Axis Camera Station license cost per camera for Axis Camera Station Pro and which license you need

An Axis Camera Station Pro license costs about $88 to $94 per Axis camera for five years, or $29 to $31 per camera per year, at US resellers. A third party camera needs the Universal license at about $166 to $169 for five years. Axis recorders ship with lifetime licenses inside, the software runs a 90 day trial with no license, and an old AXIS Camera Station 5 license converts to Pro for $19. Every figure below is a reseller listing, every rule is from Axis's own documentation, and the last sections say where a license is the wrong purchase.

See our published price

Reseller prices, each store named
License rules from Axis documentation and the Axis FAQ
Written by one of the analytics options

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01 The short answer

Three numbers decide an Axis Camera Station Pro budget, and which one applies depends on your server.

Since AXIS Camera Station Pro replaced version 5, the license is a subscription on your own hardware and a lifetime license on an Axis recorder. One device, one license, either way.

$88 to $94

per Axis device, five years

The Core device subscription license, part 02991-001, for an Axis camera, intercom, speaker, radar or door controller on a server you own. The 1 year version, 02990-001, is $29 to $31. Both are subscriptions: when the term ends and the 30 day grace period passes, live view and playback stop.

$166 to $169

per third party device, five years

The Universal device subscription license, part 02993-001, for any ONVIF or RTSP camera that is not Axis. The 1 year version, 02992-001, is $49 to $52. Roughly double Core, which is the number to remember if you mix brands.

$0 to $163

on an Axis recorder

AXIS S12, S11, S21 and S22 recorders arrive with Core licenses preloaded and tied to the hardware for its lifetime, with no renewal. Adding devices beyond the preload costs a Core NVR expansion license at about $94 or a Universal NVR expansion at about $163, once.

02 Axis Camera Station license cost by part number

What each Axis Camera Station Pro license sells for at US resellers.

Single unit online listings from IP Security Depot, IP Phone Warehouse and Affinitech. Axis prints no price. An integrator quoting a whole project can land under these, so treat the table as a budget range rather than a rate card.

02990-001, ACS Pro Core device 1 year

What it covers: One Axis device on your own server, 12 months
US reseller price: $28.99 to $31.00
Per device per year: $29 to $31

02991-001, ACS Pro Core device 5 year

What it covers: One Axis device on your own server, 60 months
US reseller price: $87.99 to $94.00
Per device per year: $17.60 to $18.80

02992-001, ACS Pro Universal device 1 year

What it covers: One third party device on your own server, 12 months
US reseller price: $49.00 to $52.00
Per device per year: $49 to $52

02993-001, ACS Pro Universal device 5 year

What it covers: One third party device on your own server, 60 months
US reseller price: $165.99 to $169.00
Per device per year: $33.20 to $33.80

02994-001, ACS Pro Core device NVR

What it covers: One extra Axis device on an Axis recorder, lifetime of the hardware
US reseller price: $94.00
Per device per year: Once

02995-001, ACS Pro Universal device NVR

What it covers: One extra third party device on an Axis recorder, lifetime of the hardware
US reseller price: $162.99 to $169.00
Per device per year: Once

02996-001, Core to Universal NVR upgrade

What it covers: Turns one preloaded Core license into a Universal one, on the recorder
US reseller price: $84.00
Per device per year: Once

03250-001, ACS 5 to ACS Pro upgrade

What it covers: Converts one AXIS Camera Station 5 Core or Universal license into a 5 year Pro subscription
US reseller price: $19.00
Per device per year: $3.80 over five years

0879-010 and 0879-020, ACS 5 Core and Universal

What it covers: The old perpetual version 5 licenses, still listed
US reseller price: $87.99 and $165.99
Per device per year: Once, but version 5 support ends September 30, 2027

