into WAVE. Adds plates and faces, which we do not do.
An IDIS recorder and IDIS cameras
IDIS DV-1304-A
The lowest price per box and no license. It reads only IDIS DirectIP cameras and registers to an IDIS DirectIP NVR, so a mixed fleet is out.
Replacing cameras with Verkada over a few years
Verkada Command Connector
Old cameras ride in Command until you swap them, and each license moves to the new Verkada camera. See our Verkada Command Connector pricing page.
Moving the whole site to Rhombus
Rhombus Relay
The cheaper of the two cloud connectors per camera, and it records locally on 2 or 4 TB.
Cameras plugged into an NVR, mixed brands
A detection layer on the stream
No box can read them without rewiring. Classifying the NVR channel streams keeps the recorder and the cabling as they are.
A count just past 4, 8 or 10
Price the next unit honestly
Eleven cameras on Hanwha is two boxes at $5,096. Our Operate tier covers up to 15 cameras at one price.
Verkada's per camera license and connector limits are itemized on our Verkada Command Connector pricing page. If your recorder is a UniFi console, Ubiquiti sells its own box for this, covered in UniFi Protect third party cameras with person alerts.
How classification on the stream replaces an AI box for most small sites.
-
1
Point it at the stream
Give the console the RTSP sub stream of each camera, or of each NVR channel, or let it find ONVIF cameras. Nothing is installed on the cameras and the recorder keeps recording.
-
2
Keep the connector local
If the cameras sit behind NAT, a small connector runs on the same network and only events and cropped stills leave the building.
-
3
Draw zones and pick classes
Mark the gate, the door or the lot, then choose person, vehicle, animal or package. Shadows, rain and headlights are dropped before an alert is sent.
-
4
Send alerts where people look
Email, Slack or a webhook with the cropped image, to whoever is on shift, with a 30 day event history on the Operate tier.
Run one of your own clips through the demo at the top first. The RTSP camera software page lists stream paths for most camera and NVR brands, and AI security camera software explains the classes we detect.
Four reasons to buy a box instead of this product.
-
No internet at the site
A box analyzes on premises with no outbound connection. Our classification runs as a service, so the site needs one.
-
Plates and faces
Hanwha and Avigilon read license plates and face attributes. We classify people, vehicles, animals and packages only.
-
Counting and heatmaps
The Hanwha box and the IDIS DV-1304 retail model do people counting and heatmaps. We send alerts, not footfall reports.
-
A one time purchase
Four IDIS boxes cost a little less than our Operate tier over five years, and nothing after that, if every camera is IDIS.
AI box for CCTV camera questions buyers ask before ordering.
01
Can I add AI to my existing security cameras?
Yes. You can add an AI box that reads each camera's stream, such as the Hanwha AIB-800 or, for IDIS systems, the IDIS DV-1304-A, move the cameras to a cloud connector from Rhombus or Verkada, or classify the existing streams with software. None of these replaces the cameras.
02
How much does an AI box for CCTV cost?
In the US, about $986 to $1,121 for the 4 channel IDIS DV-1304-A, $2,548 for the 8 channel Hanwha AIB-800, $2,999 for a 10 camera Rhombus Relay plus $149 per camera a year, and $4,499 for a Verkada CC300 plus $249 per camera a year.
03
Does an AI box work with any IP camera?
Not reliably. The IDIS DV-1304-A works only with IDIS DirectIP cameras. Hanwha certifies its own cameras and lists third party ONVIF cameras as limited. Verkada supports only models on its compatibility list. Test your exact camera models before buying boxes for a whole site.
04
Can an AI box read cameras connected to my NVR?
Usually not. Hanwha lists every NVR and DVR as unsupported, and Verkada's connector never talks to an existing NVR or VMS. The IDIS box is the exception, but only on an IDIS DirectIP NVR. Cameras on the NVR's own PoE ports must be moved to a network switch the box can reach.
05
Does an AI box replace my NVR?
The Hanwha and IDIS boxes do not record, so the NVR or VMS stays. Rhombus Relay and Verkada Command Connector do record, and are built to take over from the old recorder. The Avigilon AI NVR 2 is itself a recorder.
06
Is there a monthly fee for an AI box?
Not for the Hanwha and IDIS boxes. Rhombus charges $149 per camera per year and Verkada $249 per camera per year for cameras on their connectors. Our Operate tier is $888 a year for up to 15 cameras with no hardware.
Related pages
Hanwha AI Box price
AIB-800 and AIB-800A at US resellers, what they detect and the NVR limitation.
IDIS AI Box price
The 4 channel DV-1304-A, which cameras it reads and the cost at 8 to 16 cameras.
Verkada Command Connector pricing
CC300 to CC700 and the yearly license per camera.
Avigilon AI NVR price
AI NVR 2 by model with license and analytics channel lines.
AI NVR software priced per camera
AI on the NVR you already own, against an AI NVR or a connector, year one and after.
Video analytics software price
Every tier and the per camera arithmetic, no sales call.
Keep the cameras and the recorder. Skip the box.
One field, one 6 digit code, and your console opens on that address. Pick the tier by camera count and pay by card.