Nest Aware — Google’s subscription service for Nest cameras and doorbells — was rebranded as Google Home Premium in late 2025. The core structure remains two tiers, but pricing has increased twice since 2023 and the feature set has expanded significantly with Gemini AI integration. If you own a Nest Cam or Nest Doorbell and are deciding whether to subscribe, here is everything you need to know about the current plans and what you actually get.
Nest Aware Is Now Google Home Premium
Google rebranded Nest Aware as Google Home Premium in 2025. Existing Nest Aware subscribers were automatically transitioned and keep the same features. New subscribers sign up for Google Home Premium directly through the Google Home app. The plans map directly to the old tiers — Standard replaces Nest Aware, Advanced replaces Nest Aware Plus.
Current Plan Pricing (2026)
| Standard | Advanced | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $10 / month | $20 / month |
| Annual | $100 / year | $200 / year |
| Event History | 30 days | 60 days |
| Continuous Recording | No | 10 days (24/7) |
| Familiar Face Detection | Yes | Yes |
| Gemini AI Features | Yes | Yes |
| Package Detection | Yes | Yes |
| Cameras Covered | All on account | All on account |
Price history note: Google raised Nest Aware pricing in August 2025 — Standard went from $8/mo to $10/mo, Advanced from $15/mo to $20/mo. This was the second price increase since 2023. Factor that pattern into any long-term value calculation.
What You Get Free Without a Subscription
Nest cameras and doorbells do work without a subscription — but with significant limitations. Without Google Home Premium, you get live view, real-time motion and sound alerts, and the ability to speak through the camera via two-way audio. What you do not get is any video history. There is no local storage option on any Nest camera — no microSD card slot, no local recording. Without a subscription, every event that passes is gone permanently with no way to review it.
For a camera used primarily for live monitoring — checking in on a room in real time — the free tier is functional. For a camera used as a security device where reviewing past events matters, the subscription is effectively required.
What Standard Adds
The Standard plan at $100/year provides 30 days of event-based video history, intelligent alerts for familiar faces, garage door detection, and package detection. Event-based recording means the camera saves clips triggered by motion, sound, or other detection events — it does not record continuously. For most home security use cases, 30 days of event history is more than sufficient.
Familiar face detection is one of the more useful features at this tier — the camera learns to recognize people who appear regularly and can send alerts with context like “Alex at the front door” rather than just “Person detected.” Activity zones let you define specific areas of the frame to monitor, which significantly reduces false alerts from trees, passing cars, and other irrelevant motion.
Gemini AI integration is included at the Standard tier — animated close-up previews allow the camera to automatically track motion and zoom in on people, animals, or vehicles. These features represent a meaningful capability upgrade over what was available in the original Nest Aware era.
What Advanced Adds
The Advanced plan at $200/year extends event history to 60 days and adds 10 days of continuous 24/7 video recording. Continuous recording is the key differentiator — it captures everything regardless of whether a motion or sound event triggered recording. For locations where you need to review what happened at a specific time even without a detected event, continuous recording provides that capability. For most residential users, event-based recording at the Standard tier is sufficient and the Advanced tier is unnecessary.
Is It Worth It?
At $100/year the Standard plan covers every Nest camera on your account — there is no per-camera fee. For a single camera household that is $8.33/month. For a household with three or four Nest cameras, $100/year becomes genuinely reasonable compared to competitors that charge per device.
If you are already committed to the Nest ecosystem, the Google Nest Cam is available in both wired and battery versions.
The honest comparison is against the no-subscription alternatives. Cameras like the Tapo C210 and Wyze Cam OG provide free AI detection and local microSD storage with no ongoing cost. If avoiding subscription fees is the priority, those cameras deliver more value per dollar. If you are already invested in the Google ecosystem — Google Home, Nest Hub displays, Google Assistant — the integration value of Nest cameras with Google Home Premium is a real consideration that cameras from other brands cannot match.
Bottom Line
Google Home Premium Standard at $100/year is the practical minimum for anyone using a Nest camera as a security device — without it there is no video history at all. The flat per-account pricing makes it reasonable for multi-camera households. The Advanced tier at $200/year is only worth it if continuous 24/7 recording is specifically required. Buyers who have not yet purchased a Nest camera and want to avoid subscription fees entirely should evaluate Tapo, Wyze, or eufy cameras first — all offer capable free storage tiers that Google does not.
This guide is part of our Security Camera Subscription Plans guide and part of our Google Nest Cam Reviews hub.
