- The 3 Best IP Camera Apps for Android Devices
- The Best IP Camera Apps for Android
- 1. tinyCAM Monitor
- 2. IP Cam Viewer Pro
- 3. ONVIF IP Camera Monitor (Onvifer)
- Comparison Table
- What are the pros and cons of using an IP camera viewer app?
- What to look for in an IP Camera app
- Conclusion
- Get notified when I post new content
- IP Camera Viewer 3.0
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The 3 Best IP Camera Apps for Android Devices
If you have a mish-mash of IP cameras from different brands in your DIY Home Security Camera System like me, an IP camera viewer app can be quite handy.
Of course, there are a few different ways to monitor all your cameras in a single place.
But a single app on your Android smartphone or tabloid is arguably the most convenient. The only requirement is that all your IP cameras should ideally support the ONVIF industry standard, or at least provide an RTSP/MJPEG stream. ONVIF allows you to mix and match cameras from different manufacturers.
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The Best IP Camera Apps for Android
1. tinyCAM Monitor
- 2-way audio on selected models
- Motion detection (both in-app and on-camera), face detection
- Video recording (local storage, time-lapse, FTP/FTPS, Amazon Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, ownCloud)
- Background/DVR mode (background recording and motion detection)
- Internal web server for remote recordings playback and live view
- Android Wear app & Google Cast (Chromecast) support
- TV support (Android TV, Amazon Fire TV)
- Home screen and lock screen widgets
- Floating windows
- Tasker automation plugin support
This app really stands out for a variety of reasons. It has a beautiful interface that’s been thoughtfully designed. But its not form over function. The plethora of features is simply mind-blowing. This app is simply one of the best I have used on Android.
It is also very responsive and has been super stable over the past 4 years that I have been using it on a wide range of Android devices.
Apart from supporting ONVIF, the camera can automatically detect and set up over 10,000 different camera models. FOr example, the automatic scan detected my Reolink C1 Pro IP camera which didn’t happen with the other 2 apps I tested.
For matrix or multi-camera view, you can pick any of the 17 different layouts. Most of them also auto-rotate when you rotate your device to portrait (vertical) or landscape (horizontal) mode. This is how the portrait 3-camera view looks like on my Samsung Galaxy A5:
There is an ad-supported free version with limited features and a paid pro version. We recommend choosing the pro app because of all the additional features at a super low price of less than $5.
On my Galaxy A5, the app automatically picked the hardware acceleration option for my Reolink C1 Pro. It can comfortably do 10 fps for 4 cameras simultaneously on the sub-stream.
I use the app as my baby monitor app and the advanced audio features such as audio amplification are a great touch.
- Tons of features such as face detection
- Presets for wide range of IP cameras
- Great value
- Supports in-camera motion detection also
- Optional cloud platform
- Lacks advanced motion detection methods such as line crossing
- Cloud reliant: No
- Smart home compatibility: ONVIF, RTSP, Tasker and Web server built-in
- Subscription fees: None, one-time purchase
2. IP Cam Viewer Pro
- 1600+ devices supported including NVRs and DVRs
- RTSP, ONVIF, MMSH supported
- MPEG4/H265/H264/MJPEG codec support
- Controls PTZ (Pan/Tilt/Zoom) cameras
- Camera grouping, auto sequence
- Automatic camera detection
- Home screen and lock screen widgets
- 2-way audio and background audio support for many devices
- In-app motion detection
- Record mode for 24/7 recording of all cameras
- Embedded web server for remote control of app, Tasker integration, or use as a transcoder/proxy
- Chromecast and Android Wear support
While this app is certainly functional, the interface is a letdown compared to our app of choice, tinyCAM. The feeling I got was of using an app from the early years of Android. There’s no material design here. Large blocky buttons and huge fonts dominate. The designer seems to have taken a very workmanlike approach to designing the UI. But the app undeniably does do what it claims to do.
Apart from supporting ONVIF, the camera can automatically detect and set up over 1726 different cameras. The automatic scan however could not detect my Reolink C1 Pro IP camera.
There is an ad-supported free version with limited features and a paid pro version.
- Tons of features
- Presets for wide range of IP cameras
- Great value
- Supports in-camera motion detection also
- Poor UI
- Cannot detect in-camera motion detection
- Lacks advanced motion detection methods
- Cloud reliant: No
- Smart home compatibility: ONVIF, RTSP, Tasker and Web server built-in
- Subscription fees: None, one-time purchase
3. ONVIF IP Camera Monitor (Onvifer)
- Supports ONVIF, RTSP/MJPEG/H.264
- Records MP4 clips
- Can auto-discover all ONVIF devices instantly
- Supports PTZ cameras
- Has snapshot preview widgets on Android home screen
- Supports viewing multiple cameras simultaneously
While this app is nowhere as popular as tinyCAM, its a decent effort. The user interface is not as polished as tinyCAM but still quite good. Its not as rich in feature either, but it does all the basics well.
There is an ad-supported free version with limited features and a paid pro version.
- Simple and easy-to-use
- Presets for wide range of IP cameras
- Great value
- Basic UI
- No motion detection support at all
- Lacks advanced features such as 2-way audio, video widgets, web server, API, Android Wear, Chromecast support
- Cloud reliant: No
- Smart home compatibility: ONVIF, RTSP
- Subscription fees: None, one-time purchase
Comparison Table
App/Feature | tinyCam Monitor Pro | IP Cam Viewer Pro | Onvifer Pro |
---|---|---|---|
Protocols | ONVIF/RTSP/MJPEG | ||
Auto scan camera | Yes | ||
PTZ support | Yes | ||
Camera sub stream | Yes, auto-switch on mobile networks | Yes | |
Motion detection | In-Camera and In-app, Face detection, Email notification | In-Camera and In-app, Email notification | No |
24/7 recording | SD, FTP, Cloud services and NAS | SD, FTP, Cloud services | No |
Audio | 2-way, background audio, baby monitor features | 2-way, background audio | Listen to camera audio only |
Home Automation | Web server, Tasker | No | |
Cloud reliance | No, cloud viewing optionally available | No | No |
Wearable support | Android Wear | ||
TV support | Chromecast | ||
Widgets | Home screen live video widget | Home screen snapshot widget | |
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