Milestone Care Plus price per camera and what Care Premium adds

Milestone Care Plus costs about 18% of the device license each year. At a US reseller that is $19.80 per camera on XProtect Express+, $33 on Professional+, $51 on Expert and $63 on Corporate, and Expert and Corporate add a Care Plus line on the base license as well ($378 and $604). A longer term costs less per year: five years on Express+ is $74.25 per camera against $99 for five single years. Care Premium is a separate, higher support level on top.

Care Plus is the line on a Milestone quote that surprises people, because the licenses are perpetual and Care Plus is not. It is what entitles you to new XProtect versions, so it decides whether the system you buy today is still upgradable in three years. Below are the prices by part number from a US reseller, the multi-year discount, what Care Premium adds and what a fifteen camera site pays. If the real question is moving up an edition, see the Express+ upgrade cost. Our Milestone XProtect license cost page has the base and device license prices these figures sit on.

Care Plus price by edition

Prices are from Network Camera Store on October 30, 2026, in US dollars before tax. Milestone does not publish a US price list, so a dealer quote can differ on volume.

Scroll the table sideways to read every column.

Milestone's pricing page states that Care Plus is required to get product updates and is mandatory for the first year of XProtect Corporate. The reseller listing for Expert says the same for the first year of that edition. It also describes Care Plus as covering the whole installation, base and devices together, so you cannot buy it for half your cameras.

One year or a multi-year term

Care Plus is sold for one month, one, two, three and five years, and a longer term is cheaper per year. These are the reseller prices that show it.

The saving column compares each term with the same number of one year renewals, so the three year row is checked against three years, the two year row against two, and the five year row against five. The pattern is about 10% off for two years, 15% for three and 25% for five. A multi-year term is the right choice for a system you intend to keep and update. It is the wrong one for a site that may be replaced next year, because the money is spent up front.

Care Plus or Care Premium

Milestone describes Care Plus as instant access to product updates, full trade-in value when you move to a more advanced XProtect edition, and XProtect Remote Manager. Care Premium includes everything in Care Plus and adds direct, prioritized access to Milestone's technical support team. Without Premium, support goes through your reseller or integrator first.

Care Premium is listed as its own line, on top of Care Plus rather than instead of it. The one year Premium part is $13 per device on Professional+, $20 on Expert and $25 on Corporate at the same reseller, so Professional+ with Premium is $46 per camera a year. We found no Premium listing for Express+. Whether it is worth buying comes down to who answers the phone at 2 a.m.: if an integrator already holds your support contract, Premium usually duplicates what you pay them for.

What happens if you let it lapse

The licenses are perpetual, so a lapse does not stop recording. What stops is access to new versions. Reseller promotions have offered a reactivation discount on licenses whose Care Plus had expired, but the one we found ended in December 2025, so ask your dealer for the current terms before assuming a catch-up is cheap. Before you sign a multi-year support agreement, check the renewal and auto-renew clauses in the dealer's paperwork, which are where a surprise invoice usually starts.

There is a second reason to stay current if you may grow: Care Plus carries the trade-in credit. Moving from Professional+ to Expert is credited at full value of the licenses you already hold, but only while Care Plus is active. A site that lets it lapse and then outgrows its edition pays full price for the new base.

Fifteen cameras priced

The last row is not a substitute for Care Plus. It is the question many XProtect owners are really asking while they read a renewal quote: they are paying yearly to keep a recorder current, and the motion alerts from older cameras still wake the wrong person. Care Plus does not change what a camera detects. If that is your problem, a classification layer on the same streams fixes it for a published price, without touching your XProtect licenses or your Care Plus term.

Questions buyers ask

How much does Milestone Care Plus cost?

About 18% of the device license each year. At a US reseller in October 2026 that is $19.80 per camera on Express+, $33 on Professional+, $51 on Expert and $63 on Corporate. Expert and Corporate also carry Care Plus on the base license, $378 and $604 a year.

Is Milestone Care Plus mandatory?

For the first year of Corporate, yes, according to Milestone's pricing page, and the reseller listing says the same for Expert. On every edition Care Plus is required to receive product updates, so a system without it keeps recording but stays on the version it has.

What is the difference between Milestone Care Plus and Care Premium?

Care Plus gives product updates, trade-in credit toward a more advanced edition and XProtect Remote Manager. Care Premium includes all of that and adds direct, prioritized access to Milestone's technical support. It is bought as an additional line, listed at $13 to $25 per device a year.

Can I buy Care Plus for only some cameras?

No. Reseller listings describe Care Plus as covering the whole installation, base and device licenses together, so the part count on the order should match your device license count.

Do Milestone licenses stop working without Care Plus?

No. Base and device licenses are perpetual. Without Care Plus the system keeps recording but cannot move to new XProtect versions, and the trade-in credit toward a bigger edition is not available.