Part number	What it covers	US reseller price	Per device per year
02990-001, ACS Pro Core device 1 year	One Axis device on your own server, 12 months	$28.99 to $31.00	$29 to $31
02991-001, ACS Pro Core device 5 year	One Axis device on your own server, 60 months	$87.99 to $94.00	$17.60 to $18.80
02992-001, ACS Pro Universal device 1 year	One third party device on your own server, 12 months	$49.00 to $52.00	$49 to $52
02993-001, ACS Pro Universal device 5 year	One third party device on your own server, 60 months	$165.99 to $169.00	$33.20 to $33.80
02994-001, ACS Pro Core device NVR	One extra Axis device on an Axis recorder, lifetime of the hardware	$94.00	Once
02995-001, ACS Pro Universal device NVR	One extra third party device on an Axis recorder, lifetime of the hardware	$162.99 to $169.00	Once
02996-001, Core to Universal NVR upgrade	Turns one preloaded Core license into a Universal one, on the recorder	$84.00	Once
03250-001, ACS 5 to ACS Pro upgrade	Converts one AXIS Camera Station 5 Core or Universal license into a 5 year Pro subscription	$19.00	$3.80 over five years
0879-010 and 0879-020, ACS 5 Core and Universal	The old perpetual version 5 licenses, still listed	$87.99 and $165.99	Once, but version 5 support ends September 30, 2027

Scroll the table sideways for every column. On a phone it stacks one row at a time.

Read the last column before the third. Five 1 year Core licenses cost $145 to $155 over five years against $88 to $94 for one 5 year license, so the annual part number is a 60 percent premium for the option of walking away. Axis's license guide lets you mix terms in AXIS License Manager, allocate several years in advance, and it compensates overlap with 1 year licenses when a 5 year term crosses the organization's renewal date. So the sensible pattern is 5 year Core for the cameras you know will stay, and 1 year for the ones you are not sure about. Every license is an e-license key, one key per order line, and Axis's guide says an unredeemed key expires five years after it was created.

Fifteen Axis cameras on your own server, bought today

Fifteen 5 year Core licenses: 15 x $87.99 to $94.00 = $1,320 to $1,410.

Fifteen 1 year Core licenses, renewed four times: 15 x $29 to $31 x 5 = $2,175 to $2,325.

Then a renewal in year six, either way. On an Axis recorder with fifteen preloaded licenses the same site is $0 for the life of the hardware.

03 Core, Universal, server or recorder

Which Axis camera license you need is decided by the camera's brand and by what the software runs on.

Two license types, two ways of owning them. The four combinations are priced very differently.

Which devices

Core device license: Axis cameras, Axis intercoms and 2N intercoms, Axis speakers, radars, door controllers, I/O modules, strobe sirens, body worn cameras
Universal device license: Everything else: third party ONVIF Profile S and RTSP cameras and devices. Can also be used on an Axis device, but there is no reason to

On your own server or VM

Core device license: Subscription, 1 year (02990-001) or 5 year (02991-001), $29 to $31 or $88 to $94
Universal device license: Subscription, 1 year (02992-001) or 5 year (02993-001), $49 to $52 or $166 to $169

On an AXIS S12, S11, S21, S22 recorder

Core device license: Preloaded and tied to the recorder for life; extras as 02994-001 at about $94, once
Universal device license: Not preloaded; 02995-001 at about $163 to $169 once, or convert a spare Core with 02996-001 at about $84

Devices that need none

Core device license: AXIS S30 recorders, AXIS W800 body worn controller, Axis switches. Some I/O modules ship with a license in the box
Universal device license: Same list, and a two camera bundle such as the Q8721 and Q8722 PT heads needs two

What counts as one device

Core device license: One license per network camera regardless of sensors: an AXIS P3719-PLE with four sensors is one, an AXIS P7216 encoder with 16 analog inputs is one
Universal device license: One per third party camera or encoder as ACS sees it. Multi channel third party encoders vary, so check the compatibility list first

	Core device license	Universal device license
Which devices	Axis cameras, Axis intercoms and 2N intercoms, Axis speakers, radars, door controllers, I/O modules, strobe sirens, body worn cameras	Everything else: third party ONVIF Profile S and RTSP cameras and devices. Can also be used on an Axis device, but there is no reason to
On your own server or VM	Subscription, 1 year (02990-001) or 5 year (02991-001), $29 to $31 or $88 to $94	Subscription, 1 year (02992-001) or 5 year (02993-001), $49 to $52 or $166 to $169
On an AXIS S12, S11, S21, S22 recorder	Preloaded and tied to the recorder for life; extras as 02994-001 at about $94, once	Not preloaded; 02995-001 at about $163 to $169 once, or convert a spare Core with 02996-001 at about $84
Devices that need none	AXIS S30 recorders, AXIS W800 body worn controller, Axis switches. Some I/O modules ship with a license in the box	Same list, and a two camera bundle such as the Q8721 and Q8722 PT heads needs two
What counts as one device	One license per network camera regardless of sensors: an AXIS P3719-PLE with four sensors is one, an AXIS P7216 encoder with 16 analog inputs is one	One per third party camera or encoder as ACS sees it. Multi channel third party encoders vary, so check the compatibility list first

Scroll the table sideways for every column.

The recorder route is the one Axis wants you on, and the arithmetic explains why. An AXIS S2108 appliance lists at about $2,375 at IP Security Depot with its Core licenses inside, and those licenses never come up for renewal. Axis defines the lifetime of the hardware as the lifetime of the motherboard: replace it outside a warranty repair and the tied licenses die with it, though an RMA replacement carries its own. On your own Windows server or a virtual machine you keep the hardware choice and take on a renewal date instead. For a 15 camera site that is a five figure decision over ten years, and it is worth putting both columns in the same purchase order so whoever signs it sees the year six line, not just the year one line.

Mixed brands, fifteen cameras, five years, own server

Ten Axis on 5 year Core plus five third party on 5 year Universal: $880 to $940 plus $830 to $845 = $1,710 to $1,785.

The five non Axis cameras cost almost as much to license as the ten Axis ones. That is the quiet argument for replacing them with Axis cameras, and the section after next says why it is not always the right one.

04 The rules that turn into invoices

Six Axis Camera Station Pro license rules that decide what you pay after the first order.

90 days free, then 30 days of grace

Axis says a new AXIS Camera Station Pro install runs a fully functional 90 day trial with no license. After that, and after any renewal date, AXIS License Manager gives a 30 day grace period with full access while you order and allocate licenses. Miss it and the server becomes unlicensed.

Matters most on a new install ordered late.

Unlicensed does not mean unrecorded

Axis documents that an unlicensed AXIS Camera Station Pro system keeps recording and keeps running action rules, and you lose no footage. What stops is live view, playback, instant playback, snapshots and export. So a lapsed license is a blindfold on the operator, not a gap in the archive.

Matters most when someone asks what a lapse actually costs.

Grow 100 percent before you buy

Under the Axis subscription model you can add devices during a subscription year, up to double the number of allocated licenses, and stay licensed until the next annual review. Beyond 100 percent growth you must allocate within 30 days. Axis says it monitors misuse and warns customers before they become unlicensed.

Matters most on a site that adds cameras mid year.

Offline servers must resync every 60 days

Licenses are managed in the cloud through AXIS License Manager. An online server licenses itself. A server on an isolated network uses manual licensing and has to be resynchronized within 60 days of a change, or it becomes unlicensed. Air gapped sites need that on a calendar.

Matters most on networks with no internet access.

One renewal date per organization

Every application license inside an organization shares one renewal date, and a license allocated mid year aligns to it. Axis compensates the unused overlap of a 5 year license with 1 year licenses added to the wallet. The annual review starts 60 days out with reminders at 60, 30, 7 and 1 day.

Matters most for multi site companies adding servers at different times.

Version 5 has an end date, and a $19 exit

AXIS Camera Station 5 is supported until September 30, 2027. On an AXIS S12, S11, S21 or S22 recorder the upgrade to Pro is free for the life of the hardware and the licenses become lifetime tied licenses. On any other hardware, since March 1, 2026, each version 5 license needs a $19 upgrade license (03250-001) and becomes a 5 year Pro subscription. Upgrading starts a 90 day trial so nothing stops while the order is processed.

Matters most to every version 5 site still on its own server.

05 What the license does not buy

Axis includes AI classification on its newer cameras at no charge. The license buys nothing for the rest.

Included on newer Axis cameras

AXIS Object Analytics comes preinstalled at no extra cost on Axis cameras with a machine learning or deep learning processing unit, on AXIS OS 10.2 or 10.3 and later. It classifies humans and vehicles on the camera and feeds AXIS Camera Station Pro's rules and Smart search. If every camera on the site is one of these, you already have what we sell, and you should not buy it twice.

Motion only on older Axis cameras

An Axis camera without that processing unit, which covers most of what was installed before about 2020, still takes a Core license and still records perfectly well, but AXIS Object Analytics cannot run on it. Its trigger is the camera's own video motion detection, which fires on headlights, rain and the flag by the gate.

Motion only on third party cameras at double the price

A Universal license connects an ONVIF or RTSP camera for recording. It brings no Axis analytics with it, because the analytics live in Axis cameras, not in the software. So the most expensive license in the table is attached to the cameras with the worst alerts.

The route for the cameras in columns two and three, which is the one we sell

Most people pricing an Axis Camera Station license are not unhappy with the recording. They are unhappy with the alerts from the cameras that do not run AXIS Object Analytics, and the Axis answer to that is to replace those cameras, at several hundred dollars each before labor, so the analytics come along. That is the right call for a camera that is failing anyway. It is an expensive call for a ten year old AXIS P3367 that still produces a clean 1080p stream.

The cheaper fix is to leave AXIS Camera Station Pro recording exactly as it is and run classification on the RTSP stream the server is already pulling. Our software connects to the camera or the stream, finds motion with its own background model, labels each event person, vehicle, animal or package, and sends only the classes you chose to email, a webhook or Slack. No Axis license changes, no camera replacement, and the price is published. The RTSP camera software page shows the stream URL format Axis and third party cameras use, and the person detection camera software page covers the one class most sites actually want.

What stays and what changes

Stays: AXIS Camera Station Pro, every Core and Universal license, the recorder, the footage.
Stays: the cameras, Axis or not, as long as they speak RTSP or ONVIF.
Changes: what reaches your phone at 2am, and how often.
Added: one subscription with a published price and a per camera figure you can put in a budget request today.

06 Fifteen cameras, five years

What the same fifteen camera site costs over five years, and what each row buys.

Software only, US reseller single unit listings, no server hardware, no cameras, no installation labor. The rows do not buy the same thing, and the last column says so.

ACS Pro, 15 Axis cameras, 5 year Core, own server

Year one: $1,320 to $1,410
Years two to five: $0
Five year software total: $1,320 to $1,410
What it includes: Recording on 15 Axis devices for 60 months, updates included, then a renewal

ACS Pro, 15 Axis cameras, 1 year Core, own server

Year one: $435 to $465
Years two to five: $1,740 to $1,860
Five year software total: $2,175 to $2,325
What it includes: The same, paid yearly, with the option to stop

ACS Pro, 15 third party cameras, 5 year Universal, own server

Year one: $2,490 to $2,535
Years two to five: $0
Five year software total: $2,490 to $2,535
What it includes: Recording on 15 non Axis devices for 60 months, no Axis analytics

ACS Pro on an Axis recorder with 15 preloaded Core licenses

Year one: $0 beyond the recorder
Years two to five: $0
Five year software total: $0 beyond the recorder
What it includes: Recording for the life of the recorder hardware, no renewal

ACS 5 to Pro upgrade, 15 existing licenses, own server

Year one: $285
Years two to five: $0
Five year software total: $285
What it includes: Converts 15 perpetual version 5 licenses into 5 year Pro subscriptions

MotionDetection, Operate tier

Year one: $888
Years two to five: $3,552
Five year software total: $4,440
What it includes: Classified person, vehicle, animal and package alerts on 15 cameras, 30 day event history, 5 users, webhook and Slack. No recording

Option	Year one	Years two to five	Five year software total	What it includes
ACS Pro, 15 Axis cameras, 5 year Core, own server	$1,320 to $1,410	$0	$1,320 to $1,410	Recording on 15 Axis devices for 60 months, updates included, then a renewal
ACS Pro, 15 Axis cameras, 1 year Core, own server	$435 to $465	$1,740 to $1,860	$2,175 to $2,325	The same, paid yearly, with the option to stop
ACS Pro, 15 third party cameras, 5 year Universal, own server	$2,490 to $2,535	$0	$2,490 to $2,535	Recording on 15 non Axis devices for 60 months, no Axis analytics
ACS Pro on an Axis recorder with 15 preloaded Core licenses	$0 beyond the recorder	$0	$0 beyond the recorder	Recording for the life of the recorder hardware, no renewal
ACS 5 to Pro upgrade, 15 existing licenses, own server	$285	$0	$285	Converts 15 perpetual version 5 licenses into 5 year Pro subscriptions
MotionDetection, Operate tier	$888	$3,552	$4,440	Classified person, vehicle, animal and package alerts on 15 cameras, 30 day event history, 5 users, webhook and Slack. No recording

Scroll the table sideways for every column.

The honest reading: an Axis Camera Station Pro Core license is inexpensive recording software, about $1.50 to $1.60 a camera a month over five years on your own server and nothing on an Axis recorder, and this product does not replace it. The bottom row answers the other question, what it costs to make the cameras Axis will not classify tell you a person from a raccoon, without replacing them. Our video analytics software price page has every tier and the per camera arithmetic, and the video management software comparison puts Axis's license model next to Milestone, Genetec, Avigilon, Eagle Eye and Nx Witness.

07 Where we lose

Four things an Axis Camera Station license buys that this product does not.

Free classification on the cameras that have it

If your cameras carry AXIS Object Analytics, AXIS Camera Station Pro gives you person and vehicle alerts, Smart search by object and free text search on the server, with no analytics license at all. We cannot beat free on those cameras and do not try.
Recording, access control and audio in one client

A Core license covers cameras, intercoms, door controllers, speakers and strobes, and AXIS Camera Station Secure Entry manages up to 1,000 doors per server. We give you an event list with crops, and you open the footage in Axis.
Nothing to renew on an Axis recorder

Preloaded licenses tied to an AXIS S12, S11, S21 or S22 last the life of the hardware. Our price is a subscription with a published figure, and it does not go to zero.
One vendor, one support line, one warranty

Camera, recorder, software and licenses from Axis, with the five year hardware warranty behind the recorder. We are a second vendor, on purpose, and we only read the stream.

08 What buyers ask at this point

Axis Camera Station license questions that come up while you are pricing.

How much is Axis Camera Station Pro?

The software itself is free to download. What you pay for is one license per device: a Core device license for an Axis camera at about $29 to $31 for 1 year or $88 to $94 for 5 years at US resellers, and a Universal device license for a third party camera at about $49 to $52 for 1 year or $166 to $169 for 5 years. On an Axis recorder the Core licenses are preloaded and last the life of the hardware.

Is Axis Camera Station free?

The download is free, every new AXIS Camera Station Pro server runs a fully functional 90 day trial, and AXIS Camera Station Edge, the camera to cloud version that records to an Axis SD card or an AXIS S30 recorder, includes its licenses with the Axis devices. Recording to your own server in AXIS Camera Station Pro needs a paid Core or Universal license for each device once the trial ends.

Is Axis Camera Station Pro free?

No, beyond the 90 day trial. AXIS Camera Station Pro on your own server needs a subscription license per device, 1 year or 5 year, and Axis gives a 30 day grace period at each renewal. An unlicensed server keeps recording and keeps running action rules, but live view, playback, snapshots and export stop until it is licensed again.

What is the Axis Camera Station license cost per camera?

Per Axis camera, about $17.60 to $18.80 a year on a 5 year Core license or $29 to $31 a year on a 1 year Core license, based on US reseller listings. Per third party camera, about $33 a year on a 5 year Universal license or $49 to $52 on a 1 year one. On an Axis recorder, an extra Axis device is a one time Core NVR license at about $94.

Can I transfer an Axis Camera Station license to a new server?

Subscription licenses on your own hardware live in AXIS License Manager, so when you move AXIS Camera Station Pro to new hardware you onboard the new server to the same organization and reallocate the licenses from the wallet. Licenses tied to an Axis recorder cannot move: Axis says they are valid for the lifetime of that hardware and no other, except that an RMA replacement carries its own.

What is the difference between Axis Camera Station 5 and Pro licensing?

Version 5 licenses, parts 0879-010 and 0879-020, were perpetual and stayed on the server. AXIS Camera Station Pro licenses on your own server are 1 year or 5 year subscriptions managed in AXIS License Manager, and on an Axis recorder they are tied to the hardware for life. Version 5 is supported until September 30, 2027, and each version 5 license converts to a 5 year Pro subscription with a $19 upgrade license, part 03250-001.

09 Where to go next

Keep AXIS Camera Station. Fix the alerts on the cameras Axis will not classify.

One field, one 6 digit code, and your console opens on that address. Pick the tier by camera count and pay by card, with no integrator quote to wait for.

Run it on a clip first